Why do you care so much about protecting the Earth?

Think about the planet as your house. If you don’t take care of it, it falls apart, and you can’t live in it. Earth is the same way. We don’t have another planet, and we can’t live without clean air and water. We have to take care of them right now.

What are you doing to help the environment?

I love driving my hybrid car. The gas mileage is fantastic, and the low emissions mean less carbon dioxide, a gas that may contribute to global warming.

What else are you doing?

I’m careful how long I let the water run. I try not to turn on my lights until it gets dark and use compact fluorescent lightbulbs. I can go a year on just one roll of plastic wrap.

Really?

Yep. I wash the plastic wrap after I use it, but I also do things like put a plate over the bowl instead of plastic wrap. I just try to figure out how to do things differently so it’s better for the environment.

You’re just one person, though. Why is it important for everyone to pitch in?

I like to snowboard, but I have friends who don’t, so we don’t connect on that. But there’s one thing that we can all connect on: We all need the Earth’s resources. There’s not one person who can say, “I don’t need clean water or air.” So everybody has to do their part.

Even kids?

Especially kids! Think about it: All the great inventors were kids once. So how are today’s kids going to make the world a better place? They’re the ones who will figure out how to make a car more efficient, or how to purify water.