Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth
4 FOREWORD Dear Rebels Growing up in Morelos Mexico just south of Mexico City I couldn't always get to the sea But I was fascinated by it I loved to flip through my brother's copy of a book by legendary explorer and photographer Jacques Cousteau The undersea pictures were amazing I wanted to dive into them and glide through the water with a pod of dolphins I wanted to see towering forests of kelp or enormous blue whales with my own eyes I didn't have words for it at the time but I felt it deeply those photos had power I got a degree in marine science and for my first adult job I cataloged wildlife in a beach town called Akumal At night I watched sea turtles scoot out of the sea and lay their eggs in shallow little nests on the beach But in the morning seagulls and raccoons would come along and eat the eggs I was incredibly sad for the sea turtles They are so important for our ecosystem So I did what I could I moved the eggs at night to keep them safe Years later I became a photographer for National Geographic magazine and then struck out on my own eventually forming the International League of Conservation Photographers SeaLegacy and Only One For many years now I've used my camera to tell stories about the oceans and the animals and plants that live underwater If I can capture people's attention then they can learn that the oceans hold the secrets to healing the planet I know images can help persuade people about the urgent need to protect wild places That's why Paul Nicklen and I founded SeaLegacy an organization that brings together the world's top photographers filmmakers conservationists and scientists to use visual storytelling to excite and engage people in ocean conservation Today I am the cofounder and president of SeaLegacy and Only One But you don't need to be a scientist or the president of an organization to help You can use your talents as a writer singer or storyteller to spread the word and join the fight against human-made pollution and climate change
The Rebel Girls in this book are doing just that and in wildly different ways Julia Butterfly Hill lived in a giant redwood tree for more than two years to keep loggers from cutting it down Nemonte Nenquimo sued the Ecuadorian government to protect land that belonged to the Waorani people from being auctioned off for oil exploration And Angelina Arora made a plastic alternative using shrimp shells Saving the planet is an enormous task but no single person has to tackle it alone or all at once When you see something that needs to change do what you can to change it In Southampton England Ella and Caitlin McEwan were upset that the plastic toys given out by fast food restaurants ended up in landfills or washed out to sea So they started a petition that convinced companies to change their policies For Esohe Ozigbo it was the trash piling up in the streets and clogging up streams in her neighborhood in Lagos Nigeria that spurred her to action No matter where you live or what your interests are there is something you can do to help make the world a greener healthier place for us all So whether you are 9 years old or 90 whether you live by the sea or have never touched it know that you can make a difference Do not lose hope Even though an action may feel small at first remember that small actions can add up to meaningful change We need an army of dreamers doers and storytellers We need Rebels Please join us Cristina Mittermeier SeaLegacy Only One 5
6 ANGELINA ARORA INVENTOR One day Angelina was at the supermarket when the cashier asked her to pay for a plastic bag The cashier explained that plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose in landfills and that plastic bags often end up in the ocean So Australia had passed laws to help reduce plastic waste When it came time to do her ninth grade science project Angelina thought about what the cashier had said What if I could develop a more natural plastic a bioplastic that didn't harm the Earth she thought Angelina experimented with cornstarch potato starch and even old banana peels Nothing worked Then she went out for fish and chips and had a wild idea Looking down at a pile of shrimp shells tossed in the trash she noticed something The shiny almost see-through shells looked a lot like plastic What are they made of she wondered She soon learned that shrimp shells contain a material called chitin Some scientists were already using chitin to make bioplastics because it's sturdy and doesn't dissolve in water Plus there's a lot of it Australia produces 75,000 tons of seafood waste every year With so much material at hand it seemed silly not to make plastic out of shrimp After a lot of trial and error Angelina cooked up a recipe that combined chitin and a chemical found in silkworm cocoons Her bioplastic is unusually good It's strong flexible and foldable While most plastic takes 400 years to break down Angelina's takes just 33 days And it doesn't release harmful chemicals into the environment When Angelina's plastic breaks down in dirt it gives off a chemical that actually helps plants grow BIRTHDATE UNKNOWN AUSTRALIA
it Do ILLUSTRATION BY KARYN LEE PLEASE JOIN ME IN MY JOURNEYAN PAVING THE WAY TOWARD A GREENER FUTURE BELIEVE ME WE CAN -ANGELINA ARORA
