There’s a new campaign to change the color of the White House, but it won’t mean changing the trademark look of the President’s headquarters; rather, it’s a call for American’s to lead the way in showing the First Family (and all those who are employed within those famed white walls) how to get their home green. And teens are taking the reins.

The movement is called Green The White House, and it was initiated by New York Times bestselling author Sloan Barnett, who wrote Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Greener Planet, and began somewhat accidentally when Barnett encouraged readers of the Huffington Post to submit ideas on the eco-focused changes they would make to the White House—from easy steps like switching out incandescent light bulbs for CFLs and buying reusable water bottles to bigger endeavors like solar curtains.  She received such a large response that she decided to make the idea more official, and the Green The White House movement was born.

On the Green The White House website, you can take a tour of the White House with Barnett’s ideas for getting it greener and then post your own suggestions (in either written or video form), where they’ll ultimately be viewable for all to educate themselves about making their own homes better for the environment.

To get green ideas from the next generation, DoSomething.org, one of the largest teen organizations in the U.S., has joined forces with Green The White House, and is featuring a contest where those who are 25 or under can find eco-inspiration on the Do Something website that they’ll execute in their homes (and record with photos or video) to post online. When the contest ends on May 21st, five teens will be featured on the Do Something homepage and win eco-friendly prize packs.

If you’ve got any teens in your life, send them a link to the Do Something site and encourage them to give greening their home a shot. Not only will they be making a difference for others, they could collect some cool prizes for themselves, too. Don’t forget to upload your own ideas to the Green The White House Site, either.

Powered by Bookmarkify™