When I was growing up it was a common occurance to hear my dad yelling, “Turn the lights off! Do you think I’m made of money?” or whenever my brother or I stood in front of an open refrigerator door, “Do you think something grew in there since the last time you checked?” My father wasn’t environmentally friendly — he was just trying to save money, and energy waste is a big money pit. But what if the tables were turned and it were the kids trying to save their parents some money by making better choices around the house? That’s the idea behind GreenMyParents a youth movement designed to get kids thinking about ways to reduce their parents’ use of resources and then working with them to make those changes.
The idea, which was launched this past Earth Day, is the brainchild of Tom Feegel the CEO and prinicpal of the eco-consultancy business Brand Neutral. He, along with influential young people like Jordan Howard and Adora Svitak, are hoping to spread the message to young people everywhere via Facebook, Twitter, workshops, and the GreenMyParents book — the goal is to get kids to save over $100 million by greening their day-to-day lives by Earth Day 2011.
The four steps of the program include:
- finding areas around the house that need “greening” (i.e. “energy vampires” — appliances and electronics that when plugged in suck up tons of energy, even when they’re not being used)
- create a plan of attack and convince parents to jump on board, having them sign a contract stating where the saved money will go (ideas have included putting the money into a college fund or a family trip)
- after having success in one area, move on to other areas of the house that need “greening” (i.e. switching to compact flourescent lightbulbs or growing vegetables in the backyard)
- publicizing GreenMyParents via Facebook, Twitter, and word of mouth to share how much you have saved your parents and what methods you used
It was Howard who came up with the economic incentive of GreenMyParents, to make more people want to participate. As she so simply notes, “Who doesn’t want to save money? Who doesn’t want to put money in their pockets?” No matter what the motivating factor is for kids or adults, the GreenMyParents movement is going to be making a difference for families everywhere. And hopefully what starts off as an economic incentive will just turn into good habits.
Read more at Takepart.com
