Greetings and Talofa lava! My name is Iris Penitusi and I come from the small territory of American Samoa which is located south in the Pacific Ocean. I am currently a junior attending Samoana High School and AP Environment Science is actually the first class period I am taking.  The ambience of our territory is resilient with it’s environment that sustains our natural heritage and livelihoods in unity.  We are vulnerable to climate change as it has caused many environmental problems like the following: pollution, waste disposal (in our ocean),soil erosion, coastal and stream alterations, and a limited supply of drinking water.  One environmental act our EPA and other working departments do to both protect and clean our environment is by holding monthly trash clean-ups around the territory.  If we want a positive change in our environment, it all starts with ourselves.  I’ve been to Washington a number of times and I absolutely love it there although I’ve never really payed attention to the environmental changes at the time. I cannot wait to visit again and learn more about what your environment has to offer and the ways/ideas you’ve implemented to protect and nurture it. I also look forward to meeting new friends.
       Happy Earth Day once again!  ?

That's cool how you have monthly trash clean-ups, we don't do that in Washington but I wish we did.

We have something similar to the trash clean-ups at our school, we have a club that gets people outside, doing hikes and we do trash clean-ups while we hike keeping our forests and beaches cleaner than when we got there.

That’s pretty cool. Our school also has clubs that involve cleanups and because we’re right across the beach, we sometimes hold cleanups there. You’d be surprised on how much trash we’d find there considering that our territory is known for its alluring beaches. Because the world is on total lockdown, what are your feelings towards this pandemic and how is it affecting your environment?

The pandemic itself seems pretty bad because people are being harmed by it but I haven't really been hiking much since it started so I wouldn't know how the environment is being affected but I feel like it would help since less people are going out so not as much pollution is being spread because people are staying inside, but I could be wrong, its only hopes I got right now.

I've found that more people are aware of the environment in Washington than where I moved from, Michigan. In Michigan we didn't recycle trash, we just dumped it all together. In Washington there's 2 separate trash containers...regular trash and recyclables. Businesses are also charging for grocery bags to encourage using reusable bags.

@Marli At least the good news about it is that it has given more time for our Earth to heal. I feel that we should have lockdowns like this once in a while.
Hello JACervant! Maybe it’s a good idea to consider recycling as not only will it reduce the use of greenhouse gases, but it will also protect your natural resources. You’d be saving a lot of energy too. I find it commendable that you mentioned plastic bags because the businesses here in American Samoa still use them and I mean a bunch of them. Even though it was enforced to ban plastic bags a while back, it’s still being used.

My cousin started a business selling scarves and fun recyclable bags. I think it's the way of the future. I also think that our generation really needs to lead the change. We are good at following trends, but we should make saving the earth a major trend everyone should follow!

I totally agree! What kind of trends do you have in mind? Are you working on any projects that will help conserve your environment? I noticed that our younger generation have grown to be very creative when creating TikTok videos about anything. Maybe that could be a trend others would be interested in to follow. What do you think?