After her presentation at UCF, Summer Rayne Oakes was generous enough to give Greener Trends a few minutes of her time for a phone interview.
Before we launch into that, I want to thank Summer for linking us on her blog and for sharing her perspective. She’s passionate about what she’s doing and she’s a good role model for people who are new to issues of sustainability.
Okay, so my take was that of the audience of 450 at UCF, most of the students (and college students in general) don’t have being green on the radar, and I wanted Summer’s take on how to get mass consumption-minded young adults to awaken their environmental conscience.
Summer Wants You To Do This…
Get involved with organizations and people that are already doing it. Simple but powerful. Summer’s take was that talking about small changes (like ditching bottled water) doesn’t inspire and doesn’t move the needle enough. Her talk focused on getting involved and being a part of a larger community, which is a good message and, quite frankly, a lot sexier than talking about putting bricks in your toilet and turning off your lights. So, I can’t disagree with her take, although I do think it’s very important to embrace sustainability on an individual level and make small changes. When you combine the two you’re really making it happen.
Summer would like to see college students jump into the deep of the pool and join organizations like the UCF Sustainability Alliance and the Southern Energy Network. In fact, she urges students to go a step further and attend events like Powershift to really galvanize your headspace and catalyze real change. Powershift07 was a huge success and has spawned other state and regional Powershifts, so be sure to Google around and see if there’s one happening near you.
What Impressed Me The Most
What really impressed me the most was not necessarily what Summer told me, but rather by what she was doing. If you poke around her website for a bit, you’ll see that she’s got her hand in a great many things: modeling, consulting, speaking, writing, television, business, travel. Right after we got off the phone, Summer was headed to the airport to take a plane to Mozambique, Africa, to spend several months working on reforestation initiatives, and also setting up a business to bring high-end, sustainable jewelry to the US. Profits from the business, of course, go back into the community and towards her initiatives. Nice. All this at the tender age of 25.
That’s what I call life engineering, to steal a Tim Ferriss term, and that’s definitely something young people can look to for inspiration. Why not go to Africa and get involved with environmental initiatives? Why not go to DC for Powershift? Don’t settle for the mediocre life and don’t settle for tiny changes when you’re capable of so much more. Get out there, be bold, and be a catalyst for change. Preach on, sister.
Don’t Be Generation Q
In my last post I mentioned Thomas Friedman’s Generation Q article, which addresses exactly what Summer was talking about. Get unplugged, don’t be quiet, don’t small time it. Kids, let’s not accept the title of the Quiet Generation. Here’s the money quote from Friedman’s article:
…what impressed me most on my brief college swing was actually a statue — the life-size statue of James Meredith at the University of Mississippi. Meredith was the first African-American to be admitted to Ole Miss in 1962. The Meredith bronze is posed as if he is striding toward a tall limestone archway, re-enacting his fateful step onto the then-segregated campus — defying a violent, angry mob and protected by the National Guard.
Get out and shout from the rooftops, bitches.
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I love the pointer to Friedman. And I suppose getting involved in the big stuff will help propel the movement towards center stage a little faster, although in the end, I agree with you Ben - it is about doing the small stuff that really matters. The actionable thing to do today is BOTH. Great conversation.
Very good discussion. Love her work. I agree - we need to get our generation to rise up and realize our fullest potential. Why settle for less when we can do so much more?
She is an amazing woman. I am looking forward to meeting her at the Green Inaugural Ball.
http://www.greeninauguralball.com/speakers.html