Most people suffer from "Just-me-ism". What is that? Well, say you leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, leave a light on when you go out or you drop a piece of litter on the ground. You know that all those things are wrong, but so what? You say to yourself. "There are millions of people in the world and I'm just me. How can it matter if I leave one little tap running, one little light on or leave a little piece of litter on the road? And anyway, no one will know."
Of course, it won't matter if there are just a few people in the world. But all the millions of people mayfollow suit. That will be very harmful to the environment.
To call on young people to take action for the environment. Roots & Shoots(根与芽) was set up in the early 1990s by Dr. Jane Goodall, a scientist who is the world's best-known expert on wild chimpanzees(黑猩猩).
The organization is called Roots & Shoots because roots move slowly under the ground to make a firm foundation(基础), and shoots seem small and weak, but they can break walls to reach the light. The roots and shoots are you, your friends and young people all around the world. Hundreds and thousands of roots and shoots can work together to solve the problems, change the world and make it a better place to live in.
