Happy Earth Day and Week of the Young Child!

On Monday night our very own Asil Ali Özdoğru, PhD, Evaluation Specialist here at the Early Care & Learning Council gave the keynote address at the 5th Annual Turkish National Day Reception to celebrate the 92nd National Sovereignty and Children's Day of Turkey. Asil's speech, "Children of the Earth" focused on the earth, her children and what we can do to care for both. Asil is the former president of the Turkish Student Association at SUNY Albany where he received his PhD in educational psychology. Read Asil’s address below:

Yesterday was the 42^nd annual earth day in the United States and the 4^th annual international mother earth day. It is sympathetically called the mother earth as it is the land that we live on, the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and use, the fauna and flora that we eat and use. The planet earth is our home in this vast space that provides the perfect living conditions for us. We don’t know any other planet that can sustain life even in our tiny solar system. However, we are not very kind to our mother.

First of all, as the children of this planet, we keep growing in numbers.

 Just last month, we reached 7 billion people and another 2 billion people are projected to join us in the next 40 years. We all need quality air, water, food, housing, transportation, and more like iPhones J We expect earth to provide it. In just the thirty years between the first earth day in 1970 and the turn of the millennium in 2000, we increased the oil that we drew from the earth by 70%, natural gas extraction by 179%, and global vehicle population by 197%. We also increased our carbon emissions by 64%. Our aggressive demand is deteriorating the planet. For example, whether you call it climate change or global warming, it is taking place.

 Earth's average surface temperature has increased by 1.4 °F since the early 20th century. Last month was the hottest March on record in the United States. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events around the world such as heat waves, extreme allergies, winter weather, drought, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. Remember the Hurricane Irene last fall in our region?

However, it is not our sheer numbers that is the problem. It is the way that we interact with the physical world around us. Our inefficient use and unequal share of our natural resources leading us to a dim future.

Our oceans, lakes, and rivers suffer from our pollution and overfishing. A third of humanity lives in poverty deprived from the many resources that we take granted in this part of the world. Are you feeling guilty? I did, especially after seeing the documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth and the Food, Inc. Do we want to exterminate our own species? Is that the kind of a world that we want to leave for our children and the next generations? I would say no.

Now let’s look at our first issue, the children.

Since today is Turkey’s international children’s day and this week is the Week of Young Child in the United States, it will be appropriate to look at the conditions of children in our planet.

Our designated charity for today’s event UNICEF publishes an annual report called The state of the world’s children. You can read it online for more details, but I would like to give you some highlights from the 2012 report.

Nearly half of the world's children live in urban areas and urban population growth is greater in less developed regions. Urban populations are growing fastest in Asia and Africa. In urban areas, access to improved water and sanitation is not keeping pace with the population growth. HIV is more common in urban areas. There is a great rate of income inequality in urban areas. Poverty is the single greatest threat to children’s well-being. Children of the urban poor are more likely to be undernourished.

Odds of survival for children under the age of 5 in urban areas decreases with poverty. Urban income disparities also mean unequal access to water. School attendance is lower in poor communities.

And don’t think that poverty is an issue in other parts of the world. Here at home in the United States, nearly 15 million children, which is 21% of all children, live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is 22 thousand dollars a year for a family of four. Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Using this standard, 42% of children live in low-income families. The percentage of children living in low-income families has been on the rise.

Percentage of children in low-income families is higher in younger ages. And sadly, during those early years we can make the biggest difference.

As this graph shows, most of the brain development related to sensation, language, and cognitive development takes place within the first three years of human life. Research tells us that for every $1 invested in high-quality early care and education, our communities save between $4 and $17 in future costs of remedial and special education, the juvenile crime system, and welfare support.

If these numbers make you dizzy, here is a look at the cold reality of the child poverty

After participating in today’s celebrations in Turkey, 12-year-old Süleyman, as you see in this photograph taken today, pulls his cart that is bigger than himself to collect used paper products to contribute to his family’s income. Süleyman is not alone. Child labor is wide spread in poor communities around the world. Children in developing countries spend more time in paid labor and less time in free play than those in developed countries.

After all these bad news, here is the good one. We can change this all, if we want. As the hope-filled message of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign put it, “yes we can.” We can heal the earth and improve the conditions of our children. How? Simple. With our individual and collective actions. By taking small steps in our lives and supporting organizations fighting for the good cause. We can be the change and change the world around us.

You can find better and more creative ways to do so but here are few ways that I can suggest. For example, individually we can do the 3 Rs: Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Reduce the amount and toxicity of trash we throw away. Reuse containers and products. Recycle as much as possible and buy products with recycled content. We can prefer and invest in sustainable and renewable energy sources and technologies designed to improve energy efficiency such as hydroelectricity, solar and wind energy, wave power, and geothermal energy. We can volunteer for causes that help children and the environment. Our support for those initiatives makes a big difference. Don’t even think that one dollar that we donate to a certain charity or one hour we volunteer for an organization will not make a big difference. We, collectively, make a huge difference. And there are plenty of organizations working towards these causes at every level: Locally, statewide, like my agency, nationally, and internationally, like UNICEF. If you can’t find one, let me know and I will direct you to one. :)

That’s all I got to say. You may have not heard anything new or creative from me tonight but I hope I might have ignited even a tiny flare in your conscience at least to make you think about these global as well as local issues that we are facing all.

We, the children of the earth, have the power to solve the problems of our children and our earth.

Thank you. Teşekkürler.

aozdogru@earlycareandlearning.org