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Get children used to thinking about conscious energy usage.

While sources disagree about how soon the world’s oil supply will run out, most experts agree that it is diminishing. In recent years, we’ve already seen a sharp increase in the cost of oil. The cheap oil that has powered so much of our American lifestyle in recent decades will probably not be something our children can take for granted in the future. Get bikes for the whole family if you don’t already have them, or tune up the ones you already have, and hit the road! If the family regularly walks or bikes together, not only will children get used to the idea of other forms of transportation than driving, but they will likely also remember them as enjoyable family times. Walking or riding bikes necessitates slowing down and being more acutely aware of one’s surroundings, so it is more of a multi-sensory experience.

But consciousness of diminishing petroleum supplies involves more than just reducing the amount of time that the family spends driving. For example, supporting local farmers uses less energy because the foods don’t require as much transportation from farm to market. Many people don’t understand how oil is created, but it’s an important issue. If children understand the meaning of fossil fuels, it will follow that oil is finite and that it can’t be quickly replenished.

Parents have been telling kids since the invention of the light bulb to remember to turn out the lights when they leave a room. Kids are more likely to remember to be conscious of things like wasting electricity or water if you give them a good reason for it, and what better reason than to save the planet? You can teach the concept of conservation by comparing it to a savings account: if they spend everything now, there will be less for the future; by contrast, if they save now, they will ensure that they have more in the future.

Holly Case is a Michigan-based writer, full-time student, and a teacher of creative writing to adults. She is also the mother of three little boys who simultaneously inspire and prevent her writing. She writes frequently about environmentalism, social justice and parenting, particularly the intersection of all three issues. She is also the online/newsletter editor for Natural Food Network, where she writes about natural health.
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Create a family garden.

You don’t need a big plot of land to have a garden. Even apartment-dwellers can do container gardening on a patio or balcony. Get the kids involved in all stages of the process, from choosing what to grow, sowing seeds, and properly caring for the plants. Not only does this help them develop a greater appreciation for where food comes from, but it’s also a pretty awe-inspiring process for kids to watch. They get to see that something cool happens when they take care of something in nature. Good plants to grow from seed, especially in containers in small spaces, are green beans or a single well-staked tomato plant. Or, if a family garden is not practical, try taking the kids to a local farm, or plant flowers in window boxes.

Teach them where things come from.

It’s entirely possible for kids to grow up never knowing how food is produced or grown, or where water comes from (other than from the tap). Some of these issues can be explained with very brief discussions, but many parents don’t think to discuss it if children never ask. Instead of buying a container of berries at the store, try taking the kids to pick berries at a local farm. Many children become concerned about the ethics of eating meat when they find out what meat really is. This is a topic that needs to be broached gently and may depend on the particulars of your family’s diet, but considering that raising animals for mass production of meat is an environmentally wasteful activity, it’s an important topic for children to understand.

Even if you don’t wish to get into the particulars of meat production, children can readily understand what it means if you tell them how much grain goes into the production of a single pound of meat. If your family is not vegetarian, a reduction of meat in the diet has many health benefits as well as environmental benefits. Perhaps you can get your children involved in brainstorming ideas for meatless meals that the whole family would enjoy.

Teach them the names for things in your environment.

There was a time when people knew the names for all the plants native to the area where they lived. This was important knowledge that one generation passed down to the next. It helped knowing which plants had to be avoided at all costs because they were poisonous, but it was also important to know which plants were edible or had medicinal properties. For the most part, that knowledge has been lost to younger generations. Most of us are unlikely to know those things ourselves, so we’re not able to pass it down to our children. But it’s still important for us to know these things. As biologist Elaine Brooks says, “Humans seldom value what they cannot name.” In this age in which most people live their lives entirely indoors, many see themselves as entirely separate from nature. Raising children to understand that nature is not disposable and needs to be protected closes that gap.

Teach them about the big picture.

Even when people are aware of where things come from, they don’t necessarily understand nature as an ecosystem, in which all parts are dependent on the others. Fish may come from rivers and oceans, but in many areas (such as where I live, in Michigan), the fish cannot be eaten because the waters are too polluted by local industries. It’s sort of like the old children’s song about the old lady who swallowed the fly: as each creature in the food chain consumes another, the chain of pollution gets passed down until it affects all. Children can be taught about pollution and its effects, and hopefully as they become adults, they will influence corporations to be more responsible about their own actions. As consumers, they can also pressure companies to act in an environmentally responsible manner. We’ve already seen that this is effective.

In the 1940s and 1950s, many people lived by the mantra of “better living through chemistry.” Now that we’re seeing the results of living by that mantra, such as epidemic rates of cancer, many people have realized the problems inherent with that philosophy. As a result, people have forced companies to change. Most corporations have environmental policies now, prompted by pressure from customers. Organic food has become widely available in response to consumer demands. Many communities have implemented curbside recycling programs for a nominal cost for homeowners, again due to popular request.

While the state of the environment is indeed sad to contemplate, it is certainly not hopeless. One individual may have only a limited sphere of influence, but many individuals acting together can enact great change. While the typical Western mindset is that our treasure lies in an afterlife, the Native Americans believed that this Earth was our paradise, and as such, it needed to be cared for and respected. The antidote to despair is action, and if we raise our children from birth to be respectful of the Earth and take steps to protect it, we will equip them to make sure the planet survives. There is much reason for hope.

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