Kids Vs. Global Warming
There's a new prime time television series on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" which dwells on the depressing topic of kids growing up way too quickly in ways that can't be good for themselves or our future. How encouraging that here in Ventura, some American teenagers are taking responsibility for the future of our planet."Kids Vs. Global Warming" is a movement launched by some amazing middle school students at Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education. Wunderkind Alec Loorz, now 13, apparently started things off by putting together a Powerpoint on the perils of climate change, inspiring a growing cadre of classmates and their parents to crusade for local awareness and action. They quickly rallied around SLAP or "Sea Level Awareness Project." The idea is to erect poles that will show the alarming level of sea rise that scientists predict lie ahead if the planet continues to heat up. It's a way to dramatize that much of Ventura's coastal zone would be under water by the end of the century if current trends continue.
On Sunday, these energetic activists erected their first poles along Ventura's Promenade. Speeches, wrist bands, music and striking new t-shirts highlighted the event.
Loorz is off to El Camino High School in the fall, but his network of activists hopes to continue to spread to other campuses through educational outreach efforts. For more on the group and their ambitious effort to save the planet, check out their web site (and Alec's blog) at:
http://www.kids-vs-global-warming.com/
There is also an in-depth story by Zeke Barlow on the group that ran in the VC Star:
www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/27/teens-warning-on-global-warming-will-be-overhead/
If there is a "secret life" for teenagers, this is certainly a better alternative. Pass on the word . . . and maybe it won't be a secret anymore that some kids have better things to do than getting in trouble or going shopping.
posted by Rick Cole at
10:10 AM
4 Comments:
Hi, Rick. I don't know if you're aware that I'm blogging now. If not, I recently returned from a Sister Cities trip that included Finland, where the issue of global warming hit us right square in the jaw. http://pasadenapio.blogspot.com/2008/06/of-cell-phones-and-climate-change.html
Its great to see kids take action on climate change issues. They after all will inherit the mess that their parents generation created. We have refused to accept that we have a role in climate change and that we need to curb the growth in consumption to which we have gotten used.
The City of Ventura would do well to start integrating radical energy efficiency and low impact sustainable practices into its operations. Business as ususual isn't an option.
Rich, Today, there is a Letter to the Editor in the Star Free Press denouncing Carl Morehouse's suggestion to turn off street lights. Carl is right. While street light may be needed, there many lights that should be turned off. Why light parking lots, building exterior and interiors when there is no one around. There is readily available now, sensor technology that can turn on lights when someone approaches within 50 feet of a light. Put these lights on sensors! Also, buinesses in Ventura have lights on all the time. I wish the City could fine these buisinesses to make them turn off lights. They are causing greenhouse gas emissions and light pollution. This would raise money for the city, reduce waste, and help our environment. Please set the example, turn off the lights!
How about some intellectual honesty on the subject of "global warming", Rick ? They just discovered some 6500-year-old bodies buried in the middle of the Sahara Desert in conditions substantially cooler than present conditions there. Any comment ?
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