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Our Youth Speak Up

About This Collection

Let's hear from our children, and their advocates, on the social, environmental, cultural, and economic concerns around sustainability and the call to always act responsibly and with the next seven generations in mind. The collection will also feature, from time to time, adults who are speaking on behalf of children. 

To add to this collection email children@earthsayers.com.  Thank you.

 

 

Curated by mokiethecat

Cassandra Lin, 2013 Brower Youth Award Winner
December 10, 2013
New England winters can be harsh, especially for those who can't afford to heat their homes. When she was in fifth grade Cassandra Lin learned that used cooking oil could be converted into cheap, clean-burning biodiesel to heat homes. photo of a young womanThe same year, 2008, Lin founded Turn Grease Into Fuel (TGIF), a youth group that gets local restaurants to donate their kitchen grease to be recycled and shared with charities that identify families who need heating assistance. So far, Lin's outfit has helped offset more than 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions by promoting the use of biodiesel. In 2011, Lin and her team drafted a bill that required all businesses in Rhode Island to recycle their waste cooking oil and worked with local legislators to get it approved. State lawmakers passed the Used Cooking Oil Recycling Act in June 2011 and the law went into effect in January 2012, expanding TGIF's efforts into neighboring communities. The network of local businesses and charities that Lin and her team created is itself a well-oiled machine that addresses the needs of community members and reduces waste and pollution.