Ledger-Dispatch

By Raheem Hosseini (editor@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Megan Reeves, right, 12, illuminates = the=20 difference between regular light bulbs and energy-saving ones for = third=20 graders at Pioneer Elementary School.

Photo by: Raheem = Hosseini

Tyler Ames, left, and Alex Armstrong, = both 12,=20 explain their display on solar power.

Photo by: Raheem=20 Hosseini
Down the trunk of a T-shaped hall = is the=20 door to Room 5, an unimaginatively named double doorway in the heart of = Pioneer=20 Elementary School, behind which a bustling classroom of sixth graders is = enacting its plan to save the world.

Last Wednesday, that plan = was on=20 full display for fellow classmates, staff and parents, as the precocious = students in Lynn Vasquez's class led tours of numerous displays = outlining the=20 impacts of a changing climate and the developing technologies available = to=20 battle a warming world.

Ollie Throssel, a sweet-faced 12-year-old = manning=20 the biomass exhibit, enthused about the projects she and her classmates = spent=20 the past six weeks putting together. "It was really interesting," she = said, "a=20 little scary, (but) something I enjoyed learning about."

Vasquez = said she=20 tried to offset her students' global anxiety by focusing on possible = solutions.=20 "At first they were kind of reeling a little bit," she admitted the day = before=20 the tours. But by studying green technologies and conservation, Vasquez = said the=20 students pushed through that fear to a place of flinty determination. "I = tell=20 them they probably know more than most adults in our = community."

They may=20 have to. At 11 and 12, her sixth graders are a few years away from high = school=20 and just seven from starting college. "This is their world," stressed = Vasquez.=20 "So they definitely have a vested interest in making sure they have a = healthy=20 planet."

On Wednesday, Elizabeth Watson and Anthony Ruiz, both = 11, were=20 deep into explaining their display on alternative transportation to a = crowd of=20 furrow-browed third graders. The two alternated comments, with one = explaining=20 the diagram of a fuel cell car and the other picking up the thread for = the=20 suntrain, an in-development locomotive powered by solar panels along the = length=20 of its roof and throughout the tracks. With a top speed of 150 miles per = hour,=20 San Francisco could have the sun-soaked train speeding along by=20 2015.

"This is the train of the future," Ruiz told his rapt = audience,=20 "hopefully."

One display over, another team of budding = environmentalists=20 was also discussing the benefits of solar energy, explaining the = differences in=20 the way a solar-powered calculator works from the way, say, a = solar-powered car=20 operates. To help make their case, the group assembled a model solar = car, with=20 wires running from a panel to alligator clamps clutched around small = bolts. The=20 bolts charge an orange plastic wheel spun by rubber bands. Swapping the = bolts=20 will make the contraption run in reverse, explained Tyler Ames and Alex=20 Armstrong, both 12. Asked how long it took them to put together, Ames = said not=20 long.

"About half an hour," Armstrong chimed in, glancing at his = partner,=20 who nodded in agreement.

The only hitch they encountered was the = lack of=20 a screwdriver. Instead, they used the alligator clamps to fasten the = bolts, they=20 said with no-sweat ingenuity.

This plays into another one of = Vasquez's=20 goals, which is readying her young charges for the future technological=20 industries of a quickly shifting global economy.

Vasquez also = makes no=20 secret of her desire for her students to bring what they've learned = about=20 conservation home with them as well. "That's what I'm hoping for," she = said, "a=20 ripple effect."

She may already have gotten her wish. Mike Spence = says=20 his daughter's display on the environmental stances and records of 2008=20 presidential candidates left an indelible mark. "It actually did. It = affected=20 the way I voted this year," he said.

Mike's daughter Tory said = Illinois=20 Sen. Barack Obama was the most green-friendly candidate. Asked who was = the=20 worst, she answered quickly. "It was a tie," she said, "between McCain = and=20 Huckabee."

Standing together before a wall of pictures the kids = put=20 together to show the way the world could be, Mike eyed his daughter=20 proudly.

"She was so passionate," he said. "We consider ourselves = (an=20 environmentally conscious) family, but there's always room for = improvement. And=20 seeing it through the kids' eyes ... it never hurts to have a healthy=20 childhood."

That's not to say everyone was equally as enthused. = Vasquez=20 admitted running into resistance from some parents for whom the = existence of=20 global warming still remains debatable.

"I had a couple of = interesting=20 conversations with parents," she said, "just questions about why I was = focusing=20 on this." While universal agreement wasn't always reached, she said = skeptical=20 parents generally appreciated her intentions.

"They turned into = really=20 wonderful conversations," she said. "So yes, I did come across some = resistance,=20 but I was willing to take a chance because it's such an important=20 issue."

That resistance wasn't apparent at last week's open = house, which=20 followed the class tours and featured a handful of parents following = their=20 excited children through the maze of displays. Some parents didn't yet = have=20 children in Vasquez's class, but came anyway. One parent who did was = Lois=20 Ziemer, mother to 12-year-old Veronica Renteria. She had stopped in to = pick up=20 her daughter for guitar lessons and almost stumbled upon the displays by = accident.

"Oh, it's wonderful," she said. "It makes them more=20 aware."

To hear her tell it, Ziemer's daughter is already plenty = aware,=20 racing to the television every time the current presidential race is=20 mentioned.

Renteria and some of her fellow classmates were lined = up=20 before the suntrain display when asked about their ambitious class=20 project.

"Yeah, it was hard in the beginning," Ruiz=20 acknowledged.

"We didn't even know what global warming was in the = beginning," Renteria added.

But every student who was asked said = they're=20 glad they had the chance to learn about it and the part they can play in = making=20 a difference.

It's a venture Vasquez plans to tackle again next = year,=20 though she may tweak it.

"This is something that's been on my = mind and in=20 my heart for a while now," she said, placing a maternal arm around Ruiz, = "so I'm=20 glad I've finally been able to share it with my kids."

Raheem = Hosseini