Youth Take the Lead on Environmental Sustainability

“It might seem like there isn’t much we, as teens, can do to fight the adverse effects of global warming, especially when public officials (who many of us aren’t old enough to vote for) continue to ignore or even deny climate change. But we have a voice, and we can use it” says Emory Paul, age 16 in an article 4 Ways Teen Can Address Climate Change and Save The Environment Right Now.

A poll from the United Kingdom revealed that 80% of teens feel pressure to save the planet, but they don’t feel equipped or know what to do.

“After generations of lawmakers, government officials and corporate leaders have all played a role in creating our current climate crisis and done almost nothing to correct it, I believe it’s up to today’s youth to save our planet,” says Paul.

Some youth are speaking out to create international awareness. Such as Isra Hirsi, 16 from Minneapolis, who is the executive director of Youth Climate Strike.

Others are starting with their local school to make a difference.

This summer Youth Be Heard had the chance to meet The Compost Crew at American University in Washington D.C. “We started this initially looking for a summer job. As we began our work we learned about the importance of composting and so much more. This has opened me up to becoming aware of the issues and caring about them” says Michey Tovar.

“Our main job is to reduce American University’s food waste, and we do that through a number of projects. Our main and biggest is giving American University’s food vendors compost bins where they prepare food or dispose of compostable materials. We then collect them, put them in a compactor where compost is then sent to a facility to be composted. We work on individual projects. Our main one is the compost bins but we are looking to spread awareness to composting and the ways we can use our food waste to not be so wasteful,” says Tovar.

What can be composted? Food scraps, paper napkins, coffee filters. Small things turn into big things.

American University is currently ranked top in the nation for sustainability efforts.

Lesly Baesens, recent American University graduate, writes that “Approximately 40 percent of food produced each year in the US is wasted, from farmers discarding part of their crops due to supermarket demand for aesthetically pleasing produce to consumer over-reliance on expiration dates. The resources and human labor necessary to grow, transport, and process food that will never be consumed have negative environmental, social, and economic repercussions. Notably, food rotting in landfills emits methane, a major contributor to climate change.” Her article, “10 ways to reduce food waste in Washington, DC” are ideas that can be used in your city too.

Do you have a project you’re working on or ideas you would like to share? Send in an article here or email us info@youthbeheard.org.