A SWELL EFFORT
Members of the Sierra Student Coalition, the student-run arm of the Sierra Club, took a trip to San Rafael Swell, Utah, to aid in wilderness preservation efforts
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Happy to Confront Complexities
While such mind-numbing disputes might prompt some students to shrug and give up, others are more than willing to face the new intricacies of saving the planet. They realize that the troubles of turtles are part of a global decline in biodiversity. They understand that since the earth has only one atmosphere, pollutants emitted in Tokyo can someday land in Toledo, and vice versa. Jo Dufay, campaigns director for Greenpeace Canada, recalls that when she got started in the movement 20 years ago, action resulted from cries of "not in my backyard," but now, she says, "it's not about this one filthy stream or that particular pile of garbage, but the whole system." Myke Bybee, 23, director of the Sierra Student Coalition, the youth offshoot of the Sierra Club, agrees: "Our organization has seen its strongest growth from students involved in global issues. They know how interconnected all countries are, and they are concerned about such things as global warming and international treaties."
Clearly, some new approaches are called for. While the traditional environmental slogan is "think globally, act locally,'' more and more young people want to act globally as well. Members of the Atlanta chapter of Kids Against Pollution don't just clean up their own backyard; these kids are also trying to raise $22,000 to help establish a children's program in the Hluhluwe/Umfolozi game preserve in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province. "We want kids from around the world to be able to visit and learn about animals in their natural habitats, not in zoos like in the U.S.," says Illai Kenney, 13. Last March the United Nations brought about 100 young people from around the world to a Global Youth Forum in Copenhagen. They signed a statement declaring, "We are scared about the fate of the earth" and pledged, among other things, to reduce their consumption of natural resources. One idea raised at the conference was to promote an annual, international "Buy Nothing Day." Two of the kids, hailing from Turkey and Nigeria, were elected to represent the Youth Forum at this month's Johannesburg World Summit.