Years ago, after I'd answered several questions from a group of teens, one of them asked how I could stay optimistic and keep on going. I answered that instead of getting sad, I get mad.

Being mad is activating. Being sad can lead to hopelessness. I'm not hopeless. I'm very hopeful.

Education, the free flow of information, is key for our personal and societal growth. It all comes back to education.

We have spent the better part of the last fifty years being inundated by advertising, being told that we will be happier if we get more stuff. But that's been backfiring recently.

I believe that it's vital for children and teens to be educated, to be given information to help them understand the impacts humans are having on our water, soil, and air.

Energy use, transportation options, food choices, water use, purchasing choices, participating in elections, volunteering for nonprofits . . . and within each of these categories, each of us can learn to live a more conscious life.

Years ago, after I'd answered several questions from a group of teens, one of them asked how I could stay optimistic and keep on going. I answered that instead of getting sad, I get mad.