One such game is ominously entitled “Fate of the World.” It’s a PC strategy game that deals with some pretty heavy issues—natural disasters, population growth, and energy consumption are but a few of the problems game players must face. As the game’s official website explains, “Your mission: Solve the crisis. But, like life, it won’t be easy. You’ll have to work through natural disasters, foreign diplomacy, clandestine operations, technological breakthroughs, and somehow satisfy the food and energy needs of a growing world population. Will you help the planet or become an agent of destruction?” And if your kid is more into iPhones, there’s the iPhone/iPad compatible “Face the Waste,” which also addresses environmental waste concerns.

Another interesting environmental game is National Geographic’s “Plan It Green.” In the game you play as the Mayor of Greenville, and your mission is to change the city for the better by creating green jobs, constructing eco-friendly homes, and beautifying your surroundings (from sidewalks to garage doors). CEO Kirk Owens explains, “This is the right product for the times. Not only is it a fantastic game, but it integrates a theme we all hear hundreds of times a week. . . . By working with National Geographic, we were able to go beyond pop green ideas and make a game that truly conveys the possibilities of the future.”

Do you feel that green video games are the key to get kids more involved and interested in green issues? What do you think is needed for these issues to resonate with adolescents? All comments are appreciated.

A recently released environmental film, perhaps, is “The Lorax.” Originally by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax was first released as a book in 1971. Interestingly, the book met some controversy in 1988. A town heavily dependent on logging lashed out against the book when the book was put on the second-graders reading list.

Terri Birkett consequently published The Truax with the help and support of NOFMA (National Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association). The Truax tells the story of the Guardbark, who eventually understands the loggers’ stance and sides with them.

The revamped Lorax story has been adapted into an animated film, and stars several teen icons. The main character, Ted, is voiced by Zac Efron, who has a crush on Taylor Swift’s character, Ashley. Other actors involved with the movie include Betty White, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, and Rob Riggle. Search for the film on YouTube and you’ll find over 100,000 views of the trailer even though it has only been on the website for two days. A barrage of comments on the website supports the stars.

The plot follows 12-year-old Ted, who sets out to find a tree amidst his futuristic high-tech world in order to win the affections of his crush. To do this, Ted will need the help of the Lorax, whose curmudgeonly personality can be attributed to having to fight so hard to save the world. Crazy but true, and as serious as a garage door bent on closing.

“The Lorax” will be released in March 2012 and will be available in 3D. The film also incorporates state-of-the-art CGI animation, so it’s sure to entertain a young crowd, who will hopefully be motivated to take positive actions toward an environmentally-friendly future.

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Breakfast: good for you and the planet!

Many teens either skip breakfast or grab something starchy and sugary on the way to school. However, from a nutritional point of view, breakfast is the most important part of the day. The solution? A fast and easy breakfast smoothie. You can make your own with protein powder, yogurt and frozen berries, or try Vega smoothie mixes. They have protein for energy, plus all your vitamins and minerals to start the day right. Vega compared its Whole Food Optimizer to a “traditional North American breakfast” including hashbrowns, eggs and bacon, and a “light North American breakfast” including yogurt, cereal and banana. According to the Vega website, there are 38 times more greenhouse gas emissions created by traditional breakfast and 10 times more greenhouse gases created by the light breakfast compared to Vega. Thus, switching to Vega for a year would be equivalent to turning off a 60 watt light bulb for 12,500 hours, or 521 consecutive days (Source: http://sequelnaturals.com/).

Transportation

If no school bus is provided for your school, consider car-free ways of getting to and from class every day. Walk, bike, or create a “walking school bus”, where a group of children walk to school supervised by one or more adult. It’s safer in numbers, easy on the planet, good physical activity and simple for parents, who can take turns supervising. Visit http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/ for more details. If all else fails, carpool or take transit.

Waste-Free Lunch

• Use stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic disposable ones. As I’ve mentioned before, stainless steel is non-toxic, durable, easy to clean and does not rust. Green Bottle (http://www.greenbottleonline.com/) has plenty of fun designs kids will love to brag about to their classmates. They come in 12 oz, 20 oz and 25 oz sizes with a variety of lids including sport tops.
• Look for non-toxic, BPA free Tupperware such as Preserve. Some companies like By Nature and Bento Box Systems offer complete lunch sets for kids including cloth napkins, reusable bags and storage containers. Nubius Organics sells toxin-free reusable cutlery made from bamboo.

Clothes

For back to school clothing shopping, thrift stores are the way to go. Treasure hunting at second hand stores can be just as much fun as showing off the new fashions. It’s amazing to see how many designer labels and never-worn items there are. Plus, kids and teens love having unique pieces that’ll be the envy of all their friends.

For new clothes, even the biggest stores such as Roots Canada, H & M and The Gap are jumping on the organic cotton bandwagon for kids clothes. It’s never been easier to find eco-friendly clothing close to home and at reasonable prices. Just make sure the percentage of organic fibre is high—be wary of 10% organic cotton/90% polyester blends! Bamboo, hemp and soy are other great earth-friendly fabrics.

Supplies

• Before school starts, sort through supplies from the previous years and keep whatever possible. You’ll be saving money in the process.
• Refillable pens and pencils are a smart alternative to disposables. Or, if you prefer, Earthzone pencils are made out of 100% post consumer recycled newspapers—no wood used!
• Paints should be water, not oil based.
• From binders to notebooks, avoid PVC plastic, instead opting for cardboard and paper. In all your paper purchases, look for recycled and non-chlorine bleached options. Remember that unless it says “Post-consumer waste” it may be scrap paper that never left the factory. Try Ecojot Notebooks—they come in cute, stylish patterns and are 100%  post-consumer recycled. For printer paper, most big brand retailers offer recycled options as well. Along the same lines, reduce before you re-use—don’t print rough copies of assignments unless absolutely necessary.
• Backpacks should ideally be made from all-natural materials, such as durable hemp. Otherwise, check out PVC free options at http://www.nubiusorganics.com.

At-School Projects

Environmental class projects don’t have to be reserved for Earth day. There are tons of fun ways to encourage environmental activism to suggest to teachers and school staff. Younger children may enjoy taking nature walks, going on field trips to the recycling depot, and planting trees in the school yard. Students in older grades may wish to start a class vegetable garden and school compost project, or petition for organic options in their school cafeteria.

They say it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and this is never so true as in the case of adults who find it hard to change habits and characteristics that have been formed over a lifetime. And this is why it’s imperative that we teach our children the importance of good habits right from childhood, when they’re at a more malleable age and tend to listen to adults. Saving the environment may not be child’s play, but it is a child’s place to get involved in the process.

There’s a pressing need today to increase awareness of the crisis called global warming that’s looming large and threatening the very existence of the earth. And there’s no better time than now to educate our kids on the harm we human beings are causing the environment with our indiscriminate and irresponsible use of energy and other resources. If your children understand today how important it is that we save the environment from ourselves, they will have learnt a valuable lesson for life. If not, there’s a serious chance that they may not have a world to leave behind for their children and future generations to come. Here’s how kids can contribute to saving the environment:

• Turn out the lights and other electrical appliances when they’re not in use. Energy not used is energy saved.
• Pick up litter and recycle stuff like paper and metal cans, bottles and cardboard. Recycling helps save on the amount of trash we send to landfills and also conserves natural resources like aluminum and trees.
• Use water sparingly and close the taps tightly so that there are no leaks.
• Ride a bike, take a bus, carpool or walk to school rather than get mom to drive them over.
• Plant trees with their parents or as an initiative at school. Trees are good for the environment because they create oxygen, prevent erosion of the soil, create homes for wildlife, save on air conditioning and heating costs depending on the season, and regulate climate change.
• Take part in neighborhood and school green programs.
• Get parents to buy and eat only organic food.
• Take a quick shower to conserve water.
• Use notebooks without wasting paper.
• Take a lunch box to school rather than a paper bag.
• Use green pencils that are made of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• Go on green vacations to places near you.
• Eat food that is produced locally.
• Send emails rather than letters and cards that use up paper and fuel to get to their destination.
• Buy gadgets that are energy efficient and come with the Energy Star rating.
• Buy recyclable products that have the three-arrow-circle recyclable mark.

Getting kids involved in doing their bit towards the environment will go a long way in changing the way they live and in the choices they make.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of green shopping. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Image above is based on a photo by a4gpa.