Khari Johnson-Thompson
By: Administrator
Updated: November 3, 2010
Khari Johnson-Thompson
Grade 9
RCSD- School of the Arts
Rochester, NY
April- GoGreen Student of the Month
Khari is a student who knows the importance of an individual effort in making a 'green' change for the better, but he's also motivated to inspire others to making 'green' change for a collective benefit! Khari is a founder and organizer of the YOUTH ENERGY SUMMIT 2009 (happening April 18, 2009, at the MCC Damon City Campus- click here for information ). He believes in the power of community to making the commitment to save and preserve our natural resources. Here is his 'GoGreen' philosophy in his own words:
I believe that action towards changing
our relationship with the Earth needs to start at the grassroots level and en
mass. Things need to change now so that people are ready for the transitions
that our country will ultimately have to make regarding energy policy and laws
around conservation. Personally, I believe that the best way to get a people
on-board with an idea and excited to accomplish a goal is by having them join
together underneath one banner and adopt new ideals as a group.
The energy of many can propel an individual to do many things, which is the rationale behind why I’ve co-coordinated the Youth Energy Summit, Summer of POWER, and Youth Environmental Challenge with my father. Individually, I haven’t done much to make my house or my family more energy efficient, save for turning off unnecessary lights, unplugging all the power strips and power cords when the items that they power aren’t on, asking my father if all of the lights in our house are fluorescent (which 99.9% of them are) and making sure that the recycling bin is always filled to the top. However, this coming summer during the Summer of POWER, I plan to change my life drastically along with the rest of the community. Since “going green” has such an impact on the Earth that we all live on, I find it important that everyone is encouraged to “go green” together.
To me, “going green” is much more than recycling a little more than usual or switching to fluorescent light bulbs. “Going green” is becoming one with your community and putting in effort as a unit to maintain peace for the Earth, humans, and all living things alike, and to make sure that saving the Earth isn’t a mere fad, because saving the Earth is a responsibility that we as humans have been entrusted with due to our immense amount of power and influence on this planet.
Khari Johnson-Thompson
