A Look Back: Severn Suzuki speaking at the UN Earth Summit 1992

This video clip really hit me in the heart. It tapped into that same feeling that has driven me to help create this website and to do the work that I continue to do. I just think about the plain simplicity of her words, and how convoluted our politics and media have become today. Imagine any of our political candidates speaking with such simple truth and passion. Imagine any of the daily media we digest each day tapping into the real, every-day truth of things. The intellectual consciousness of our mainstream media has become so dumbed down and stripped of any moral honesty, digesting media like this is like eating organic fruit grown from your neighbor after living on a diet of fast-food Big Macs and Ramen noodles for four years. Ahhh, but I digress... Below is a little more back story on this video. - Tim


Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been camping and hiking all her life. When she was 9 she started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in many projects before 1992, when they raised enough money to go to the UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Their aim was to remind the decision-makers of who their actions or inactions would ultimately affect. The goal was reached when 12 yr old Severn closed a Plenary Session with a powerful speech that received a standing ovation.