Trenton, NJ – Elementary,
middle and high school students hailing from across the state stood with their parents,
teachers and state legislators today to receive awards for the best submissions
in Environment New Jersey’s first-ever Earth Day Essay Contest. Students wrote essays about "Why We Need
to Stop Global Warming" and were encouraged to include their opinions
about how elected leaders can help solve the problem.
“Our children and grandchildren will shoulder the
burden of global warming if we do not take urgent steps to cut our pollution,”
said Suzanne Leta Liou, Global Warming and Clean Energy Advocate for
Environment New Jersey. “It’s time we
stop speaking in kids’ stead.”
The students engaged in a lively dialogue with
legislative co-sponsors of the Global Warming Response Act (A3301/S2114), who
attended the event to congratulate the contest winners. The act requires mandatory, science-based
reductions of the state’s global warming pollution. With dozens of co-sponsors in both houses,
the bill is quickly building widespread support. The Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities
Committee and the Senate Environment Committee are expected to hear the bill in
May.
“It's up to the
local community to encourage our state leaders to adopt environmental-friendly
programs that curb global warming. By doing this, I have no doubt that New Jersey can create an
influential message to fellow states,” said Taylor Van Nest, a senior from
Brigantine who won the High School Category.
More than 150 students participated in the essay
contest, and teachers from Ventnor, Kendall
Park and Ocean City
required their students to make submissions as part of a class assignment. Students wrote passionately about the problem
of global warming, telling stories of a dramatically altered world in the near
future. They were also overwhelmingly
optimistic about solutions, citing the need for everything from solar and wind
energy, to hybrid cars and compact fluorescent light bulbs.
“I want people to be aware of the possible effects of
global warming. Each of us could take part in the solution by conserving
and using renewable energy,” said Christina Chiu, the 8th grade
winner of the Middle School Category from East Brunswick.
Contest winners read excerpts of their essays and were
filmed for a video posting on Environment New Jersey’s website.
Environment New Jersey
will work with the contest winners to submit their essays to their local daily
and weekly newspapers for consideration for publication.
“We
have created global warming, and we can stop it,” said Haley Uustal, a 5th
grader from Morristown
who won the Elementary School Category. “Whether it is a huge change or
a minor contribution, we can all make a difference. We need to act now!”
Essay Contest Winners
Elementary School
1st Place:
Haley Uustal, 5th grade, Morristown
2nd Place: Kiera Whalen, 5th grade, Upper Montclair
3rd Place: Gurcharan Singh, 4th grade, Elizabeth
Honorable Mention: Liam
Walker, Kindergarten, Metuchen
Honorable Mention: Emily
Kruger Rosenzweig, 5th grade, Millburn
Honorable Mention: Shreya
Varadacha, 2nd grade, Kendall
Park
Honorable Mention: Olivia
Pawling, 5th grade, Ocean
City
Honorable Mention: Aditya
Srivatsan, 4th grade, Morris
Plains
Middle School
1st Place: Christina Chiu, 8th grade, East Brunswick
2nd Place: Samaa Elbery, 7th grade, Newark
3rd Place: Pria Mahadevan, 8th grade, Princeton
Honorable Mention: James
Weldon, 7th grade, Summit
Honorable Mention: Toby
Kraft, 8th grade, Bridgewater
Honorable Mention: Delphine
Slotten, 8th grade, Mendham
Honorable Mention: Andrew
Morrison, 8th grade, Summit
Honorable Mention: Chelsea
Mealo, 7th grade, Ventnor
High School
1st Place: Taylor Van Nest, 12th grade, Brigantine
2nd Place: Megan Walsh, 9th grade, Linwood
3rd Place: Jacob Reisser, 9th grade, Lambertville
Honorable Mention: Marianne
Slotten, 12th grade, Mendham
Honorable Mention: Rampreet
Singh, 9th grade, Elizabeth
Earth-Day-Contest-Winning-Essays.doc