A Speech to Save Environment — Summary & Analysis

Speaker: Severn Cullis-Suzuki

Genre: Speech (Non-fiction prose)

Curriculum: Class 6 | Roots and Wings | English Literature

About the Speaker

Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 1979) is a Canadian environmental activist who became famous worldwide when she delivered this speech at the age of twelve. She is the daughter of David Suzuki, a well-known Canadian scientist and environmentalist. Growing up in a family deeply concerned about nature and the environment, Severn developed a strong sense of responsibility towards the planet from a very young age.

She founded the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO) along with her friends when she was nine years old. The group was formed to educate other children about environmental issues and to show that even young people can work to make a difference. ECO raised money to attend the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.

Severn went on to study biology at Yale University and has continued her work as an environmental activist, author, and speaker throughout her life. She has written books on nature and sustainability and continues to speak at international forums about climate change and environmental protection.

This speech, delivered at the 1992 Earth Summit, made Severn known as "the girl who silenced the world for five minutes." It is included in the Class 6 Roots and Wings English Literature textbook because it teaches students about environmental responsibility and the power of speaking up for what you believe in.

Background and Context

This speech was delivered at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also called the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. The event brought together world leaders, government officials, scientists, business people, journalists, and activists from around the world to discuss solutions to global environmental problems.

By 1992, scientists had already raised serious alarms about issues like global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer, deforestation, extinction of species, and rising pollution. Despite these warnings, world governments were moving slowly. Severn and her ECO group travelled from Canada to Rio to speak directly to the delegates and demand real action.

What makes this speech unique is that it was delivered by a twelve-year-old girl, not a scientist or politician. She spoke from personal experience and with raw emotion. She did not offer technical solutions; instead, she challenged the adults in the room to look at the world through a child's eyes and to take responsibility for the damage being done to the planet.

The speech is a lesson in courage, clarity, and conviction. For students of Class 6, it also introduces important vocabulary and ideas about civic responsibility, global inequality, and the environment.

Speech Walkthrough

Part 1: Introduction and Purpose

Severn begins by introducing herself and her group:

> "Hello, I am Severn Suzuki, speaking for ECO, the Environmental Children's Organization."

She tells the audience that she and her friends are between twelve and thirteen years old. Their group includes Morgan, Tove, Michelle, and Severn herself. They have come from far away for one reason: to tell the adults in the room that things must change.

> "You adults, you must change your ways."

She says she has no personal agenda. She has not come to sell anything or to win an election. She has come to fight for her future. She makes a sharp comparison: losing her future is not like losing an election or losing some points in the stock market. It is something far more serious and permanent.

Part 2: Speaking for All Life on Earth

Severn says she is speaking not just for herself, but for all generations to come. She is also speaking on behalf of the starving children around the world and on behalf of the dying animals that have no place left to go.

She describes her own fears:

She talks about the plants and animals disappearing every day, forever. She says she grew up dreaming of seeing wild animals, jungles, rainforests, birds, and butterflies. But now she wonders: will her own children ever get to see these things?

She turns to the audience and asks: "Did you have to worry about these things when you were my age?"

Part 3: The Problem with Adult Thinking

Severn points out a dangerous way of thinking that adults have: they believe they have all the time in the world and all the solutions. But she argues this is false. The damage is happening right in front of everyone's eyes, yet people act as if it will all work out.

She admits she does not have all the answers either. But she points out something important: if adults do not know how to fix the damage, they should at least stop causing it.

> "If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it."

She lists things that adults cannot undo:

If these things cannot be undone, why keep doing them?

Part 4: One Human Family

Severn addresses the people in the conference room directly. Some are government delegates, some are businesspeople, some are reporters or politicians. She reminds all of them that they are part of one family: five billion humans and thirty million species, all living together on one planet. No border or government can change that fact.

She says she is just a child, but she knows that everyone is in this together and must act as one world, with one shared goal.

She also says she is not afraid to express how she feels. When she is angry, she says it. When she is scared, she says it too. She is not ashamed of her emotions.

Part 5: The Inequality of the World

Severn then talks about the problem of inequality between rich and poor countries. In her country, Canada, she has a comfortable life: good food, clean water, a home, bicycles, computers, television sets. She says if she were to list everything she owns, it would take two days.

But two days before giving the speech, she and her friends spent time with children living in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro. The contrast shocked her. One child asked a question that stayed with her: "Why is that one child so greedy?" The question was about children like Severn herself, who have so much while others have so little.

This moment made Severn think: it is a matter of chance where you are born. She could have been one of the children in the favelas of Rio. She could have been a starving child in Somalia. She could have been a victim of war in the Middle East. She could have been a beggar in India. The only difference is where she happened to be born.

She then makes a powerful point: if all the money spent on wars were redirected to solving environmental problems, ending poverty, and finding cures for disease, the Earth would become a much better place to live.

Part 6: What Children Are Taught vs. What Adults Do

Severn points to a contradiction that she cannot understand. In schools and kindergartens, children are taught:

These are the rules children live by. But then she asks: why do adults go out into the world and do exactly the opposite of what they tell children to do?

> "Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?"

Part 7: A Direct Challenge to the Adults

In the final section of her speech, Severn speaks directly to the delegates and reminds them of why they are at the conference. She tells them not to forget who they are doing this for. The answer is simple: they are doing it for their own children.

She says parents are supposed to comfort their children by telling them that everything will be all right, that this is not the end of the world, and that adults are doing their best. But she says adults can no longer make that promise because their actions do not support those words.

She asks one sharp question: "Are we even on your list of priorities?"

She closes by quoting her father: "You are what you do, not what you say." She says what adults are doing to the environment makes her cry at night. And she challenges every adult in the room:

> "You grown-ups say you love us. But I challenge you: please make your actions reflect your words."