CHAPTER ONE FIND YOUR PASSION In 2013 Typhoon Haiyan destroyed Marinel Ubaldo’s home in the Philippines and killed more than 6,000 people Ubaldo then 16 was determined to tell the world what had happened and how the effects of climate change had devastated her family and community She wanted people in power to act before it was too late Now she travels all over the world She explains how rising seas and warming oceans make typhoons more powerful She talks about how fossil fuels pollute the oceans forcing fishermen like her father to fish dangerously dangerously far out to sea in less polluted waters AHA Storm Power What’s the difference between a cyclone and a typhoon They are both powerful storms but typhoons occur in the northwest Pacific Ocean and cyclones hit the southern Pacific and the Indian Ocean For me it’s important that people can hear a firsthand story she said If we postpone this and wait for another disaster for us to decide then maybe we might never see what tomorrow brings We might lose our future Ubaldo’s passionate words help people understand what she’s experienced and what is at stake if the world does nothing to slow climate change Passion is key to changing the world It’s about caring so much that you have to do something Passion inspires people to work toward change despite resistance and obstacles Litia Baleilevuka also speaks passionately about climate change In 2016 when Baleilevuka was 18 years old Cyclone Winston hit her community in Fiji Thousands of people were killed listed as missing or left homeless Her mother’s village Nasau on Koro Island which was once a haven of beauty and peace was shattered the cyclone blew houses and people away Baleilevuka told her story at the United Nations UN climate talks in Poland in 2018 Young activists like Ubaldo and Baleilevuka often lead the fight for change They recognize that their lives will be impacted for years to come unless people act now 3
PRESERVING THE BEAUTY OF THE DESERT Minerva Hamilton Hoyt 1866 1945 Here is your country Cherish these natural wonders cherish the natural resources cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage for your children and your children’s children Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty its riches or its romance Theodore Roosevelt 26th US president 4 Today Joshua Tree National Park in southern California is a beloved and protected area But in the late 1800s many people didn’t appreciate the unique beauty of the desert That is they didn’t until the 1890s when Minerva Hamilton Hoyt came along Born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi Hoyt later moved to California with her husband As she traveled west by train she was awed by the rugged beauty of the desert Soon she began riding her horse through the desert and camping with her maid among the cactuses and Joshua trees When her husband died visiting the desert comforted her in her grief She was determined to protect the land she loved
Hoyt was wealthy and knew important people Still getting politicians and businessmen to support her cause was a challenge She had to convince them the desert was not a wasteland but a special place How do you do that Hoyt organized elaborate exhibitions of desert plants in places like New York and London England Just as she’d hoped visitors were amazed and impressed but she still needed to do more to protect the area now known as Joshua Tree Hoyt hired Stephen Willard a famous landscape photographer to take photos of the desert She sent two albums of those photos to then president Franklin Roosevelt Her plan worked In 1936 Roosevelt signed Proclamation 2193 establishing establishing Joshua Tree National Monument In 1994 Joshua Tree became a national park Minerva Hamilton Hoyt loved the desert She wanted to share its beautiful landscape with others and worked tirelessly to make Joshua Tree a national park TAKE ACTION THE ROOSEVELTS CARE Franklin Delano Roosevelt the 32nd president of the United States became a leader in conservation early in his life and political career He planted trees on his family’s Hyde Park estate As governor of New York State he supported planting trees on abandoned farmlands and as president he created the Civilian Conservation Corps The corps hired unemployed men during the Depression to stop soil erosion and plant trees But he wasn’t the only Roosevelt active in saving natural places Twenty years earlier in 1906 his cousin Theodore Roosevelt the 26th president of the United States created the National Park Service establishing 150 national forests 51 bird reserves 4 national game preserves 5 national parks and 18 national monuments
