My name is Elizabeth Hood. I'm a seventeen year old senior at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland. I am a member of the Sierra Student Coalition, the largest student run environmental organization in the country with 25,000 members. As a student I recognize the effect the threat of war has on me, my peers and future generations, and I, like many other students across the nation, object to fighting a war for oil. I and many other students whom I have met have shown a great deal of passion and commitment by participating in rallies and organizing activism opportunities for students in their areas, we recognize the importance of this issue and refuse to sit back and allow a war to be fought in our name.

I remember a few weeks ago I invited a friend of mine to an anti-war rally. She declined my invitation saying that she didn't think that she could make a difference, because she was just a kid. She is just a kid and so am I, but after all it is just kids, my peers, that will be giving up their lives and fighting in a war for oil. It is me and my peers that will be faced with an unsustainable future dependent on oil. For these reasons I strongly believe that it is important to be involved in fighting against this war. It truly is my generation that will be hit the hardest by the consequences of war. I've always believed strongly in democratic ideals and I consider it a privilege to be an American citizen. Some people believe it's patriotic to die for your country in a war, I believe it's patriotic to make my voice heard when I oppose a war I feel is unjust. The amount of energy I have seen from other students on this issue-- the passion and dedication they exert in protesting against this war has been truly inspirational to me! It also reaffirms my belief that every young person can make a difference.

On the weekend of the anti-war rallies in Washington, on January 18-20, I had four very dedicated high school activists travel 24 hours round trip from Maine, on a hot, stuffy bus, to stay with me and partake in the anti-war activities that took place that weekend. I remember as we marched through the streets of Washington, we looked behind us and in front of us and we realized that we weren't the only ones that cared about these issues, In fact, we blended into a sea of people, many thousands of them high school and college students. I remember talking to one of my friends after that weekend, he told me how effected he had been by the weekend, by the dedication of the students, he said that it was just so reassuring for him to see people who didn't know each other, or who came from completely different backgrounds, different religions or races all coming together under a common cause. Today again people will be coming together for a common cause, across the nation and around the world, many of America's young people like me will be protesting at gas stations, recognizing the link between sustainable energy and energy security and demonstrating their objection to a war for oil. There are twenty high school actions that will be occurring across the nation today and dozens of college ones. Students are organized, they are passionate and energetic. We care about what happens in the world! After all, it really is our future.