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Why should we care about the environment? Why should we do anything about it?
Each person will give you a different answer to those questions, but the young people of the world are the ones who will be most affected by the decisions that are being made now. We may not feel like we have any power over the decisions being made about the environment and society, but we do!
 The Road Ahead
Did you know that the United Nations has specifically identified 'youth' as a key group for being involved in the decisions of the future? The UN says that "it is imperative that youth from all parts of the world participate actively in all relevant levels of decision-making processes" and that youth “bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account" (United Nations Agenda 21).
There are many organisations that are dedicated to giving young people a voice on what they want their governments to do, especially in relation to the environment. In Australia for example, GetUp! and the Australian Youth Climate CoalitionWhat is sustainability?). have given power to young people and created real changes for environmental and social sustainability (click here to find out
Unfortunately, it may be awhile before changes at the government level will take effect. The good news is that there are easy ways you can make a real difference right now.
There are so many ways to live more sustainably simply by carefully choosing between the options you already have. The decisions you make will literally make a world of difference, and the more you do the bigger the difference. But no one can do everything, and no one can be entirely "green" so don't feel that it's too hard to try. Anything you can do is more than not doing anything and you'll find that once you start, the road to being green is easier than you think!
Making a few changes in your everyday choices will quickly generate rewards for yourself, the environment and society that will far outweigh the initial effort. There are easy changes you can make from what you buy, to what you do in the home and school.
For example:
- Turn off all lights, TVs, computers and other electronics when no one's using them - if you're not coming back within five minutes it doesn't need to be on! Appliances that aren't turned on will draw energy from the wall socket, so turn them all off at the wall. A computer will use nearly as much energy off as it does when you're using it if it's still plugged in (750kg greenhouse gases from standby power – that’s heavier than a grand-prix race car!) For more information, see Standby Saturday.
- Ride your bike to your friends house rather than someone drive you in the car - it's great exercise, gives you more independence and you'll produce less pollution.
- Buy a metal water bottle and refill it when you're out. It'll save you money, and did you know that producing a bottle of water uses three times as much water as it can hold? Not to mention the 17 million barrels of oil or the 2.5 million tons of CO2 resulting from plastic bottle production each year.
- Reducing waste is always the first goal, and with reusing being the next step and finally recycling when you can’t reuse any more.
- Change your default computer settings to be more environmentally friendly - set your default document settings to print double-sided, have narrower margins and re use your printer paper. You need only do it once and you’ll half the weight of paper you carry in your school bag!
- Ask what kind of environmental programs are at your school - can you think of a better one? Tell your favourite teachers your ideas and together you can create a "greener" school. And you'll get the credit! Check out more tips on how to green your school
- Don't be a litterbug - rubbish on the street ends up in our creeks and oceans to choke marine life. Do you want to be swimming next to someone else's waste? It's your rubbish, be responsible for it. If there's no bin, just put it in your pocket or bag until you find one.
- Start a worm farm - despite what mum says, it's not smelly, messy, or dirty! For information on how to start one, see the Greenspeak article on worm farming.
- These are just a few ideas - what are yours?
The most important sustainability tool? Your brain!
Greenspeak programs are inspired by the idea that if you experience something then you will care about it. If you care about something, then you will be interested in protecting it.
Think about your favourite animal: you probably know a lot more about them than about other animals. You probably heard some weird facts about them and that made you interested enough to learn more. Then the more you learned the interested you became!
Have you ever turned on the television, seen a documentary showing, and then changed the channel as quick as you could? Next time that happens, why not give the show a chance and watch it just for two minutes (you can time yourself). The natural world is an amazing place, and all animals are weird and wonderful creatures. Did you know that there is a species of sea slug called Nudibranchs that are brightly coloured, have gills on their backs like feathers and toxic to predators? Or that there are giant insects that have evolved to look exactly like sticks and leaves? Learn a little more about our natural world and impress your friends and family!
Remember, anything you can do is more than doing nothing. Small steps accelerate to giant leaps so have a think about what kind of world you'd like to grow up in, see what you can do to make it happen, and you will inspire other people around you to do the same.
References
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by Anthony "Ant" Richard
Central Bearded Dragons (like our favourite mascot 
