It’s been quite a year for Seventh Generation’s Chief Inspired Protagonist. (That’s me!)

Everything is being painted green. Cars, food, clothing, vacations, toys, parties – God knows what’s next. Unfortunately much of what passes for green is just greenwashing. The commercial for the Chevrolet Volt is filled the requisite eco-imagery of blue sky, happy kids, and a sprawling green field surrounding the Volt, a plug-in, hybrid sedan that gets up to 40 miles "without a drop of gas." As the announcer put it, Chevy has gone from "gas friendly to gas free." But the small print that flashed at the end of the ad captured the Volt's true distinctiveness: "Not yet available for sale."

I am never the less thrilled to see the environment living front and center in the publics mind. But to make sure we seize this amazing opportunity to save our planet, there’s a lot of work to do. That’s where you come in and why we created Change It over two years ago.

I read some amazing applications for Change It '07. It was so heartening to hear about the incredible things that students across campuses everywhere are already doing. It’s inspiring. It’s awesome. It’s the kind of thing that keeps generating hope for us. It’s what motivates Seventh Generation to continue to support students in the environmental and social justice movements.

I look forward to reading your applications, to hearing what you non-applicants are doing to Change It, and to bringing that hope and inspiration to Seattle and Boston!