Everyone has heard the phrases “give a hoot, don’t pollute”, “only you can prevent forest fires”, and “you gotta play it safe around power lines”. Woodsy Owl, Smokey Bear, and Louie the Lightning Bug have all been effective mascots in public service announcements to teach children safety tips. In the wake of a potential global crisis the Colleges of Science, Humanities, and Arts and Spartan Film Studios from San Jose State University have created a mascot to fight climate change. The Green Ninja, trained in the mountains of Japan, helps in the fight against climate change by educating citizens on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Green Ninja creators, coined the Ninja Team, hope “to develop and promote Green Ninja educational materials that will be used in schools throughout the nation to improve climate change literacy” through workshops, webisodes, other social media outlets and contests. The climate change superhero also features teaching materials and contest forms to further educate children in the classroom.
The Green Ninja has been featured in a series of webisodes on YouTube and will continue to educate children on individual actions they can take to reduce carbon emissions. Each episode is complimented by a resource on the facts presented in that episode. In Spring of 2013 the Green Ninja will gain a wider audience when it begins production of a weekly variety show.
Climate change has caused some of history’s biggest temperature extremes, storms, and drought, and will continue to get worse without education or action. By educating the next generation we may be able to prevent further natural disasters associated with climate change.
