Throngs of Thousand Oaks High School students got involved in the “green revolution” last Friday at the school’s Sustainability Summit 2010, an event that offered information about the environment and climate change.

Ashley Cooper was one of the science teachers who organized the summit, which was inspired by the Climate Change Summit that took place last month in Copenhagen.

Cooper said the summit would provide a great opportunity for TOHS students to connect with environmental specialists and learn more about conservation. Teachers are required to teach their students about California Resources, a state standard.

“It’s all data. People try to make it a partisan issue—we only present the facts,” Cooper said. “We provide the facts and let them decide from there. But after hearing it all, they usually come to the same conclusion.”

The event ran all day, with classes visiting various presentations from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some speakers included Andre Villasenor of the Environmental Protection Agency; Linda Purpus, United Water Conservation District; Bill Buratto, Ventura County Economic Development Association; and Stephanie Mutz, Santa Barbara Fisheries Research.

One of the most popular speakers was Alec Loorz, 15, founder of the nonprofit Kids vs. Global Warming.

Loorz, a student at El Camino High School in Ventura, began his nonprofit two years go after watching Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth.” He applied to be one of 1,000 people Gore was training to give presentations based on the film, but Alec was rejected because of his age.

He put together his own presentations and began educating young people about the environment. Through his efforts he was introduced to Gore and taken under the former vice president’s wing. Alec became the youngest person trained to administer the presentation, based on the awardwinning documentary.

“I’m just a regular kid—I’m not rich or super privileged,” Alec said“I just heard the call. Our generation is going to be most affected by global warming. We need to be leaders in the green revolution.”

Alec has given nearly 150 talks on climate change and what kids can do help, which is the basis of his nonprofit organization. He’s spoken with U.S. senators and at the United Nations, and he attended the Climate Summit in Copenhagen last month.

“Despite some disappointment in regards to the final agreementit was amazing to be there,” Alec said. “It was basically a bunch of lawyers and politicians talking about science, which doesn’t really work.”

Dr. James Hansen of NASA said the climate crisis needs to be solved in the next 10 years to prevent major disastrous climate change, Alec said.

“We can’t wait until we’re out of graduate school or we become great scientists or senators,” he said.

Alec explained that if climate change isn’t tackled, sea levels will rise, leaving millions homeless. Floods, hurricanes and droughts will hit harder, and there could be 200 million climate refugees by 2050. A warmer global temperature will lead to warmer oceans, habitat loss, glacier melts, water shortages, famine and the extinction of some species, he said.

“We’re messing with the perfect balance Earth needs to survive,” Alec said.

Alec informed the packed room of high school students about cutting edge technologies that have been developed, including a dance floor that creates energy from the vibrations of people dancing on it. He also talked about the rewards of using the sun, wind and waves to create energy. Alec suggested ways students could make a difference, including not buying bottled water, hanging up wet clothes instead of using a dryer and bicycling instead of driving.

“The reality is that we have more power than you can possibly imagine,” Alec told the group, which rowdily applauded at the conclusion of his presentation.

Superintendent Mario Contini also spoke during the summit, educating students on what the school district has done to make schools more green. CVUSD has used recycled materials in construction projects, recycles engine oil and requires all cafeteria containers to be biodegradable, he said.

“I’d like to emphasize that going green is a global responsibility,” Contini said. “Each of us is going to be a part of that. All this business about how we can’t control climate change––it’s not true.

“We need to take the bull by the horns and step up. This is our planet, and if we don’t do something, we are going to have a lot to worry about in our lifetimes.”

Alec is planning an iMatter March on April 3, in which he expects 1 million teens will march in all 50 states to demand that world leaders consider their future with the laws they pass.

“The time for a new revolution has come—a green revolution,” Alec said. “This can and will happen. We are the future, but we are more than that. We are the present. Let’s work together to change the world, not just occupy it.”

Cooper said that she’s already talked with Contini about making the summit an annual event and moving it to the gymnasium so there’s room for students from neighboring high schools.

“It’s been amazing,” Cooper said. “We are so excited about this and really want to expand.”

For more information about Kids vs. Global Warming, visit kids-vs-global-warming.com.