By Rayana Godfrey

There’s no place for lead in the human body, plain and simple. Even the smallest amount of exposure to the element is toxic. Scientists estimate that before the Industrial Revolution, most people had about .01 micrograms of lead for every half cup of blood in their bodies. But we’ve put a lot of lead into the environment since then.

Lead is a naturally occuring metal used in everyday consumer products like toys, accessories, and furniture. When someone is exposed to lead, either through inhaling or absorbing it through the skin, it can poison their necessary organs and affect the nervous system, causing behavior and attention problems, hearing problems, reduced IQ, slowed body growth, and poor brain development. All this definitely can affect one’s performance in school. I personally feel lead is super dangerous and if people disregard the issue, it can cause serious problems.

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Deyantae Newson

There is a theory based on the Mayan calendar that the Earth is coming to an end in 2012. There were similar concerns during Y2K. Instead of overreacting and being afraid, we should do what we can to help our Earth in the meantime.

When I first heard of these Doomsday theories, I was shocked because I thought Armageddon’s only occurred in movies. I admit I got a little scared when I heard these theories. Eventually, I realized that if they were true, there’s nothing I can do but live my life.

Instead of panicking over something unpredictable, I want to focus on preventing the world from getting any worse.

Look at the small pieces of pollution that we make everyday. Cars create pollution, we eat foods with chemicals, and we litter. What if the whole world littered? We would be living on top of trash.

Besides hurting our environment, we also harm our bodies. Soda has harmful chemicals in it. We should consume more water and invent healthier drinks.

I would rather focus my efforts on trying to do something beneficial for myself, my friends, and if possible my environment.

Toms, the new trendy shoe.  You’ve seen them around because everybody’s wearing them, guys and girls, young people and old people.  Read more...

Oh my goodness! Would you ever suspect that even seafood is bad for you now? One year after the BP oil spill, nearly half of all surveyed restaurant patrons gave unfavorable reviews of seafood from the Gulf. CBS News' Mark Strassmann reports on the lasting effects oil in the Gulf has had on seafood and the people consuming it. Many restaurant owners won't even buy seafood anymore.

WATCH:

The following was originally published on L.A. Youth.

When we talked to the Air Quality Management District about writing about air pollution, we wanted to know how teens could help reduce pollution. We were excited to learn that there’s a lot that teens can do. Driving less is the biggest thing you can do because exhaust from cars and other vehicles is responsible for more than half of the smog in our region. There are other steps you can take, too. Using less energy helps because some of the energy used to power electronics, turn on lights and heat water comes from air-polluting power plants. Another thing you can do is unplug TVs, computers and phone chargers when you’re not using them because electronics that are turned off but plugged in still use a little energy. So we challenged our staff to drive less and use less energy for one week. They all said that they think they can keep it up.

Quinten Harrison

On Monday I walked to school instead of driving. It was an epic fail. I was 20 minutes late to first period and got detention. After that I asked my mom if I could carpool with her. She said sure, but that I’d have to wake up earlier so she wouldn’t be late to work.

After school on Tuesday I took a shower. Usually, I take a 15-minute shower because I shower with the radio on and sing along. I wanted to limit my time to five minutes so I would save energy by using less hot water. I turned the radio off and my shower felt really short, but when I got out I looked at the clock—it had been 10 minutes.

By Thursday, I was finally getting the hang of turning off the lights when I left a room, but with the lights out, everything seemed so empty. When I was in the living room and the rest of the lights were off, I felt like the next victim in a horror film. Maybe the reason why most people leave the lights on is because we’re still afraid of the dark.

Although I didn’t meet my expectations, I changed habits and I feel good about it. If I reduce the energy I use, there will be less pollution and everyone benefits from that.
Quinten Harrison, 17, Marshall Fundamental HS (Pasadena)

The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Caitlin Grey

In high school it was difficult to convince classmates that their environment was not just forests and mountains far away from Alameda, but that it was everything around them.

College I thought would be different. I hoped the tree-hugger jokes would decrease, maybe the rude comments would stop all together, and perhaps people would even willingly recycle. But sadly my expectations were completely wrong.

When I got to school at the University of Chicago, I immediately got involved with climate activism on campus. It didn’t take long before my new friends started making casual jokes about my environmental tendencies.

But this was nothing compared to the next wave of confrontation coming my way. I created a Facebook event for a national action. College students were making paper pinwheels and planting them on their campuses to attract local politicians’ attention to green energy. Then the pinwheels would be shipped to Washington DC.

A new book by Sharon Smith called, “The Young Activist’s Guide to Building A Green Movement and Changing the World,” is truly geared towards life in the present.

In addition to providing lists of current resources, websites, and organizations that can help youth on their way to creating a green revolution, the book also features the experiences of Brower Youth Award winners. Sharon Smith is the program advisor of the Earth Island Institute’s Brower Youth Awards, which are presented to extraordinary young environmentalists. (For Youth Radio's coverage of the most recent Brower winners, click here.)

The philosophy behind the book is that there is an urgent need for environmental change.  The introduction says, “We are on the verge of some of the most significant societal changes in human history. We have to be. We can’t continue on our current path any longer.”

Young people can be the catalyst for that change, but they may not know how to get started, according to the book. “We all know it’s one thing to feel that call stirring deep within us, and it’s another thing altogether to confront our fears.”

The book outlines 11 steps to follow to turn dreams of environmental change into reality.

1. Find your passion
2. Create an action plan
3. Build a green movement
4. Spread your message
5. Politics
6. Corporate campaigns
7. Protest with power
8. Make media headlines
9. Grow the green
10. Green your campus
11. Change the world.

Beside the environmental benefits of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel-guzzling transportation, eating locally produced food is often healthier. It's clear we need more youth leaders who understand where our food comes from and how their actions can impact human and environmental health. But how to start?

Young people in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Council partnered up with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to document how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has affected those in New Orleans. This past August, the 25 young people interviewed local residents, teachers, and environmental workers about solutions for dealing with the spill and the impact it has had on their lives.

Watch a sample video interview below, and find more video interviews here: