As these two stories show， young people have much more power to initiate and accomplish change than what adults may believe. Moreover， youth often achieve much more than they ever expect they will. These stories also illustrate two key points that environmental groups would do well to remember.
First， saving the environment means more than just holding large public events targeted at adults. Students can make a major difference through smaller actions at home or larger campaigns. By influencing families， corporations and government，students can have a significant positive impact. So working with student groups can be the start to making big changes.
And second， small actions can have a big impact. We often tend to think about big events like Clean and Green Week. Instead， a lot of small changes can make a difference. If hundreds or thousands of students convince their families to turn off the tap to save water， move the air conditioning temperature up a degree or two， drive less and make other environmentally-friendly changes， the entire family may change its behaviors. With these small and symbolic yet high-impact changes， youth have an effect beyond just their own actions.
Youth can benefit by realizing that their own actions have more power than they may expect， and environmentalists can benefit by taking the time to focus on even the youngest students.