Caesar Rodney HS, 10th grade  

Wrinkles in Time

As a girl, I remember sitting in the back seat of my grandparent’s vehicle traveling. Wherever we went I loved it because of the green bigger-than-life trees and barely blue water.  That was how I perceived the world then as if nothing could be destroyed. That was the mightiness of living vi la vida and not being aware of my surroundings. I always dreaded leaving, but I also loved leaving because it kept the magic alive. These memories are remnants that I keep dear to me especially since my grandmother passed earlier last year. I yearned for those memories and times but never did they come back because the more precious something is the more irreplaceable it is. Human life is a gift and the ability to maintain it with environmental injustices is a miracle. We live in a world where we settle, and as humans, we selfishly leave the world to rot not caring for the people we leave behind. This story is much bigger than one place or one person, it is a globally manifested issue.

Environmental Injustice is real and it is happening in places where we call home and gather with family not knowing the outcomes of being in the environment we are in, drinking and cooking the water from a sink we trust, and breathing in that polluted air making us lambs to the slaughter.

Companies and major corporations we look up to underutilize resources and then release and spill them causing damage to our soils and waters. If things like this continue then our planet will turn its back on us and we will be stuck in a detrimental world only displayed in dystopian movies.  These major issues threaten human health issues such as cancer. We ingest chemicals and pollutants that cause irreversible damage to one’s health. Environmental injustice can be categorized into 2 different types. Air pollution consists of diseases due to environmental issues that cause problems with your respiratory system resulting in disease increases such as asthma, cancer, and respiratory infections. The second type is climate change which affects the environment more than a specific person because it is more of extreme weather events such as heat waves, flooding, and more. These events mainly affect more vulnerable areas such as third-world countries and rural areas.  This all connects back to the title of this essay ‘Wrinkles in Time’ which refers to what we can accomplish in our lifetimes while facing the unknown. We as humans are all wrinkles in time because we can reach our full potential and take back our planet by contributing. Even one person can start a ripple and take us forward similar to/ how a domino has an effect on every other domino after being pushed forward. Many don’t know where to start but there are many ways to contribute even starting in Delaware as a teen. We can advocate for regulations that agree with the reduction of environmental injustices. This includes voting for candidates who believe in this change, supporting laws that protect communities not able to fight for themselves, and starting clean-ups in neighborhoods greatly polluted/littered. Second, We can also support, volunteer, or intern at organizations fighting for environmental justice and change. Third, use of voices and platforms to spread awareness. Last but not least, we can participate in activities similar to RENEW that give young voices incentives to get their voice out there. Each of us young people have the potential to change our surroundings, but all of us must use our energy, creativity, and idealism to make a difference. We can become a force of inspiration for others to follow and enact positive change. “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

Even one person can start a ripple and take us forward similar to how a domino has an effect on every other domino after being pushed forward. Many don’t know where to start but there are many ways to contribute even starting in Delaware as a teen…all of us must use our energy, creativity, and idealism to make a difference. We can become a force of inspiration for others to follow and enact positive change.