I became aware of the CASE Project (Community for Alternative Sources of Energy) and the students who founded it in January and wanted to write about them here to inform people about some pretty amazing high schoolers and to promote their Earth Day fundraiser, Green Scene, which is happening on Saturday, April 19 from 12-5pm at Northside Prep in Chicago. They are part of a trend that is dedicated to teaching individuals how they can make better choices that will have less of a negative impact on Planet Earth.
So my girlfriend was acting in a play over Dec.-Jan. here in Chicago (Pegasus Players Young Playwrights Festival), and was talking with one of the playwright's sister and some of her fellow high school friends (Short aside, Pegasus Players annually produce four plays written by Chicago public school students). After having a good laugh when these teenaged girls discovered that almost every actor has to work outside of theater to support themselves, Amy (my girlfriend) told them about the green pet-supply business that she started a few months prior (The Leash We Can Do!). The young ladies were really impressed and thought it was a really cool business. And then it was their turn to amaze my girlfriend, which they did when they explained that they had founded a student organization that sought to take their local high school off of the electrical grid and to promote the cause of environmentalism, in general.
The founder of CASE quickly dispelled our usual prejudices against teens by demonstrating that her organization was much more than some high school club that probably wouldn't amount to much. They invited Amy and The Leash We Can Do! to participate as a vendor in their annual Green Scene, which raises funds for their projects.
So we started doing a little research on the CASE Project and discovered how cool it was--and just how serious this student organization is about making substantial changes. Here are the objectives CASE is pursuing:
- Taking their school off of the electrical grid by employing solar energy to heat water/generate power, which is a major source of natural gas usage. Moreover, they are investigating the feasibility of using geothermal energy to heat and cool the building.
- Selling reusable water bottles in the community to cut down the usage of plastic bottled water.
- Green Machine, which is a van that will run on vegetable oil and will be used to demonstrate alternative fuel sources.
- Spreading awareness through an eco-fair, Green Scene, which promotes green businesses and shares ideas about how to turn daily habits more green.
Amy and I were completely amazed. When we were teenagers, we were definitely not doing anything of this caliber--I assure you, I was doing nothing to help the community I grew up in. I for one think that this organization and its members deserve a great deal of support and encouragement for trying to do something substantial to change human behavior in a positive manner.
If any of you know of similar organizations founded by high school students, I'd love to hear about them so that perhaps I can gather a list of worthy groups to write about and promote in the future. Thanks!