[Judy Pino] Have you talked to your teenagers about climate change lately? Well, October is the perfect time to start. The first Monday of October has been designated by Congress as Child Health Day, and October is also Children's Health Month. Hello and welcome to Green Scene, EPA's series of environmental podcasts that you can take with you. I'm Judy Pino. By encouraging young people to get involved in addressing climate change issues, you can create a new climate for action. And with that in mind, EPA is launching a campaign to educate middle and high school students about climate change and its effects on children's health. And to tell us more about this very important campaign is Ruth McCully, director of EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection and Enviornmental Education, and Ashley Sims [phonetic sp], a senior at Indiana University and an intern with the office. Thank you for coming, Ruth and Ashley. Welcome. Now, Ruth, why is the campaign focusing solely on climate change impacting children? [Ruth McCully] We're concerned about the impact, potential impact, of climate change on children's health. Children are developing, are still developing, they interact differently with the environment, and they have the potential to really be impacted disproportionately by environmental hazards. Climate change can increase some of these environmental hazards. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions we hope that we'll have a healthier environment where children live, learn, and play. [Judy Pino] Now let's talk about some of the goals of this campaign. [Ruth McCully] There are really three goals of the campaign. One is to really reach out to young people, middle school and high school students, for them to make the connection between climate change and children's health. The second goal is to get them to reduce their own personal energy use. And the third goal is to get our EPA partners and youth-based organizations mobilized to get young people engaged to address climate change. We want young people to know that they can make a difference, that they can be empowered, and that they can really reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the climate. [Judy Pino] Absolutely, and a perfect example of that is Ashley. And Ashley, of course, is a student at Indiana University. You're also interning with the office during a very exciting time in this campaign, and so it makes sense that you, too, are involved. What is your role? [Ashley Sims] Well, each week I will have the opportunity to create blog entries to try to get young people involved in the discussion about climate change and get them involved in the effort. For example, my first blog posting was about getting students to school but to do it in a more energy-efficient way. [Judy Pino] How? [Ashley Sims] Well, young people have the opportunity to -- [Judy Pino] Change the way they do their transportation. [Ashley Sims] Yes. Public transportation, they can ride bicycles, they can walk to school, or even taking the bus. I'm just so excited and so eager just to find out the ideas that students may have encouraging other people as well as their own peers in being energy conscious even as they're going to school. [Judy Pino] That should be interesting to see the responses that you get on that blog. [Ashley Sims] Yes. [Judy Pino] Okay, and what role do the organizations, Ruth, -- what role are the organizations playing, and EPA as well, in this campaign? [Ruth McCully] Well, we're really reaching out to our EPA partners because they can really make a big difference. Some of these youth-based organizations, for example, have environmental health programs already for young people. Some of them already have climate change programs. Some organizations really bring young people together and teach them life skills so that they can really reach their full potential as adults. Organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America have extensive expertise, and we're really looking to them to really engage young people to address climate change. [Judy Pino] And you continue recruiting partners, too? [Ruth McCully] Oh, absolutely, because those partners will amplify our message. [Judy Pino] Why is this an important campaign for young people, would you say, and how can they do their part? [Ruth McCully] Well, there's a lot that young people can do. They can show their leadership as they already have in the United States recycling efforts. And educated and motivated young people can make a difference. For example, as we've already talked about, they can walk or ride or take public transportation to school. They could unplug their cell phone chargers when they're not in use. They could turn off the TV and spend more time outdoors. They could go to their schools and promote their schools to be involved in the Energy Star program and be more energy efficient. They could go to their parents and suggest to them that maybe they purchase energy-efficient light bulbs. And more than that, they could be the ambassadors. They could be the climate ambassadors in their community. They could reach out to their peers and teach them about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, become those leaders for their homes, their schools, and their communities. [Judy Pino] And speaking of getting involved, of course, Ashley, who's already getting involved, do you really think that young people get this whole climate change thing, and how important is a campaign like this to really get the message to them? [Ashley Sims] Well, I think some do and some don't. That's why this campaign is so important. I think it would be a good opportunity for people to actually understand it in their level from the campaign. And just to get people involved and encourage them to take action, I think, will be very beneficial to our generation. [Judy Pino] And, Ruth, if someone is interested in more information about the campaign, where can they go? [Ruth McCully] They can go to our Web site, www.epa.gov/climateforaction, and there they will find all kinds of resources. There will be resources to educate young people about making the connection between climate change and children's health. There's a PowerPoint presentation that they can download to teach others about climate change and children's health. Our colleagues over in the climate change division have developed a calculator where young people can calculate their carbon footprint and also identify ways to reduce their carbon footprint. And then there are also other resources that are available. Our Web site is organized around three themes, learn, act, and lead, and provides the resources for our young people to be climate ambassadors and have the resources so that they can learn, act, and lead and lead the way for climate change in their communities. [Judy Pino] Perfect. Well, I'm sold. Well, thank you, Ruth and Ashley, from the Office of Children's Health Protection and Environmental Education, for your efforts in educating the next generation on this very important environmental issue. And again, for more information on what you can do to reduce climate change no matter what your age, please visit www.epa.gov/climateforaction. See you next time on Green Scene.