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Alex Lin, Teenage Activist

Alex Lin, Teenage Activist
He's overseen the recycling of 300,000 pounds of e-waste. He's successfully lobbied the Rhode Island state legislature to ban the dumping of electronics. He's used refurbished computers to create media centers in developing countries like Cameroon and Sri Lanka to foster computer literacy. He’s Alex Lin and he’s just 16 years old. “I don’t see anything uncommon in it,” says Lin, a high school senior from Westerly, Rhode Island. Lin’s catalytic moment came in 2004 when he chanced upon a Wall Street Journal article. E-waste, or electronics garbage, is the fastest growing section of the U.S. trash stream. While there is no federal law banning e-waste, 20 states have passed legislation mandating statewide e-waste recycling. If only the states with e-waste laws in their 2010 legislative pipeline—Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Utah, to name a few—had an Alex Lin at their disposal. Alex Lin, third from right, has taken e-waste matters into his own hands. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Alex Lin - Turning E-Waste Into E-Treasure Alex Lin was a boy who was just reading the newspaper one day. He read an article about something called e-waste. He learned that it is the waste generated as people upgrade electronic devices. When people are done with things like computers, phones, mp3 players, etc. and throw them away, that’s e-waste. He also learned that e-waste is dangerous to the environment. To help stop e-waste, Alex got help from his community service group, the Westerly Innovations Network (WIN). Additional Resources: Here is an article about Alex and his efforts.Here is an interview with Alex.Click here for more InspireMyKids stories about the environment.Find great books in our store, like Acting for Nature, about how children can help the environment.This video is about recycling e-waste. Topics for Discussion: Think about all the electronics families have. Take Action: Talk to family and friends about the danger of e-waste and tell them to recycle their old electronics! Teacher Features:

What Kids Can Do The Clock Is Ticking: Youth and Environmental Activism by Joi Officer, 15, Laura Cockman, 17, and Rebekah Taft, 17 of Y-Press Young people have a unique relationship with the environment: They are often the first affected when something goes wrong, yet the least represented when decisions are made. They, more than any other generation, have been raised to feel a responsibility toward the environment. And that’s important because they will be the first generation in charge of correcting the problems caused by the widespread pollution of the atmosphere and rampant misappropriation of natural resources. Youth today feel the “clock is ticking in terms of the amount of time we have to deal with the major issues like clean air, clean water and global warming,” says Sharon Smith, program director of Brower New Leaders at the Earth Island Institute, a support group for youth environmental campaigns and initiatives. Growth in activism Smith has seen firsthand the growth in environmental activism.

Teenage girl is dogs best friend | NZNews While most teenage girls are busy doing their nails and downloading the latest music, Faye Carey is helping re-home dozens of abandoned dogs. The 16-year-old Waikato teen volunteers with her local branch of Animal Control, giving abandoned animals a second chance at life. She has set up a Facebook page, Animal Re-home Waikato, where she advertises puppies and dogs who need adopting. It all started when Faye underwent a week of work experience at Animal Control last November. "We picked up a puppy in the pound the first day I went to Animal Control and then on my last day he was still there and I felt really sorry for him," she says. "So I advertised him on TradeMe and he got a lot of interest and he went to a lovely home in Auckland." The idea for the Facebook page came when Faye was trying to re-home a litter of abandoned kittens, and needed a free way to advertise. The page has nearly 300 likes and a loyal following of satisfied new parents. "I'd love to have a career in Animal Control.

Kids leading the charge to green Last week, at the 2010 U.S. Social Forum, 20,000 activists met in Detroit, Mich., to network and share their visions for social change. There were attendees and presenters who spanned all age groups, but many folks were struck by just how many young people came out to pursue environmental and social justice issues. Everywhere you turn, there is a great story about a teen leading her family, school or community towards environmental and social awareness. Take for example, 18-year-old Tiffany Ng of the Common Roots Program of the Chinese Progressive Association of San Francisco (CPAS). Another 18-year-old, Ingried Seyundo, a teen activist with People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights (PODER) works to prevent big corporations from taking advantage and polluting in predominately minority and low-income neighborhoods. And this type of teen activism is certainly not limited to those attending the Detroit Forum.

Animal Homelessness Is a Community Challenge | Gary Weitzman, DVM Our relationships with the animals we keep are highly personal. They provide us with unconditional love, and we take on a personal responsibility for making sure that they are well cared for. But when the bond between an animal and his guardian is broken, as when an animal is lost, abandoned, or surrendered to a shelter, who then has responsibility for the animal and his care? Most people would say it's the local animal shelter's responsibility. That's because we can't do this work by ourselves. In fact, just a few weekends ago we had an amazing adoption event -- a real example of community partnership. This private veterinary hospital, the largest in the nation's capital, understands the need for community involvement in animal welfare. With the help of that hospital, we made a lot of new friends and found many new homes. And that's exactly what we bought our new adoption truck to do -- bring our animals literally into the waiting arms of adopters. It's all about community.

Young Activist Where does one of the most powerful young women in America live? In a dorm room complete with studious roommate, paper-strewn desk, and poster-covered walls. Her name is Erica Fernandez and she is a freshman at Stanford University in California. She is also is a determined, compassionate and hard-working activist, as well as an inspirational speaker. In 2007, she won the Brower Youth award for brave young environmentalists. “I was able to speak and show them [the students] that there were things that we could do as youth and work together with the government to improve things that are affecting us directly,” she told Scholastic News. When she was 16, Fernandez rallied the people in her hometown of Oxnard, California, against a multinational company. Although Fernandez has yet to decide her college major, she says it will likely be a combination of anthropology and ethics—with a focus on environmental justice. Busy is an understatement when it comes to Fernandez.

Alex Libby |Bully| Independent| A common theme in the numerous comments we’ve received to-date on the film Bully, centers on one of the film’s most moving characters, Alex Libby, a sweet-natured Iowa teen who had been bullied for years. Since many viewers were worried about him and were understandably empathetic, we thought it might be good to give you an update on Alex. First of all, to cut to the chase in the happiest of ways: this year Alex worked as an intern for the Bully Project itself, in their offices in New York City! Last year, Alex was featured on CNN, and as you can see from this clip he’s evolving into a confident young man passionately hoping to help others who are being bullied: Alex was also featured, along with Kelby Johnson, in a piece Anderson Cooper did on the film and bullying, called “The Bully Effect.” As his mother says in the clip above, the family eventually left their Iowa town for Oklahoma City, where they found a school they felt had a better environment for both their kids.

Clay McMullen, teen passionate about saving the environment: Community Heroes 2011 (video) Clay McMullen, Community Hero Clay McMullen, senior, West Geauga High School, a 2011 Community Hero, environmentalist, has pushed for new Ohio laws to protect the environment, fought for grants for endangered species, has completed several projects to make a better West Geauga High School. Like a lot of boys, Clay McMullen always enjoyed fishing and rock-climbing around his home in Geauga County's Chester Township. But starting about a half-dozen years ago, at age 11, Clay began worrying about the environment so much that he started a crusade to make a difference. Since then, Clay, now 17, has won nearly 50 grants totaling $180,000 from organizations ranging from Walt Disney Co. to the Environmental Protection Agency to Sea World. Along the way, the West Geauga High School senior also helped get a state law passed last year that essentially guarantees that Ohio elementary students will be taught about wetlands when they learn about the state symbols. More heroes "It's worth it.

who the **** are you mrsquinn? by at_io_darock Mar 20

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