It’s Getting Hot In Here

My parents were not really hippies. My mother never burned her bra and my father never torched his draft card. They did not smoke pot, hitchhike, or go to Woodstock. They did, however, listen to Simon and Garfunkel. A lot. And they did grow up during the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. My parent’s generation also pioneered the environmental movement. They organized the first Earth Day and went on to found companies like Patagonia and Whole Foods. The visionaries of the sixties reshaped the way we think about our relationship with the Earth.

Growing up, my parents taught my sisters and me the importance of recycling. Coffee grounds and egg shells were always set aside for the compost pile and in the summer dinner would include tomatoes, rhubarb, or zucchini from our garden. Our family vacations were always done with tents. They understood the beauty of nature. And recently, they did something huge to help fight global warming. My parents just bought a Prius. And they are not alone. The typical Prius driver is over 50. This December, the Prius turns 10, and hopefully the demand for hybrids will continue to grow.

Not everyone can afford to buy a hybrid car. But there are many other ways we can individually reduce our impact on the world. NWF’s Campus Ecology members are constantly embracing new technologies to aid in the fight. From Ball State University’s tireless efforts to bring biofueled hybrid buses to campus, to 2006 Campus Ecology Fellow Scot Miller’s online interactive guide to all of the environmentally friendly companies on and around Harvard, students today are making a difference. All of us can impact the world around us. For ideas on what you can do, check out our website and get involved today!