Even
with their eyes
closed, the Better World Kids could tell
by that wonderful
sensation they were
quite used to by
now, that they had
just been transported
through the hyperlink
Ahmed had pressed.
So, it's only natural
that when they opened
their eyes, they
expected to be on
the other side of
the EcoGate. But
unfortunately, they
were still standing
in front of it.
There WAS something
different, however.
There were three
doorbells lined
up on the door.
As the kids moved
closer, they saw
that there was writing
under each one.
They didn't need
the magnifying glass
to read the words.
Under the first
doorbell was the
name, "Jacques Cousteau."
Under the second,
"Rachel Carson."
And under the last,
"Jane Goodall."
The Better World Kids
felt certain that
they were supposed
to press the bell
with the correct
answer. But what
was the question?
Sunanda stepped
back from the door
to try to think
by herself a moment.
Then she noticed
the plaque above
the door. She could
now easily see that
it had a question
on it. "Whose 1962
book, Silent
Spring, helped
to popularize the
environmental movement?"
she read.
The Better World Kids
looked back at Sunanda
and realized what
she had discovered.
Ahmed hesitated
only a moment, then
was about to start
tapping on his computer
to research the
answer.
"Wait,
Ahmed!" Ling gasped
as she saw what
he was about to
do. "We don't want
to risk being transported
somewhere else if
you type in another
hyperlink…" Ahmed
stopped himself
just in time.
"That's
okay. I know the
answer to this,"
Michiko laughed.
"This book is on
my reading list
in Science class
this year. I haven't
read it yet, but
I remember the author.
It's Rachel Carson!"
she said and she
reached up to press
the second bell.
"Wait,
we should talk about
it first!" Sunanda
gasped, not sure
if Michiko was pressing
the correct bell.
But Michiko was
right, and the bell
chimed it so in
a pleasant voice.
Unfortunately, the
Gate didn't open.
Instead, a new question
appeared above the
door and instead
of 3 bells, there
were now 5 bells
with answers beneath
them.
The
children were a
little surprised
to have heard the
chiming-voice, but
the new question-placard
grabbed their attention.
"What are the 3
R's for the Environment?"
the kids read.
"That's
easy!" José exclaimed
without missing
a beat. "Reading,
Righting, and Rithmitic!"
he spurted out.
"No
way, José!" the
kids groaned. It
seemed they said
that a lot during
their Better World Team meetings, because
José was quite a
jokester.
"Uh,
guys, the first
bell has that written
under it!" Jamal
pointed out.
"Yeah,
well the second
has 'rivers, rainbows
and rhinoceroses
…" Erin said, shaking
her head. "They're
all really cool
things, but I'm
pretty sure that's
not the answer either!"
"How
about, research,
rescue and regulate?"
Ling offered after
reading the label
under the third
bell.
Sounded
good, but no one
thought it was the
answer they were
looking for. The
kids shook their
heads and peered
at the next label
down the line. "Responsibility,
recreation, relaxation…"
No.
"Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle."
Of
course that was
the right answer,
and they all reached
forward to press
it. Lots of fingers
piled on top of
each other.
"Alright
already," the bell
chimed, annoyedly.
Suddenly, a few
more bells popped
up under the others,
until there were
10 of them.
The
kids saw the question
had changed, too.
They were starting
to get a little
frustrated. This
was kind of fun,
but how many questions
were they going
to have to answer?
"In
what year did leaders
from all over the
world gather in
Kyoto, Japan to
discuss the problem
of global climate
change?" the children
read together.
Then they looked
down under the doorbells.
"1452, 1784, 1899,
1920, 1965, 1989,
1997, 2000, 2001,
2012."
"Oh,
I know this one!"
Maya exclaimed.
"Grandfather went
to that conference
for the non-governmental
organization he
works for, the year
my sister was born.
Let's see, she's,
um…"
"Right,
Erin exclaimed.
"I know about that.
Most of the nations
of the world agreed
to the Kyoto Protocol.
It set out specific
ways to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions…"
"Why
don't they like
greenhouses? Isn't
that how we get
beautiful flowers
in the wintertime!"
José piped
in with a smile.
All
the kids turned
towards him and
rolled their eyes,
thinking about how
to explain to him
what greenhouse
gases were.
"I'm just kidding.
I know what they
are! They're gases
like carbon dioxide
that are released
when fossil fuels
like coal and oil
are burned to run
cars and heat our
homes. They trap
heat in the atmosphere,
which is a good
thing, except when
there's too much.
Which there is now,
and it's causing
the earth's temperature
to rise… which is
causing a change
in climates all
around the world."
The kids were impressed.
He really did know
a lot about it.
But then, they should
have expected it
from him by now.
José is always
a big jokester,
but he is definitely
really smart!
"1997!"
Maya exclaimed suddenly.
"I forgot her birthday
for a second. But
that's the year
Grandfather went
to Japan for the
UN conference. 1997.
That's the answer!"
Maya
pointed at the bell
above the answer
she chose.
"Are
you sure?" the other
Better World Kids exclaimed.
"Absolute… well,
pretty sure," Maya
said, now starting
to doubt herself
a little. "No I'm
sure!" she giggled.
"Okay,
go for it!" the
Better World Kids agreed.
Hesitantly,
Maya pressed the
buzzer. "Great
job!" the bell
chimed. Suddenly
all the buzzers
disappeared. A single
line of writing
appeared on the
door. It was another
website address.
"www.EcoTreasureMap.com/maze.htm"
the children read
together. They paused
a moment, took a
deep breath and
gave Ahmed a nod.
He smiled and confidently
typed the new web
address onto his
laptop.
