2008 Olympics Information

Essay Contest

How I see future generations of Americans and Chinese working together for the environment."

I can see Americans and Chinese people working together by having Environmental Specialists from each country to go to the other country to help.  They can have discussions about what small steps can be taken such as giving more money and cutting down the number of coal factories to make the air cleaner.  Perhaps kids from each country could gather in a water area and clean it up together.  Kids and Environmental Specialists could meet and talk about new ways to help the air.  Volunteer kids could clean up sites that have been destroyed so the glass, shingles, titles, and other discarded junk don't cause a problem.  Television programs could encourage kids to use paper that has been used over and over again.  That's what I can see.

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I am Hannah Chang Lee, age 7, from Maryland.

I like trees because not only they look pretty with their flowers, but also the trees have big roots to stop avalanches. Not only that, but also they provide oxygen for us to breathe. So before you cut down a tree, think hard. Children of America and China can help to tell everyone not to cut down trees and to plant them instead. For example, don’t just get a new piece of paper that is blank on both sides when you just want to draw something or do some math. You should start a scratch paper box and put in any paper that you don’t need and has writing only on one side or only on part of the paper. You can still write on the blank spaces. You can tell all your friends to do this, then we use less paper and cut less trees. In the U. S. we have Earth Day when many of us go out to plant trees. China has a tree day too. Children of US and China can talk to each other about planting trees and other plants.

Both U.S. and China have animals that are in danger of extinction. Children of each country can learn about the animals in danger in their own and the other country. For example, pandas are Chinese animals in danger of extinction. Bald eagles are American birds in danger. Children of both countries should learn about them and ways to keep them safe. Then they can teach their friends, teachers and relatives. Children of America and China can work together to make our world a BETTER WORLD!

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By Lydia Lee, 5 years old.

The children in China and America should not smoke, hurt animals or be a litterbug. If they litter then in the summer everything will look pretty except the ground because people threw cigarettes and bad stuff. They should not hurt animals because the animals will be angry at them and the animals will die.

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"How I see future generations of Americans and Chinese working together for the environment." 

Every country has something to tell another country.

For example, in America we use way too much oil, but in China they use less oil. Lots of Chinese kids use bicycles and not as many parents have cars. As for America, you don’t see bike lanes and people biking to work – just plain old roads with very few people riding their bikes. This saves oil, plus it gives you exercise. So Chinese kids can tell American kids how make it easier to use bikes.

Chinese people use way too much coal. There is smoke all over the place. For example, in Beijing, you don’t usually see blue sky. They never stop – it just makes it more and more polluted. And people throw their garbage in the water. In the United States, people are starting use recycling so that the trash doesn’t go into ponds, lakes, or the ocean. They also try not to have too much pollution from their factories by using scrubbers to clean the smoke out so the sky isn’t black all the time. So American kids can show Chinese kids about factories in America and teach them how to clean the smoke. And also American kids can show them how to make recycling bins instead of just dumping garbage into the water.

I think it’s important that kids from both countries get to learn about each other more. Americans can learn about how we use the environment, and what we do badly, and if China does that thing better, then China can help America develop a way to solve the problem. And then if Americans have something that they do better than China, than they can help Chinese solve their problems.

Together we can help each other solve our problems instead of just trying to figure it out ourselves.

Rachel Lambert

Second Grade - Western Academy of Beijing

Age 7