Editor’s note: These three guest opinions are part of a series from Crest View Elementary School 5th graders. Each piece was submitted with permission from the author’s parents.

Can you imagine a world of just green electricity and no fossil fuels? You might think, “That’s in the future!” but I say that we should make the future better!

According to Pebble Go, fossil fuels are nonrenewable. That means that fossil fuels (oil, gases, coals and others) can not be used over and over again like green electricity can and they take millions of years to make.

This causes bad things to happen to animals, humans, and the environment like oil spills, pollution and global warming. And all of this is caused by humans, so I think we should fight back to save our Earth by using green electricity instead.

What are fossil fuels anyway? Fossil fuels are the things that mostly power your lights, phones and everything else that uses electricity. Oils are very very old dead animals that have been on the Earth for 359 to 299 million years, according to the article, “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels.” Then we just waste it on random things that we don’t need all the time. Oil is also found under the ground so a machine has to pull it out.

There are also other nonrenewable fuels. Gases are very similar to oils.

Some of these fuels create greenhouse gases. This gas is the gas that causes the most pollution to the Earth and that’s what you see coming out of a factory.

To me, when I walk by a factory I get a feeling of sadness because I think of all the animals and people that are struggling because of fossil fuels.

Coal is a rock that lots of miners try to find and it’s used a lot like oil. And coal is also a lot like oil because it is a very old dead animal. There are also other types of fossil fuels like peat, coke, oil shale, and tar, but oil shale and tar are very expensive so it’s not your typical fossil fuel to use. Peat and coke are solids like coal, but the reason people don’t use these very often is because they make a lot of smoke but little heat. So I say don’t trust fossil fuels!

Fossil fuels also cause the environment some not-so-good things. Burning some fossil fuels can make this thing called smog in the air.

Smog makes it harder to breathe for humans and animals. Others can cause carbon dioxide, this chemical builds up over the years, and causes climate change. Climate change is a hazard to animals and the environment. Like animal extinction, global warming, or habitat loss for animals and people. One way to stop this is to use green electricity. Green electricity does not cause smog or climate change and you can get it from natural resources like water, wind and the sun. And I think that’s the right way. People make water mills for water, wind turbines for wind, and solar panels for the sun.

In conclusion, fossil fuels are causing environmental dangers like oil spills, pollution and climate change. And it is important to at least think about how you might be hurting your own environment, and to stop this from happening I encourage you to use green electricity instead of using fossil fuels.

Etta Smith is a 5th grader at Crest View who loves being creative, laughing with friends and going to new places.