Editor,

Our first Plant for the Planet: Whidbey Academy, held Saturday, March 28 was a great success. We certified 15 climate justice ambassadors, who join 300 in the United States and 340,000 worldwide.

The children had an exciting day. They learned about the climate/ocean crisis, climate justice, how to speak in public, provide positive feedback to their peers and work together. The weather was wonderful.

We planted 11 Garry oaks in the luscious, dark chocolate earth, found lots of worms, a gorgeous garter snake, bones of a deer and met and petted the resident baby goats. We even celebrated a birthday.

We now have the nucleus for a club and will meet monthly to strategize how best to get our message to the community and for another academy in the fall.

The goals of PFTP are to:

n Certify 1 million ambassadors

n Plant 1 trillion trees

n Keep fossil fuels in the ground

n Promote global justice and equality

Why so many trees? Trees absorb CO2. Scientists at NASA have determined this is the number of trees needed to stabilize the climate.

We must also decrease CO2 pollution by 6 percent per year. Economists agree that the best way to do that is to tax polluters, i.e. the coal, oil and natural gas industries and provide that money to people so they can make wise choices.

So, let’s all “stop talking and start planting!” and get our legislators to pass a carbon tax like those that make the economies of Germany and British Columbia so strong.

Gary Piazzon

Coupeville