As Molly Robbins sat in class, she was very bored. It was algebra class, but instead of learning about quadratic equations, Mr. Gibson; who was a sixty year old ex-hippie that liked to relive his younger days of the 70’s, was telling the class that Earth Day was approaching. He was telling the class that it was the responsibility of every person on the planet, to save the Earth’s natural resources, and to take care of the planet.
“I’m only thirteen,” thought Molly. “There’s still plenty of time to save the planet, when I grow up and become an adult.”
Mr. Gibson told the class that he would give extra credit to everyone who wrote an essay about the importance of protecting the environment. He added, that the best essay would be submitted to the local newspaper as an entry in a citywide contest. The winning essay would be published in the newspaper the Sunday before Earth Day.
As Molly walked out of the classroom, one of her friends asked her if she was going to write an essay. “Why should I?” Molly asked. “I have an A in this class and I don’t need the extra credit, and why should I care about the stupid environment. It is going to be a few centuries before the planet is in serious trouble, and by then, I will be long gone. Let someone else worry about the stupid environment.”
That night, while Molly slept, she had a very powerful dream. In the dream, she was walking down a dirt road. After a while, she came to a fork in the road. She decided to take the left turn in the road. She kept walking. Before long, she began noticing that the landscape was changing. The sky became dark, but not like the night sky. The sky was dark because of layers of soot and smog that blocked the sun’s rays. Soon, Molly came to a beach, near a body of water. There were dead fish lying on the beach, as well as many sick birds coated with black oil.
The landscape changed again, and Molly found herself on what appeared to be the African Plains. She saw the dead carcasses of African Elephants, with their tusked chopped off. Then, she passed through a rain forest, where many trees had been cut down. She saw very few animals, and she did not hear any birds singing.