【推荐2】Help Get Teens Ready for College

College is an exciting time and place for young adults, but it can also be disturbing. Thankfully, there are plenty of books to help your teens get ready for college.

♦Every Body Looking by Candice Hoh

Going to college means that Ada will be living away from her family for the first time in her life. The distance gives her anxiety, but breathing room, too. She has the opportunity to reflect on her upbringing, ,her family's expectations, and what she wants for herself.

♦We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Keep a box of tissues on hand as you read because this short novel has a huge emotional impact on readers. Suffering from grief, Marin left her old life behind when she went to college. During a solitary winter break in her dorm room, an old friend comes to visit. Seeing her friend forces Marin to face the sufferings from her past and find a way to heal.

♦College Admission 101 by The Princeton Review and Robert Franek

Education expert and editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review shares his knowledge of the college admission process in this Q&A style guidebook. From choosing extra - curricular activities to securing financial aid, Robert Franek answers over 60 of the most common questions about getting into college.

♦Anxiety Relief for Teens by Regine Galanti, Ph. D.

There's no question that today's teens suffer from increasing amounts of anxiety. Going to college during a pandemic could make it worse. Help your teens manage their stress and get into a healthier mindset with this book's tips and advice.

【推荐3】Four Books Worth Reading

The Eco Hero Handbook by Tessa Wardley

The book addresses the issue of eco-anxiety by providing a one-page answer to each commonly-asked question. Hopefully, the author can make the readers feel like they can take action this way. The questions range from “Is my water usage affecting the planet and nature?” to “Which foods are responsible for the worst deforestation?” The answers are the same length, regardless of the complexity of the questions, which is a bit odd at times; but they are solidly researched and well-cited responses, with resources for follow-up.

The Humane Home by Sarah Lozanova

The book contains seven chapters that cover topics such as energy efficiency, water conservation, passive solar heat, building materiaIs, and air quality. It contains numerous little projects, from building garden beds to preserving home-grown produce. The book is a quick and easy read, which can be easily finished in an hour or two. It gives readers a good sense of what they want to explore further.

An Almost Zero Waste Life by Megean Weldon

The book offers suggestions on reducing waste in every aspect of life, from grocery shopping to beauty routines and clothing. The book is packed with information in short, easily-digestible paragraphs, and the chapters are accompanied by cute graphics (图形) and stylized minimalist photography (极简摄影).

Sustainable Home by Christine Liu

This beautiful book could sit on your coffee table, with its splendid minimalist photography. Author Christine Liu is a sustainability blogger whose own home and DIY projects are featured in the book. She goes through all the steps you can take to avoid waste, reduce clutter (杂乱的东西)， and adopt more eco-friendly practices. Her advice is helpful to anyone who feels frightened by the climate crisis.

【推荐2】A compost (堆肥) program at the Wesley School in Los Angeles is helping kindergarten through eighth grade students to teach them ways to solve human-driven climate change. For the past year, 5, 200 pounds of food waste from the school has gone into compost containers rather than a landfill where it would just break down and produce planet-warming gases.

The school workers could have easily thrown the food waste into a city-provided green bin (垃圾箱) . But taking it out of sight, which would have been easier, would have missed the point, says science teacher Johnna Hampton. “When it’s invisible like that, they don’t see it, but they know it doesn’t sink in (心安) .”

When sixth grader Finn saw the finished compost pile, it sank in. “That’s my orange chicken in there,” he says. “That’s not just like any food. Somewhere in there is my food.”

The school will use the compost on plants around campus. Some will be offered to families that want to use it at home, and whatever is left will be donated.

Fifth grader Sloan felt so encouraged by the school’s compost program she decided to take climate action outside of school. Along with several other fifth graders, Sloane says, “We did a lemonade stand at our friend’s house and we made over $200, and we donated it.” They also helped create a petition (请愿) to replace the plastic forks and spoons in the school cafeteria with compostable ones.

Fifth grader Kingston was excited to learn his food waste will help grow new food on campus. “It feels good that you’re doing something that helps the planet, instead of just sitting and watching it get destroyed,” he says.

Jennifer Silverstein, an expert on climate, says the school’s compost program checks a lot of the boxes for effective, positive climate education to help youth understand the crisis of human-caused climate change.