Commentary: A message to the Class of 2017 — you can save the world

The last time I had the temerity to give you advice on your high school graduation night, I suggested — implored really — to be curious. That was last year.

A lot has happened in that one short year.

At some time during the next year, and I hope it is now, it is going to dawn on you that if you don’t put foolish things aside immediately — and I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say — that the world as you know it is going to come to a screeching halt for a multitude of reasons.

A lot has to be done.

It may surprise you to know that there are kids in your age range who have already had that heart-stopping moment when they realized it was up to them.

Nithin Tumma from Fort Gratiot Michigan is 22 and at 17 won recognition for discovering that doctors could slow the growth of cancer cells by suppressing certain proteins.

There’s Malala Yousafzai, of course, but there is also Julien Leitner, a Portland, Ore., teen who founded the Archimedes Alliance, which asked 1 million people to donate $2 for a worthy cause in a 100-second video describing the logic behind it. He quotes Archimedes, who said, “Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I can move the earth.”

These are but a few kids who are moving the earth. There are many more. Consider this: A group of teens in Massachusetts sued the state for failing to address climate change — and won! In April, a group of kids around your age in Oregon won a similar case.

Also, Washington state teens kicked in with the contention that their Constitutional rights are being violated by failure to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

I am sorry to remind you that we have serious problems — really serious. Climate change, poverty, racism, hunger and all the rest.

We, who should have done much better, probably want to tell you how sorry we are, but now it’s all on you. So, at graduation, have a great time. Do not drink, use drugs and drive. In fact fact, don’t drink or use drugs anyway because we need you. And after these next few days have strung together in celebration, get busy. There is no time to waste.

Oh, and here’s the other thing: do not be depressed. This may be the best time to be on Earth. Think about it, you have the chance to actually save the world.

SANDY ASPER lives in Newport Beach.