Since I’ve attended Pace University, I’ve never seen anyone famous. Most of my friends can say they’ve run into a famous model or actor and all I can think about is why it never happens to me! However, that all changed on March 10th as I was waiting for my train at Penn Station.
I decided to grab a slice of delicious, warm pizza and sit down and eat while I waited for my train. After a few minutes, an older man approached me and asked if he could sit with me; I happily obliged. As we chatted, he asked if I was on a lunch break or just catching a train; I followed up my answer with asking him the same question. He had just given a conference at a university and was headed back to Washington D.C., when I asked what the conference was about, I was surprised by his answer…environmental action and climate change. As we continued to chat, he asked if I was interested in hearing some statistics and in that way, our conversation developed. I found out that he has written 53 books and he even showed me his latest along with some statistics about our climate; I was amazed. As our conversation was coming to an end, he asked if I was still in school and I told him I was a student at Pace University in Lower Manhattan. He smiled and told me that Pace is a good school and they often use his books in class. I finally asked for his name, the man I had met was Lester R. Brown. We said goodbye and he told me I could look him up on Google and I was absolutely going to.
After he left, I waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone. When the coast was clear, I immediately grabbed my phone and googled him and as the world would have it, I realized this man was telling me the truth. Lester R. Brown is an American environmental analyst and founder/former president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington D.C. His major work concerns environment issues and food scarcity.
We should all think about what are we doing in regards to the repercussions to our environment. Are we being kind to our Earth, or simply abusing, wasting and exhausting all of its resources? We should all try to find ways to help our environment like joining an organization or donating money (if getting your hands dirty isn’t your thing)! You can do anything to help Mother Earth, big or small, the point is to create positive change and encourage others to do so as well.