Kids pave the way for a sustainable future

Kids have that strength of mind which, when mixed with creativity and a genuine concern for the cause, could outperform the adults in almost anything. Lately, we have seen teenagers and school kids appearing on the green scene. From recycling to eco-designing, the youngsters are into everything and are doing it with utmost zeal. Here we have compiled a list of some eco-ventures accomplished by these budding green maniacs:

kids go green

• Ignacio sixth-graders create a solar car:

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Just recently, at the Ignacio Intermediate School, sixth-graders modded their toy cars with solar panels for a solar car project. Their teacher Tom Rohde assisted them through their sustainable project. More here.

• Budding journalists released their own newspaper to cover COP15:

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Some 23-school kids - aged 12 and 13 years - from the Niel Steensen’s secondary school in Copenhagen came up with their own vision of the climate talks as they produced their own narrative via their climate newspaper – The NSG Times. They covered scientific, cultural articles and breaking news as well under the able guidance of their English teacher, Louise O’Flanagan Henrichsen. More here.

• Vietnamese lad makes robot from recycled stuff:

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Vu Van Thang, 19, created his robot using recycled toys and soft drink cans. His creation was hailed as the top entry among 300 projects at the National Creativeness Competition for Children and Youth 2009 sponsored by the Union of Vietnamese Scientific and Technological Association, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Youth. More here.

• Austin school kids create solar boats for annual regatta:

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Austin High School students created solar-powered boats for a solar boat test event at Mill Pond, Austin. Mark Raymond provided necessary technical guidance to students from ‘fluid dynamics to electrical wiring’. More here.

• School kids develop solar human hybrid vehicle for Maker Faire:

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Eighth-graders from Novato Charter School came up with the SOHH project for the Maker Faire. The Solar Human Hybrid Project (SOHH) uses pedals as the main power source. The vehicle is assisted by solar panels mounted on top of the vehicle. More here.

• Rhode Island kid turns local e-waste into usable resources:

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Alex Lin has been lobbying against the Rhode Island state legislature to ban the dumping of electronics. He uses refurbished computers to create media centers in developing countries like Cameroon and Sri Lanka to foster computer literacy. More here.

• Iowa students stood against lead weight dumping:

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Thanks to some serious efforts by Jathan Kron, Justin Roth and Brennan Nelson, three middle school students from West Branch, Iowa, three bills banning the lead weights have been introduced in the Iowa legislature and the Environmental Protection Agency is considering a similar ban. More here.

• School kids shine with solar cars at inter-school competition

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In the recently held solar-powered model car race at Case New Holland engineering company in Burr Ridge, Jerling Junior High School Team from Orland Park stunned all with their fastest solar car that was simply better than the rest. Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored the competition, which is also a part of the Chicago Regional Science Bowl. More here.

• Kiwi students design eco-hut:

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At Tangowahine School in New Zealand, five students have put their heart and soul to design and build an eco-hut. Orlando Woodcock, Daniel Sommerville, Liam Fanning, Jas Hazeldine and Tommy Stevenson spent eight months to convert natural material into a cute hut that could enter an Enviroschools Eco-Hut competition. More here.

Hope we could take lessons from their green exploits and start thinking about the planet!