STEP #47

Turn Your Teen Green

Today’s teenagers will be our future leaders sooner than we want to believe! Getting our young adults into the green scene could be considered part ofour parental duties, as educating our kids about environmental issues and demonstrating by example how to be a good green citizen can really have an impact on the future.

Including your teen in being green whenever possible— recycling, reusing and reducing—encourages them to discover their inner green, and just might spark a fire that could ignite a movement. All across the country, teens are getting involved in their world as their awareness grows and they feel moved to make a difference.

Teens Turning Green is a great example. Declaring, “The next generation has the power to bring about change,” Teens Turning Green is a “national coalition of teens educating peers and community members about safe, healthy, and green lifestyle choices.”

They focus on issues affecting teens like chemical exposure in schools and safe cosmetics. Providing education about the issues, the site offers opportunities to actually get involved and advocate policy change to protect health and the planet. Go to TeensTurningGreen.org with your teen and talk about ways to get involved.

Teens are sharing green facts on Facebook and at conferences, like the 4th Annual Teens Turning Green National Summit in February 2009 at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, California. Teens gathered for two days of panels, workshops, planning and discussions with visionary leaders with the goal to “educate and inspire teens and give them the tools to start a Teens Turning Green chapter in their schools and communities as they aspire toward a greener lifestyle.”

Our kids are the hope of the world. Teach your teen about kicking our oil addiction. Share the steps. Take them together. The world will be a better, greener place when we all walk the path toward greener tomorrows.