Help a little boy save the world!
November 20, 2010 6:51 PM   Subscribe

I have an eleven-year-old nephew who is very anxious about environmental degradation, particularly climate change. He has asked me for a membership to Greenpeace for Christmas. I've been looking at the Greenpeace website and have found it expensive and uninspiring. Are there any environmental organizations that could help an anxious kid get involved in saving the world?

Ideally, I'd like to get him involved in a group that has activities in New Mexico. He's already a Cub Scout, so any group that could complement his camping activities would be great too. At the very least, I'm looking for organizations that have materials and activities for children. I've looked at the Sierra Club, but am concerned with recent attempts by white supremacists to take over their board.
posted by Sara Anne to Science & Nature (17 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Friends of the Earth
posted by idiomatika at 7:03 PM on November 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


Part of the appeal of this jag may be precisely that he feels mature for having selected the cause, the group, the worldview, and the identity himself -- what's "uninspiring" to you evidently has already inspired him. (And if indeed he likes the idea that a Greenpeace membership card will be a very adult thing to put in his wallet, "activities for children" may be perceived as a bug rather than a feature.)

Consider getting him the Greenpeace membership, or if it's too expensive, nonetheless some kind of Greenpeace-affiliated merchandise or donation. If I were a precocious 11-year-old -- and I were so excited about a newfound identity that I were willing to give up Christmas gifts to express it -- I suspect I wouldn't be nearly as excited about a close substitute (and at any rate there's plenty of time for his views and allegiances to evolve).
posted by foursentences at 7:05 PM on November 20, 2010 [17 favorites]


have found it...uninspiring

Each environmental advocacy group has its own way of working, based on its own theory about how to make change in the world. Should they march picket lines? boycott? educate the public? sue companies? sue the government? get the public to write letters? pass legislation? do research? catch criminal polluters? write persuasive and well-researched letters? physically interfere with whaling ships? hire high-paid lobbying firms to hobnob with senators? physically go out themselves and clean up natural areas? Etc. etc.

It sounds like you have some assumptions about what kind of environmentalism you'd like him to be engaged with. Your preference would be for him to get physically involved and engage directly with the natural world there. I'm not sure that's going to address the needs he is expressing. Environmental activities for children that are similar to camping -- it is unlikely that they will also mitigate climate change.

The thing is that everyone has their own preference, and his deserve some respect. For those who believe the research on climate change, the whole question feels very high stakes. For people who closely follow or work in the field, the decision around how change occurs becomes very, very personal. People vehemently disagree on what works best, what is "selling out," what is "screwing over your allies," what is being "crazy" and "radical," what is "making us all look bad and turning the public against us," what is "fiddling while Rome burns?"

As part of developing his own identity, he will need to learn to navigate these differences himself. Over time, your nephew's approach to this question will become more nuanced. I would let him explore the field on his own, and I would try not to impose your own approach here. Hands-on environmental activities for children are very different from what Greenpeace does. If he wants to live vicariously through stories of scuba divers disabling submarines that were going to dump nuclear waste in the deep ocean, or whatever, why not let him? If he believes that Greenpeace's program on climate change is the most effective, let him get their newsletter for six months and learn more about their approach.

If you truly have concerns, I'd get him connected to more than one organization. That way, he gets two newsletters, and he more quickly develops the ability to do sophisticated comparisons of activist organizations. You could even, ahead of time, point out that there are a lot of groups, and ask if he did research comparing them, to make sure this is truly the one that he wants. If you make Greenpeace, Earth First!, or whoever some off-limits thing, he'll just end up there in adolescence with more determination.

A close friend of mine has been an environmentalist since he was a kid, too, and his bedroom door is covered, just covered with bumper stickers from every environmental group under the sun. I'd get him the one he wants.
posted by salvia at 7:30 PM on November 20, 2010 [4 favorites]


Oh, whoops -- I forgot. On the cost. It looks like you can give a gift membership to Greenpeace USA for $30, but if you'd like to pay less, I bet that you could send in an even smaller amount in honor of his name and address, still getting him on their mailing list (and everyone else's, too). So you probably don't have to pay the full membership fee to get benefits for him. Depending on how many newsletters they send out, most minimum membership amounts don't pay for themselves until several years, so I wouldn't worry that you're providing any white supremacists with lots of money; if they send out a color newsletter several times a year, they'll probably more-or-less break even at that donation level. The benefit is really to him.
posted by salvia at 7:38 PM on November 20, 2010


I agree with the above about how Greenpeace may have special meaning for him since he chose it. If he wants this partly as a way of establishing his identity, Greenpeace may fit the bill better than another choice. Being a card-carrying member of Greenpeace has a social significance to it that being a member of Anonymous New Mexico Environmental Group lacks.

On the other hand - There was this article in the Nation in March, about how the major environmental groups are doing more harm than good because they are too closely allied with corporations. This might be worth looking into if you're determined to pick a group that is more Truly Environmental. The tone of the article is sort of breathless and I don't know how accurate it is. One group that article treats as a "good guy" group is the Center for Biological Diversity which is based in Arizona. One of their programs is directed at Climate Law.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:11 PM on November 20, 2010


350.org specifically works on climate change. If you're not jazzed by their approach they list a lot of partner organizations.
posted by brookeb at 8:15 PM on November 20, 2010


Greenpeace is mostly about political activism which, frankly, appeals more to the young who think that surely logic will prevail once it's all explained? So that might be why it appeals to him. WWF is another organization he might be interested in that is also very political but quite a bit less woo-woo than GP. (I'm a scientist, I've both worked with GP a bit and known some of the long term people socially for years. GP is not run by scientists by any means, which is fine but at odds with the perception a lot of people have of them.)

For those of us who are a little older and have long since realized that logic probably won't prevail on it's own I work in the ecological restoration/ protection field and think that TNC are probably the most effective large organization out there at Getting Shit Done. They are essentially a gigantic land trust that has also taken on research and restoration projects but they come at it like a land trust- practical, economical and fast moving. btw, The Nature Conservancy usually has local chapters where people can volunteer (or even be part/ full time caretakers for entire properties). I have a great deal of respect for them and think they spend their money very wisely.
posted by fshgrl at 8:30 PM on November 20, 2010


The Center for Biological Diversity is also excellent. In general you won't to look for groups that employ people with enough technical knowledge not to get led up the garden path. I would not say that Greenpeace in the US is one of those groups.
posted by fshgrl at 8:31 PM on November 20, 2010


I work in the environmental movement and have actually worked for several of the organizations that have been mentioned in this thread. I'm hesitant to get into a long defense of either Greenpeace or the Sierra Club because I am far from neutral and don't want to get into self-link land.

However, I will say that I know for a fact that the Greenpeace website is not really any more "expensive" than any other large organization's website; I'm not really sure what you meant by "uninspiring" so I can't address that. The takeover attempt of the Sierra Club's board was just that, a takeover attempt by outsiders. It was almost two decades ago and I know beyond a shade of doubt that none of those involved are still involved in the organization. The Club is very active in New Mexico and is focused heavily on global warming.

OK, I've already gone into more detail than I wanted to. Please memail me if you have more questions.
posted by wholebroad at 8:43 PM on November 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


For those of us who are a little older and have long since realized that logic probably won't prevail on it's own I work in the ecological restoration/ protection field and think that TNC are probably the most effective large organization out there at Getting Shit Done.

Condescending premise aside, I just wanted to say the environmentalists I know do not share this impression.
posted by wholebroad at 8:46 PM on November 20, 2010


Get him that Greenpeace membership. Besides the fact it's what he wants (hello?), he gets to look back at what a conscientious badass as an 11-year old. My experience with these things is they lead in directions which only make us prouder as we grow on and on.

And bless all the kids who know what they want. Y'all rock.
posted by Mike Mongo at 9:10 PM on November 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


The Children of the Earth Foundation! Their mission is "To ensure the survival of future generations by guiding youth and community to a pure connection with the Earth. Hands on learning activities through the ancient art and science of tracking, awareness, and wilderness living skills. They have camps, family wilderness survival skills weekends, etc.. A gift certificate towards a camp would be awesome, but you could also make a donation in his name.
posted by Ostara at 9:15 PM on November 20, 2010


Get him the Greenpeace membership for Christmas, its what he asked for. Clearly it inspired him, right? Then after Christmas, email him links to some other organizations in his area that you think he might enjoy getting involved with.
posted by Joh at 9:42 PM on November 20, 2010


Roots and Shoots has a Four Corners regional office.
posted by msittig at 10:33 PM on November 20, 2010


As someone who usually got a "reasonable facsimile" of what I asked for for Christmas,(a plastic accordion is not even close to an Emenee Electric Organ) I have to say get him what he asked for.
posted by Linnee at 11:12 PM on November 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


Wow, see, you have received thoughtful opinions that differ dramatically. The Center for Biological Diversity and TNC, both of which fshgrl recommends, have very, very, very different ways of acting. I have seen them on opposite sides of an issue more than once. So even within one person's informed and thoughtful recommendation, you have two groups who are effective in their own ways, but whose ways are so very different that at times they seem like enemies. And then you have wholebroad and LobsterMitten's article disagreeing with fshgrl's assessment of TNC. And nobody has yet mentioned NRDC, Wild Earth Guardians (very NM-centric), EDF, Audubon, Wilderness Society, Union of Concerned Scientists, Defenders of Wildlife, or others, which all have their own approaches and supporters.

All of which I say to reiterate my original advice that you respect his request. If he's asking for this at age 11, then he may have the calling to end up like one of us, full of his own opinionated opinions on this question. That's why you should get the young man what he wants.

I know people that work at two-thirds of the groups I mentioned, but I didn't pick the groups on that basis, and I don't know anyone at Greenpeace.
posted by salvia at 11:34 PM on November 20, 2010


If you get him the Greenpeace membership, he will notice that when he is passionate about something, adults treat him more like another adult and less like a child who needs decisions made for him. That itself would be a very thoughtful gift.
posted by drdanger at 7:32 AM on November 21, 2010 [9 favorites]


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