Why should other young people follow your lead?

What young people must realize is that we're all in this together. We all are inheriting the environmental challenges of generations past. Let's be remembered as the ones that stepped up to do something about it!

How did you get other people excited about your work?

It can sometimes be difficult to get people to believe or invest in an "idea" so instead of just telling people that I was going to create a television show, I just went ahead and did it! Once people started seeing the show, everyone wanted to be a part of it.

What are the best ways to use technology to go green?

On Twitter, I do something called "Melissa's Green Tip of the Day." I find that most people aren't adverse to making positive changes for the environment but they may not be willing to change any of their current habits. I try to emphasize things they already do that happen to be green and give tips that are easy to implement. And what's even easier is for them to hit that "retweet" button and broadcast the message to their entire network of followers!

What efforts did you make to save energy?

Before I became as passionate about the environment as I am today, I was a vegan. Factory farming is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and I adamantly believe that reducing our dependence on the meat and dairy industries are the best thing we all can do to reduce energy and reverse climate change. When I'm producing the show, I serve my crew vegan treats. It's a totally vegan production!

What was the most creative project you did?

I thought it would be pretty exciting to turn some of my daily green tips on Twitter into a video webcast showing me actually implementing my own green suggestions at home. I made a video called "I'm Dreaming of a GREEN Christmas" on YouTube that featured easy ways to green your holiday season.

Tell us the top 3 things any young person can do to make their school more eco-friendly.

Encourage your school district to take on Meatless Mondays, get the maintenance crew to convert all of their cleaning supplies to eco-friendly ones, and at the very least, make sure there is a recycling bin for paper in every classroom.

What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

My greatest challenge continues to be having a consistent place to film. It is a bit of a guerrilla operation but with creativity, we have managed to get some great interviews and segments.

Which accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the impact that I've had on individuals. The change I've made has been modest so far, but it meant a lot to me when someone saw my segment on lowering your carbon footprint and questioned me how they could do more.

What piece of advice would you give to people nationwide who hope to green their schools and communities?

Just do it, with or without a friend or any help! Support will come in due time but if you know that there's important work to be done for the environment, act on that alone, and let your desire for change fuel you.

Why should other young people follow your lead?

I think that other yough people should get involved with climate change awareness is because it is an issue that affects everyone. There are also so many ways to participate that it is easy to find something that really interests you. There really isn't anything that can be done that would not make a difference in the long run. It is also a great way to get involved in the community even as a teenager.

How did you get other people excited about your work?

I think that people really get excited about the work that BLS Youth CAN does because they can see how much gets accomplished. Students see how much work we get done and they see how we are rewarded for our work. I think they see that we can make a difference and it gets them excited about what they are apart of.

What are the best ways to use technology to go green?

Technology is a huge part of modern society that going green can be a part of. Technology consumes a lot of energy in ways that we hardly even notice in our everyday lives. Leaving your computer on all day, even when it is sleeping, consumes energy. Turning off technology when they are not in use is a great and very easy way to go green. It doesn't cost you anything, in fact it saves money, and it does not require any extra work.

What efforts did you make to save energy?

As a physics project, I conducted an energy audit of my house and figured out how much energy each device in my house was using. By studying the results, I was able to find ways to save energy by targeting the specific devices in my house that consume the most energy. Working with Youth CAN also gives me many opportunities to participate in projects on energy efficiency. Boston Latin School is now working on a Sustainable Rooftop Learning Lab which will decrease our schools carbon footprint, while providing numerous opportunities for students to learn about sustainable living.

What did you do to reduce waste at your school?

At BLS we have done many things to make our school more energy efficient. We have created recycle bins in the Dinning Hall for the plastic trays that lunches are served on. We also replaced hundreds of light bulbs in the auditorium with compact florescent light bulbs and have been enforcing rules to make sure all lights are turned off in classrooms that are not in use. On the 350 day of national action against Climate Change, we installed 350 trays of vegetation on one of our light courts which serve to improve air quality while collecting rain water to decrease storm runoff. Our Sustainable Rooptop Learning Lab will take huge steps in making BLS more energy efficient.

What was the most creative project you did?

I think that our current project, the Sustainable Rooftop Learning Lab is really creative. The roof will have classroom area for students to have class. The roof will also have a green house where we will grow food to be served in our Dinning Hall. Small wind turbines, a weather station, and many forms of intensive and extensive planting will provide students with a wide range of green projects. I think that the lab has been designed in a very creative way as to incorporated many ideas. It really demonstrates the variety of ways that climate change an be addressed. It shows how you can live sustainably and fight global warming in any way you want because there really is no one solution.

Tell us the top 3 things any young person can do to make their school more eco-friendly.

Setting up a recycling system for the school is a great thing to do. Schools use a lot of paper that can be recycled if recycle bins are made and collected regularly. Using compact florescent light bulbs where ever possible is also a great eco-friendly idea. Lastly, setting up opportunities for students to learn more about Climate Change and action they can take is very beneficial.

What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

It is always a challenge to get students to take our work seriously. A lot of people do not realize the immensity of the problem that is global warming, which makes it more difficult to get them to participate in our projects. Having youth groups that serve to teach people and inform them has really made a difference. As Youth CAN has grown, we are able to accomplish goals that continue to grow. When other students come and see the presentations we make about what will happen if the problem of global warming is not addressed they are really shocked. They are then moved to participate because they understand why what we are doing is important. Getting people involved really is a constant struggle and I am still working on ways to overcome this challenge. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the work that we are doing is important and that we should not stop.

Which accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the fact that our Annual Global Climate Change Summit has grown to such great success. Hosted at MIT, the Summit is a day long event that includes entertainment, lunch, activities, speakers, and workshops that all serve to provide students and educators opportunities to learn about specific aspects of fighting climate change. Last year, we had 300 students attend, a record breaking number. Having lead the Summit Planning Committee, I was very exicted that it was such a success.

What piece of advice would you give to people nationwide who hope to green their schools and communities?

The best advise I can give is to just keep working. The work that you are doing is really important and makes such a great difference in society. Although the work is hard and tiring it is important and I don't think you should allow anything to discourage you. Just keep moving forward with new ideas.

Why should other young people follow your lead?

The fact is that climate change is a problem that WE, more than any other generation, are going to have to deal with together. The problem of global warming seems massive, but young people around the world can make a difference together. That’s a large part of why we are organizing e4, our environmental conference (www.e4-nyc.org): to raise awareness about the issue of the environment and to convince others to follow in our footsteps.

How did you get other people excited about your work?

The most important thing to do is to make people understand that working together through conferences like e4 can and does make a difference. It’s a big world out there, and it sometimes feels like everything we do is a proverbial drop in the bucket, but eventually those drops do add up.

What are the best ways to use technology to go green?

The technology in fluorescent light bulbs is making great leaps forward every year. If your school still uses incandescent or out of date fluorescents, convince the administration to change out the old bulbs. If they say it’s too expensive, give them the facts: changing an incandescent for a fluorescent bulb pays for itself in very little time. Our school has already saved a lot of money just by changing out the lights.

We have also worked with our school's technology department to ensure that our computers are on proper energy-saving software. At night, all the computers, copy machines, and printers automatically go to sleep in order to save energy.

What efforts did you make to save energy?

Starting a couple of summers ago, we started to change out certain unnecessary light fixtures throughout our school. Since then, we have made multiple floors of our school much more efficient and eco-friendly. Additionally, we've added motion sensors to the light switches, so that if nobody is in the room the lights will turn themselves off after around 15 minutes. We have also eliminated trays from our cafeteria (cutting down on water waste and energy) and have made great strides in improving our recycling system.

We have changed all our paper products to 100% recycled and/or post-consumer waste. That means all the printer paper, toilet paper, and napkins in the school have less of a footprint as new products.

What did you do to reduce waste at your school?

In addition to the trayless eating program mentioned above, all of the printers at our school now print on both sides, thereby cutting our paper consumption by 37,000 sheets in one year.

What was the most creative project you did?

Earlier this year, we realized that we were throwing away too many dry-erase markers, so we decided to do something about it. We researched different solutions for the problem, and in the end we decided that the best and most environmentally friendly solution was to switch our Expo markers with markers that were refillable. These markers are called Auspens. Whereas Expo markers contain toxic material, smell awful, dry out extremely quickly, and aren't environmentally friendly, Auspens are the exact opposite. There is almost no smell to the Auspens, they aren't made of toxic material, and they don't dry out when left uncapped for 48 hours. We've begun to replace Expo markers with Auspens, and have given select teachers Auspens to test out. The feedback has been extremely positive.

Tell us the top 3 things any young person can do to make their school more eco-friendly.

First and foremost, start a recycling program. If your school already has one, then make sure people are using it correctly, and make sure that bottles, cans, paper, and ink cartridges can all be recycled. Second, switch out your old incandescent lights for fluorescent lights. Finally, make two sided printing the default method of printing at your school. Last year alone, our school saved 37,000 sheets of paper by making the default printing option double sided. While students can still manually select single-sided printing, they generally don't.

What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

Our greatest challenge was probably convincing adults to take us seriously. It’s not every day that a businessman gets a call from a high school kid looking to invite them to a conference on the environment. That’s why we’ve tried to make e4 as professional a conference as possible, catering to the needs of guests, sponsors, volunteers, and others.

Which accomplishment are you most proud of?

The conference we ran last year, GSNYC 2009, was a great success. We hosted over 650 people at our school, and our conference this year, e4, promises to be even bigger and better. We are very proud to have been a part of such a fun, informative, and powerful event.

What piece of advice would you give to people nationwide who hope to green their schools and communities?

Do something. It can be as big as running a conference like we are with e4 or as small as starting a recycling program or changing a lightbulb. Any amount of action counts and makes a tangible difference. But it doesn’t stop there--you have to get the word out. If people know that teenagers care about making their schools and communities green, then adults with power will notice and take action too. Together, we can make a huge difference.