The essence of this issue to me has nothing to do with green coaching tips like carpooling and turning the water off when you brush your teeth.  While those are all eco-friendly choices to make, of course, when it comes to raising kids, the most important "earth-smart" routines are really about teaching kids how to connect with common sense, common courtesy and their own heart-based compassion.

I think that the root of a healthy family, a connective society and a thriving ecosystem is in placing our energies into raising the next generation in a way which puts them in touch with how correct it feels to be forward thinking contributors to a society.  From there, all things are possible and all issues can be solved.

Having been in the "green" field for for several decades, I've had the opportunity to watch information, perceptions and products evolve so much that I've come to realize that the green movement is a continual work in progress.  As a society, we are constantly becoming more aware of what's truly happening around the world, and yet in many cases, we are still searching for a definitive answer.

So, my style of giving advice is not to advocate a list of tips and tricks - because that can be discovered with the click of a mouse - but rather, I prefer to ask concerned citizens to simply slow down and stop what they are frantically trying to figure out, breathe deeply and listen to their own sense of truth.  I very often find that if I do this, myself, I can't believe how much of a sense of stillness comes over my body from this shockingly easy action, and often times, a smile will effortlessly spring from my lips.  If you try this and experience the same thing happen to you, as I genuinely believe that it will, this feeling of contentedness will likely move you to come up with your own fresh ideas about how to be greener in your life and for your children.

Once you've used this incredibly simple technique and seen how surprisingly powerful it is, it's the perfect time to model for your children how to try the same thing themselves.  Demonstrate for them how to find a moment of calm, take a deep breath, connect with their peaceful little hearts and feel their own inner joy.  This technique is so powerful, because in the end, this spectacular feeling of being connected to their wholeness is everything that we are actually fighting to protect on this planet anyway!  When we feel nurtured from our own sense of wholeness, it feels natural to look for ways that we can bring peace to others, as opposed to feeling obsessed with buying a bigger house or another video game.  Instead, we want to share our toys and think about the kind of fresh-thinking actions we can take to make others lives easier and a brighter future for everyone.

Demonstrating for the next generation how we can uncover and tap into our authentic source of fulfillment and how to connect deeper with each other, as a loving Mom or Dad, is about the greenest parenting decision that you can make.  The positive effect of that kind of guidance will be felt by the entire world in ways which we can't even predict.    Raised with this kind of presence, kids will instinctively know that their family's efforts toward carpooling and turning the water off FEELS like the correct thing to do from inside their hearts.  They will grow up to be protectors of the planet from their inner guidance system and will not be tied to a "To Do List" of green-ness.  Many things that go along with responsible stewardship, today, will undoubtedly change over time.  But as the evermore compassionate and thoughtful people that we are, and that our children will become, our society really will be ready to make the thoughtful and intuitive choices needed to bring greater balance to our planet ... and all with a smile on our faces!

For more ideas about how kids can get involved with their communities and create the ideas that can heal the planet visit DoSomething.Org.  Then, have them come back to www.rebekahgreencom to enter their story in the Eco-Hero contest!