Youth Action

Posted on May 7, 2012 by lathamsa

In last week’s post, we defined sustainable development as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” An integral part of any development plan is youth because they are that “future generation” that will need to be able to meet their own needs. But youth are not some distant group that will have to worry about resources later: they can be an active part of finding solutions today.

Watch this very short video by Philippe Cousteau, an ocean conservationist and founder of EarthEcho International, an environmental organization just for youth, about how incredibly important he thinks young people are in building “the sustainable future we all deserve.” Philippe is the Chief Spokesperson for the Yeosu World Expo, which will take place from May 12-August 12 in South Korea and feature pavilions built by many different countries. The theme of the U.S. Pavilion is The Living Ocean and Coast).

One group of young people dedicating themselves to the issues of sustainable development all over the world is SustainUS, “a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment.” Though they are located in the United States, the Sustain US youth “agents” attend sustainable development and other environmental conferences all over the world. Their website has more information on their projects and how to get involved. Don’t miss the most recent guest blog by a SustainUS Agent in Brazil about the role of youth in water negotiations.

Youth empowerment is not just the domain of organizations: governments have taken notice as well. The African Union declared in 2009 that the years of 2009-2019 would be the “decade of youth development” in Africa. Read the Youth Charter here. and check out the African Youth Forum 2011 website, which has the slogan “Prepare the Youth. Prepare Africa’s Future.” You can connect with other youth on their social media properties: Facebook and Twitter (@AYF2011). Even though the Forum was last year, there are active postings and discussions on these social media sites.

Do you agree that young people can make a difference now on issues of sustainability?

World Youth Declaration for Water

Posted on May 2, 2012 by lathamsa

March sure was a busy month for all those working on water issues. Between the World Water Forum and the World Water Day, for the first time ever, youth representatives from all over the world met in Marseilles, France to develop a World Youth Declaration for Water. The declaration seeks to focus the views of the youth, in the long term, to meet the challenges associated with water throughout the world. The representatives were divided by water-basins in order to tackle regional challenges and provide solutions accordingly.

As youth, we pledged our commitments to solve the challenges that are threatening the livelihoods of millions of people around the world and made an emphasis on water access, water governance and the efficient use of water. We also concurred with the water-related concerns raised in international accords such as the Dublin Principles, which specifically call for the implementation of water efficiency strategies and universal water access.

Olimar reading the Water Declaration to the Parliament at the World Water Forum in Marseilles, France in March, 2012 (Photo credit: PMJE)

We have recognized the great challenge of North America when referring to its high use of water. The average person in the United States has a water footprint of 2842 m3 per year, the largest in the world. Furthermore, as buyers and consumers, they also affect the water balances by buying clothes made of cotton from places as far as Malaysia and India, utilizing water from countries that may have a scarce supply as a result.

When I attended the Forum in Marseilles, I had the opportunity to participate in discussions related to water efficiency. During these discussions, experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Water Footprint, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called for the implementation of measurements such as water footprints and water efficiency standards. Therefore, as part of our regional compromises for the North American region, we would seek to develop strategies to increase awareness about water footprints and the efficient use of water between young people and policy makers.

In other regions such as Central Africa, water access still represents a barrier to human development. Only 30 percent of Central Africans have access to clean water and even fewer to sanitation. Consequently, the youth representatives of the region have committed to work with different actors to build their capacity concerning access to water and the impact they can have in the decision-making process.

At the end of the Forum, the Youth Declaration for Water was recognized as one of the official outcomes of the event. Additionally, the Water Youth Parliament and the World Water Youth Movement were recognized as the main voices for youth and water.

Second step: World Water Day

After the Forum, the next stop for water experts was the World Water Day celebrated on March 22, 2012 with the purpose of calling attention to the existing relation between water and food. According to the United Nations, over 400 events were organized worldwide to celebrate the World Water Day.

Representatives of the World Water Youth Parliament

In Pakistan, youth representatives organized a fair to share information on water pollution. In Nicaragua, the group Jovenes Ambientalistas called attention to the impacts of water pollution in the rural and urban population. Additionally, in Ecuador, a march to call attention to the human right for water was organized.

Other youth representatives sought to use this day to go to their local media and communicate the accomplishments of the Forum and the Water Youth Parliament as a way to increase awareness in their respective countries.

Next steps: What can you do?

Even though the official month for water is over, the task of raising awareness about water issues is just beginning. We need more concrete policies and actions in both national and international levels.

As youth, I am interested in learning more about the importance of incorporating water use measurements within our policies. How can we introduce initiatives for the better use of water through our different economic sectors? How can we incorporate water into international and regional agreements? These are some of the questions that capture my attention. Hopefully, worldwide youth networks can help shed light into some of these issues.

You, in your country, can also help find solutions to these issues. What issue related to water interests you? What can you do to help find solutions? We all share the responsibility of easing the task to solve the severe water challenges that we face.

This post was written by Olimar Maisonet-Guzman is a 2011 Boren Fellow to Brazil and a member of the SustainUS Youth Delegation that will participate in the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Find out why she thinks the Amazon is the most important rainforest in the world and why youth are incredibly important to the environmental movement.

Coral Reefs and Solar Power

Posted on April 27, 2012 by lathamsa

Below are two stories about exciting environmental projects made possible in part by a grant from the Regional Environmental Office of the U.S. Department of State. One features the work of college students protecting coral reef in Vanuatu, and the other explores a solar power project spearheaded by the University of the South Pacific.

Reef Check Vanuatu: Rural Awareness Program

Reef Check Vanuatu Project

The Malpoa College Reef Check Team advanced its work on a project called “Reef Check Vanuatu: Rural Awareness Program,” with a small environmental award of $13,000 from the Department of State’s Regional Environmental Office (REO) in Suva in November 2010. Reef Check Vanuatu employed college student volunteers in a coral reef preservation project on Tanna Island in Vanuatu.

Coral reefs, now threatened by overfishing, pollution, and sedimentation, are the locus for a great amount of marine biodiversity in the South Pacific. They are essential to the survival of the ecosystem and provide food and shelter for fish and other marine animals. Many Pacific Islanders depend on these fish and other reef dwellers to maintain a living and feed their families.

Reef Check Vanuatu Project participants

Reef Check Vanuatu focuses a large component of its activities on building community awareness of the economic and social benefits of reef preservation. The Reef Check team conducted interviews with local villagers and elders, held a workshop for adults from Louanatom Villages on coral reef biology and the need for marine preservation, and developed a reef-check toolkit, posters and printed materials to promote awareness among government agencies and local NGOs. The volunteers produced and distributed 300 copies of the manual and presented educational dramas to more than 250 elementary school students at six schools on similar topics.

The volunteers also led two reef check surveys for community members, providing them with a first-hand look at the health of their local reefs. The team also led half-day reef planting workshops for reef restoration. An inspection a month after the project was completed showed that the community has been maintaining the coral.

Reef Check Vanuatu Project

University of South Pacific: Solar-Powered “Fales” for Students

The University of the South Pacific (USP) launched a new solar photovoltaic (PV) system at its Laucala Campus in Suva on December 17, 2010. This renewable energy system, designed by the Head of USP’s School of Engineering and Physics, Dr. Atul Raturi, was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Small Regional Environmental Grants program. The system uses sunlight to provide a sustainable source of electricity for recently built student study areas called “fales” (pronounced “far-lay”) – eco-friendly structures based on traditional Tongan design.

University of South Pacific Solar Photovoltaic Fales Project

Another aim of this project is to spread the knowledge of and build capacity for the use of renewableoff-grid power systems. The Pacific Islands, which currently must import expensive, polluting fossil fuels from outside the region, are increasingly affected by the adverse impacts of climate change. Since 80% of Pacific Islanders have no access to electricity, these types of renewable energy projects are vital to the region’s future.

In its one-year existence, USP’s solar-powered “fales” have increased awareness among studentsand staff about the potentials of renewable energy. They have produced more than one megawatt-hour of electricity savings for the university. (One megawatt can power 1,000 homes in the United States, at the average rate of electricity use, for a year.) The project also reduced USP’s carbon footprint by more than one ton of carbon dioxide. This new solar PV system has become a centerpiece of capacity building efforts at USP’s School of Engineering Physics, where students and technical staff learn about its design, operation, and maintenance.

The success of this renewable energy pilot has also attracted the attention of the EU and a Korean renewable energy research company.

University of South Pacific Solar Photovoltaic Fales Project

Youth Conservation in Kenya

Posted on April 11, 2012 by lathamsa

Conservation issues are not just the focus of big international organizations. Around the world, young people see the need to protect the land they live on, including the delicate ecosystems and wildlife living there. Youth recognize the importance of conservation, locally, nationally and internationally, and they are taking action.

Giraffe in Nairobi National Park in Kenya (Photo credit: Wikimedia/Trachemys)

Youth for Conservation is a non-profit organization started in 1998 by a group of young Kenyans who saw the threat to Kenya’s wildlife and habitats and were passionate about conserving the country’s wildlife heritage. “They came together and formed a forum to safeguard wild animals from poaching and trade, by involving local communities living next to wildlife dispersal areas in the management and conservation of natural habitats and wild animals.” Their mission is to “promote wildlife conservation through collaborative planning, community action and policy advocacy” and they hope to one day have a “society of environment[ally] conscious individuals.” Youth for Conservation works in national parks all over Kenya, including Mt. Longonot National Park, Nairobi National Park, and Amboseli National Park. For a full list, click here. In terms of what action they take, Youth for Conservation works on a variety of different projects, including the Ivory and Elephants Campaign, Environmental Education, and Wetlands Conservation. To learn more about specific programs, check out their What We Do page.

Are you part of a youth conservation organization or movement in your town? If so, what kinds of activities do you undertake?

Youth Water Initiatives

Posted on March 5, 2012 by lathamsa

A young girl gathers water.

Young people around the world are taking action on water issues, recognizing the importance of universal access to clean, safe water.

The Water Youth Movement is an organization that works in tandem with the World Youth Parliament for Water, Projection, and the African Youth Debate. Their goal is to start a strong, clear dialogue amongst youth and participants at the World Water Forum in Marseille, France, happening March 12-17, 2012. The mission of the Water youth Movement is to make sure youth concerns are heard by the world water community as they try to get water on the international agenda. To learn what you can do, including how to take part in the Forum’s discussions and how to lead online conversations, check out this page. There are links to subscribe to the Forum and websites explaining what is organized for young people during the event.

The World Youth Parliament is aimed at “enabl[ing] the young people to share their solutions for water, encourage youth participation in the World Water Forum’s debates and start new initiatives and projects.” Check out their site for more information, including how to contact the group.

The World Water Forum site also has a whole section on “Youth Initiatives: the voice of the future generations.” They have 3 priorities:

Raise the awareness of youth on water related problems/solutions and the public on the specific difficulties encountered by young people.
Create and extend global youth and water networks to help them carry their messages on the international stage and enable exchanges between young people and decision makers (experts, politicians, etc.).
Encourage a wide and meaningful participation from youth during the week of the Forum.

Their activities include youth of all ages, from elementary, middle and high school students to people aged 18-25. By involving so many different age groups in these discussions, they are also raising awareness at a young age and helping the next generation of water activists take action. Are you taking action on water issues in your country?

Climate Change and Children’s Health

Posted on January 10, 2012 by lathamsa

People with a single water source for washing, drinking and sanitation are at risk for health problems. (AP Images)

The relationship between climate change and health is one that concerns many people, because of the serious negative impacts environmental factors can have on “at risk” populations: children, the elderly, and the impoverished. For more information about current environment-health issues, such as the dangers of pesticides used on crops (which children are especially vulnerable to due to their small size), check out the Health section of the David Suzuki Foundation.

So why are certain populations more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of climate change? For starters, children and the elderly have less strong immune systems than most adults, making them more susceptible to diseases and extreme weather events like heat waves. According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, children are most vulnerable to climate change, and those in East Asia and the Pacific are most at risk. According to Geoffrey Keele of UNICEF, “The leading killers of children worldwide are highly sensitive to changes in the climate…For example, higher temperatures have been linked to increased rates of malnutrition, cholera, diarrheal disease and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. Yet children’s underdeveloped immune systems put them at far greater risk of contracting these diseases and succumbing to their complications.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Change and the Health of Children” website explains more about the issues that children face specifically: They provide links to background information on technical environmental and health issues for those who want to learn more.

For potential strategies for preventing these climate-related health problems for children, check out “Global Climate Change and Children’s Health: Threats and Strategies for Prevention” provided by the U.S.’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Environmental Health Perspectives Journal. It explains issues such as children’s susceptibility to excessive heat and provides examples of different climate-sensitive events children are exposed to throughout their lives, and possible effects.

Guest Blog: Michael Silberman of Greenpeace

Posted on December 23, 2011 by lathamsa

Michael Silberman, Global Director of Digital Innovation for Greenpeace (Courtesy Photo)

Michael Silberman is the Global Director of Digital Innovation at Greenpeace, where he leads a Digital Mobilization Lab that envisions, tests, and rolls out creative new means of engaging and mobilizing supporters in 42 countries. Silberman is a co-founder of EchoDitto, a digital consultancy that empowers leading organizations to have a greater impact through the creative use of new technologies. He also chairs the annual Web of Change conference, the premier gathering for leading thinkers and campaigners working at the intersection of technology and social change. More: http://about.me/michaelsilberman

New Recipes for Combating Climate Change:
Greenpeace Mixes Technology with People Power to Win Campaigns

While we might be best recognized for our on-site activism, Greenpeace is rapidly becoming a model for effective digital communication and mobilization. Our campaign wins today depend as much on “boots on the ground” as they do “bits in the ether.”

Sure, Greenpeace activists are always where the action is when it comes to a key cause — working to shut down a dirty coal-powered plant, stop unsustainable tuna fishing or keep rainforest timber standing tall.

But that action is no longer just in the physical world. Digital media enables individuals to play increasingly greater roles in our campaigns — online and offline. These tools connect supporters to campaigners and to one another with unprecedented speed and efficiency.

Of greater significance, however, is the resonating effect our digital channels can initiate. We’ve learned that we need to structure campaigns so that supporters and citizens anywhere can put themselves in a leading role. They can take actual ownership of a campaign, beyond participation. Individual activists can educate their own networks, who in turn, pick up and amplify the momentum.

The recent success of our “Unfriend Coal” campaign provides a tremendous example of this effect in action. Our goal was to get Facebook, the world’s most recognized social media presence, to power its operations using renewable energy sources. (Many of its servers, notably those in the US, are powered by coal-fired plants).

After a nearly two-year effort of steady social media campaigning using YouTube, Twitter and, of course, Facebook itself, the Internet giant committed to ultimately running on clean, renewable energy. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the global campaign. In one instance, we logged more than 80,000 FB comments in just 24 hours — a world record! Whether staging eye-catching events or simply helping to spread the world via personal social media channels, the campaign energized a global community from India to Ireland, Palo Alto to South Africa.

This is a major evolution from our early days when Greenpeace founders would sail a boat into a nuclear test site and create a global media sensation. We no longer rely on mass media alone to influence our targets and inform the public; today we’re focusing on helping individuals realize their potential as agents of change.

This new digital landscape, in short, means both faster awareness of an issue and faster opportunity to act. When you layer on the fact that these web-based communication tools are available to anyone, campaign leverage increases exponentially. Everyone becomes an organizer, a journalist, a fundraiser — not just the pros at Greenpeace.

This is the power we’re seeking to harness via the new Digital Mobilization Lab (Lab) at Greenpeace. Social networks, photo feeds, live blogging, all of these have created the power to follow a global issue like climate change across language and borders in realtime — unthinkable just a couple years ago. Add mobile technology like SMS/text messaging, and smartphone and tablets, and it’s obvious we’re operating in an environment in which instant outreach and immediate action is now possible.

For an issue like global warming, where we can’t act quickly enough, this kind of power is invaluable. Through the Lab, we’re connecting the efforts of Greenpeace offices covering over 40 countries, and building networks and systems to amplify innovative campaign tactics at the speed of the Internet — increasing awareness and aligning our efforts to generate real, worldwide comprehension of what’s at stake.

While elevating understanding of the issues and giving people a more immediate way to act is great, the Lab is really about empowering our teams to introduce, test, and share successful citizen engagement strategies with one another and peers across the environmental and social justice movements.

While the Lab is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen Greenpeace campaigns with more digital and citizen muscle, it also demonstrates that anyone can access the same technologies and apply the same strategies to affect change.

This matters because people — younger generations in particular — increasingly want to know not only what’s at stake but also what they can do about it in the same moment. Equipped with both knowledge and the ability to act is giving them remarkable power, and we will continue working to build and support that power as best we can.

United Nations Environmental Awards

Posted on December 21, 2011 by lathamsa

Four winners of the UNEP Young Environmental Leader Award, October 2011 (Photo courtesy of UN)

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) gives out several different awards each year to deserving recipients in a variety of “green” categories. The Champions of the Earth award, created in 2004, specifically spotlights environmental innovation, and recipients are often youth! “The Champions of the Earth Award recognizes outstanding environmental leaders, whether individuals or organizations, that have exemplified inspiration, vision, innovation, leadership and action for the environment.”

This video shows the 2009 winners of the seven Champions of the Earth Award that were “honored for coming up with innovative solutions to environmental challenges.” Winners included Tigist Tsegaaye Belay from Ethiopia who co-founded an organization that brings together young people to rehabilitate garbage dumpsites. Tigist stated that “It is a great opportunity for the youth of our country, for Africans and also Europeans. After this they will encourage themselves to get involved in environmental issues. This is very important.”

A different U.N. Award that honors youth for their environmental innovation is the Young Environmental Leader Award, which was given to four co-winners this October. The four recipients, all students, were from Indonesia, Ecuador, Kenya and the Philippines, and each received 3,000 euros and technical support to help support their sustainable ideas. Their four ideas are described below:

Ms. Rudianto developed a bioreactor that can process farm and household waste to make renewable energy that can be used not only for cooking in Indonesia’s West Java province, but also as an alternative source of fuel to the traditionally used firewood. Ms. Acosta of Ecuador designed a process to treat water that has been contaminated by mercury, a toxic element that has usually resulted from gold mining. Mr. Muli is implementing a green energy project in his native Kenya that aims to lower carbon emissions by using clean fuel briquettes made of foliage and waste paper rather than traditional cooking fuels such as charcoal. The project should also create jobs and income for local residents in his community. In the Philippines, Ms. Gabanes has set up an environmental education programme for children with special needs that includes art therapy sessions, a musical variety show and photo exhibitions.

Mr. Muli of Kenya ended with this remark: “I came away from this programme realizing that, when it comes to sustainable development, the time for action is now.” Do you agree?

Environmental Innovation in Schools

Posted on December 19, 2011 by lathamsa

Redmond High School, near Seattle, Washington, has spent the last few years "going green." (Courtesy photo)

In schools around the world, environmental innovation is showing up in coursework, student gatherings, and administrative and construction changes to school facilities. As new buildings go up adherent to “green” building practices like LEED certification, the education going on inside those structures is even more exciting.

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) teamed up to do an Art and the Environment workshop with a special focus on “Schools as Centers of Environmental Innovation.”

RISD’s “Innovation Studio” is based on a “comprehesnive approach to sustainability that integrate[s]: 1. economic & technical questions, 2. social & political questions and 3. ecological questions.” Students work to design real world models that incorporate these various components into everything from large scale projects like landfills to every day items such as biodegradable plastic cups.

The University of Washington is currently running an Environmental Innovation Challenge based around the equation: “Cleantech Innovation + Market Opportunity + Solutions for the Planet.” They are challenging students to “define an environmental problem, design and develop the solution, and produce both a prototype and business summary that demonstrates the market opportunity.” The grand prize? $10,000!

Internationally, the Environment and Innovation International Competition has a specific Environment and Innovation Project. It is designed to “encourage Eco-Schools to come up with innovative and creative solutions to environmental problems.” The winning schools get a grant to help them make their ideas a reality! One exciting twist about this competition is that winners must work with their local communities to tackle their specific climate change issue.

Are there competitions that you have heard of about environmental innovation in schools?

Guest blog: Steve Frisch on Environmental Governance

Posted on December 17, 2011 by lathamsa

Mongolian youth look to lead on environmental governance

Mongolian Coat of Arms

Probably the most frequent question I fielded from Mongolian students was “what can we learn from your experience that will help us leap ahead? How do we create a system that allows for economic prosperity but respects and protects the environment?”

Environmental governance is the set of rules and practices that govern the use and allocation of natural resources. These rules can be embedded in legal codes or they can be more informal, cultural and behavioral factors.

In the United States we take a well-established legal system of environmental governance for granted. US systems were established gradually as resource conflicts led to a body of law to resolve dispute. Eventually this led to the passage of the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and numerous other regulatory policies, all studied and understood by our intrepid Mongolian students. In Mongolia, because property rights were not a founding principle of government from 1920-1990, and pressure on resources was light, many of these rules and practices were embedded in cultural values. As pressure on resources is increasing they sense the opportunity to establish a legal system that avoids many of the pitfalls of the US system.

The issue that seemed to fascinate many Mongolian students was the establishment in US law of the “public trust doctrine”, or the principle that certain resources—such as clean air and water, species, and perhaps even cultural landscapes—are public or common resources, and that government has a primary required role in maintaining them for the public’s use. While I was in Mongolia this very issue was being debated and decided by the Mongolian Supreme Court, which eventually found that citizens have a right to sue on behalf of the environment if government fails to protect it.

The other environmental governance issue that fascinated students is the idea of ecological debt. Ecological debt is the concept that the right to a healthy environment is a fundamental right, and exploitation of the planet’s resources by industrialized countries at the expense of undeveloped countries is a breach of those rights. This right is further breached by the fact we now face a global climate crisis and the only way to mitigate impacts is to de-carbonize our economies. Since industrialized nations built their wealth on cheap and abundant carbon based fuels, what debt do we owe to developing countries for monopolizing these resources?

Rapidly developing nations like India and Brazil, seeing them selves shifting from under-developed to developed nations, are hesitant to endorse rapid cuts to carbon emissions. Instead they are joining the ranks of the nations that owe the ecological debt—the group of 17 most industrialized nations who account for the vast majority of global GHG emissions—and are balking. Nations like Mongolia are saying that the wealthier developed nations ought to carry the bulk of the fiscal burden. Western and emerging economies say that the funds will need to come from taxes on the private sector and no one has the political will to make the case while their economies are still languishing under slow growth and debt crises.

I suspect that the answer probably lies with our altruistic, optimistic, innovation hungry, barrier leaping students, like those I was so fortunate to meet during my time in Mongolia, rather than the bankers, and bureaucrats who have taken over my generation.

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