Tree By Tree

“StopTalking. Start Planting.” – Felix Finkbeiner

The decreasing of trees around the world does not help future generations. We are trapped unless we take action. Planting trees helps inspires us to make our world a better place .  Cutting down of trees does not increase the amount of healthy trees that are being planted but only increases the structures of buildings. Without trees we would not have any fresh air to breathe . The decreasing of trees has come to mind for a 13 year old boy named Felix Finkbeiner. He believed that by planting more trees it will reduce the effect of climate change . His journey began in his home country Germany, where he was inspired by a women in Africa named Wangari Muta Maathai, started thinking about the perception of the future and trying to reach out to adults and children about taking action and not hiding behind climate skeptics. 

When Felix Finkbeiner was 9 years old, he needed to do a school presentation about climate crisis. What came to be a school project has inspired him to do more . He was inspired by one woman Wangari Muta Maathai who planted 30 million trees in her home country Africa in 1976. Wangari Muta Maathai goal was to help women in their rights. From doing this it, she has develops an organization for women to focus on planting trees, which helps them improve their life style and environment. Wangari Muta Maathai has inspired not only Felix Finkbeiner but others children in the world today. She has taught us, just from planting in her own country the women who are in poverty can improve the increasing of access to wood for cooking and clean water. By planting more trees it also helps the women of Africa to improve the way they live . Wangari Muta Maathai has created her own organization called “Green Belt Movement” which helps plant trees in Africa. This has affected Felix Finkbeiner to do the same . His goal during the end of his presentation in 2007 when he was 9 years old was to inspire other children in the world that they could help plant one million trees in each of their country so that the world will have an equal balance of CO_{2 .}  He started his own organization called “Plant For The Planet” which helps people pledge on how many trees they will help plant. Through this organization you can also donate money. Not only has Wangari Muta Maathai become Felix Finkbeiner inspiration but he has inspired others to do the same . Felix Finkbeiner and Wangari Muta Maathai have increased the amount of trees being planted. From this Felix Finkbeiner has a perception of the future . 

At the UN (United Nation) Felix Finkbeiner had given a speech pointing out the crisis of the future . The two main crises that he has recognised are the poverty crisis and the climate crisis. From these two crises he has spoken out what has happen in the world today. He believes that if we do not start now our future will suffer from all the pollution being sent into the world today. The poverty crisis that shows the decreasing of trees has affected many people in the world from getting fresh air and getting fresh water. Felix Finkbeiner says in his speech to the UN, “The poverty crisis with 30 thousand children dying of starvation every single day…” which shows us without fresh water and fresh air to breathe in, many children are dying because of unsafe water to drink, poor sanitation, and lack of hygiene . The climate crisis shows how the world is changing the weather in each country will change to become hotter or colder. Felix Finkbeiner says in his speech to the UN, “The climate crisis with one part of the world, rich part, a small minority, exhausting the most of CO₂ and the ones that already suffer will suffer even more in the future .” This shows that during our years, we must start planting trees if we want our future to become non polluted and filled with fresh air. The decreasing of trees isn’t going to help our future unless we increase the amount of trees being planted. On his website “Plant For The Planet” Felix Finkbeiner says, “Talking alone isn’t going to stop the glaciers from melting!” This shows that if we really want to care about our future we must “Stop talking. Start Planting.” Furthermore he also said in his speech to the UN, “…Forest is our future…”which means that if we want to take care of our planet then we must start taking care of the forest too. Felix Finkbeiner has proven that by changing the environment one tree at a time we may increase the amount of trees being planted. Although Felix Finkbeiner has thought about the future, he has now to figure out about the climate skeptics.

Many times adults hide behind climate skeptics saying ‘There is no climate change .' Felix Finkbeiner believes that now, children are planning what to do if they were in the position of the government. In March 2011 Felix Finkbeiner organization consisted of 14 children democratic from eight nations. Although they may be children they are taking a stand on what they believe in and not hiding under climate skeptics.  Children are now taking a stand for what needs to be done in the world, starting today. Children understand what is being taught to them such how they need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being sent into the atmosphere . As Felix Finkbeiner says at the UN in New York, “We have an answer. If we follow the scientists that tell us there is a crisis and we act, and in 20 years we find out that they were wrong, we didn’t do any mistake . But if we follow the skeptics and in 20 years we find out that they were wrong, it will be too late to save our future .” This shows how climate skeptics is getting to everyone and if people want to do something they should start taking part in planting trees and not only say they will but make a pledge towards their action. From taking part and knowing that there is a climate skeptics then our world may become a healthier place . He also says, “We children (have) understood we cannot trust that adults alone will save our future . We have to take our future in our own hands.” Felix says this because he believes that although adults minds are more develop they do not understand about what will happen in the future and how to prevent it from happening. Since children will live more than adults they do not recognize the dangers of the future . Felix Finkbeiner also says, “For most adults the future seems to mean 20, 30 or even 40 years. But for us children 2100 could still be in our lifetime .” It shows that although children are taking part in planting trees, we still need adults to take part in it, so that our world may become a healthier place .

Although the decreasing of trees has become a huge impact in climate change and change the way of some people’s perspective, it has change one 13 year old boy to make a difference to the world. Felix Finkbeiner has helped inspire and increase the amount of trees. He has now made a difference to the world today, not only for children and adults but also for the future . Although cutting down of trees does not help but planting of trees can help make a difference to the world today. No matter who you are in the world and what you believe in you can make a difference just like Felix Finkbeiner who was inspired by Wangari Muta Maathai, starting thinking about future generations and reaching out to adults and children about not hiding under climate skeptics.


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