第48回 全国大会結果

大学の部 優勝
國枝 真衣(名古屋大学)

Seek for a Future That You Want

 Every day, we hear stories about environmental problems getting worse. We hear about how the sea level has risen, how another specie has gone extinct or how another chunk of rain forest has burned down. Why aren't environmental problems getting better- even though we all want them to? Why did environmental problems start happening in the first place?
 A man helped me realize it was because of our ignorance of the connection we share with the other living things. We must reconsider what it really means to live together with nature.
The man's name is Yasuki Funahashi. Everyone calls him Mr. Honey. He is an apiarist, a beekeeper, but is also known by his work that raises people's awareness on how honeybees are disappearing. He told me about honeybees and shared many of his experiences. Today, I would like to talk about two that left great impressions on me.
 The first story is about the words of Mr. Honey's coworker. A few years ago, Mr. Honey started working with a man from Paris. The man, like Mr. Honey, works to save honey bees. The man said to Mr. Honey, "I am honored and privileged to have become friends with someone from Japan. You are the Yamato Tribe. You respect nature." When I heard those words, I should have felt proud, but instead, I had felt ashamed. I found myself feeling that these days, the Yamato Tribe that I was a part of, was not as respectful as he thought.
 People in the past, not only the Yamato Tribe, used to have a sense of respect for nature. The connection with nature was easier to see then. We killed animals to eat. We picked plants to heal ourselves and eat. We took only what we needed to survive. These days, you can only see packages of meat and vegetables at supermarkets. You get your medicine at pharmacies, not really knowing what they are made of. As a result, we are not as considerate of nature and everything in it as we used to be.
 The second story is about the rapid disappearance of honey bees. Just how long do you think it will take for honey bees to go extinct? It is said that it will only take three years. Honeybees are disappearing because of CCD, or colony collapse disorder. One of the causes is said to be neonicotinoid that humans use on plants to prevent bugs from getting at them. This makes bees lose their sense of direction and unable to return to their hives. According to Achim Steiner, administrator of United Nations Development Programme, honey bees pollinate more than seventy percent of the plants that humans eat on earth. If honey bees die out, humans will also only four years after that. That means we only have seven years. When I heard this, it all became real. If humans were to change our ways, it was now or never.
 Using our intelligence, humans may be able to deal with environmental problems as they happen and adapt. However, as we try to solve these problems for ourselves, we unconsciously sacrifice the other living things. One by one, the earth will lose the beautiful nature that it has. Moreover, the mindsets of people appear in how we approach environmental problems. If we don't consider nature, it means we are not aware of all the connections we have with the other living things including humans. We will be selfish beings who couldn't care less about others. We will be a group of lonely individuals.
 When you hear the word nature, what do you think of? I think of an endless plain spreading out with flowers and grass swaying in the breeze. I think of luscious rainforests full of plants we have yet to discover and animals we have yet to meet. I think of massive mountains with their peaks covered in snow, hawks hunting for their food. Well, all of those will disappear if we continue to ignore our connection with nature. Our world will lose its color. I want a future with nature. I want a future with love and respect.
 What we need to do is to truly live together with nature. If we did, we would naturally be eco-friendly. Mr. Honey went to extreme lengths for his voice to be heard by others, but that is not what he expects everyone to do. He wants us to live as Honey-bee-man. Honey bee-men are people who live like honey bees. Honey bees give much more than they are given. They communicate with the living things around them. I'm starting to become a honey-bee-man. I belong to a student organization that arranges overseas internship programs. We have started to make a new internship program concerning honey bees. The intern that takes part in it will work with NPOs in Australia to raise people's awareness on how honey bees are disappearing and how we need to live together with nature. As a honey-bee-man, what you do does not necessarily need to concern honey bees. Being a honey-bee-man, the smallest everyday actions will change. The important thing is to be a honey-bee-man from the heart and actions will follow.
 Are you being a honey-bee-man? Can you be a honey-bee-man? Every action and every decision affects everything around us. Every one of us changes the world in a million imperceptible ways. We are all connected. Being a honey-bee-man is all about your heart. It is about showing respect for the earth, a place that we all love and share. It is about showing respect for yourself. It is about seeking for a future that you want. You decide your future.
 Thank you for listening.