A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.

These wonderful innovations will make you smile – and they’re all by kids who want to change the world. (And yes, we could all do with some good news at the moment).

The Barron Prize celebrates young people throughout North America who are making a real difference in their communities. This year’s winners come from a variety of backgrounds – but they all desire to make the world a better place. And they all have the confidence that they don’t need to wait until they’re older to do so.

Abbie Weeks, 18, founded Ecological Action. She convinced her school officials to replace cafeteria Styrofoam trays with reusable ones, and is working to place a fee on single-use plastic bags. Her non-profit has also helped to provide solar energy to the underprivileged in many parts of the world as well as in the US.

Alex Weber,17, spotted the huge number of golf balls in the ocean off California (golf balls are very destructive to the environment). She founded the nonprofit The Plastic Pickup, which has so far removed 21,000 golf balls from the ocean, worked with NOAA to publish their data on plastic pollution, and is pushing for legislation that will force golf courses to to take responsibility for their environmental impact on waterways.

Ana Humphrey, 16, formed Watershed Warriors and has worked with nearly 300 middle-schoolers on environmentally-themed projects such as helping to restore a local wetland, assess water quality and pick up trash.

I really admire these kids – they’re great! This is just a tiny sample – but you can see the list of all the winners and their achievements here.

We all have various electronic devices. Do you have any  idea if they’re green or not?

Most gadgets have a  dirty little secret (not many people know about it – and the big companies certainly won’t tell you).

What’s the secret – and how can you tell if your gadgets are green or not? Find out here.

Wipes. Kitchen wipes. Baby wipes. Travel or  car wipes. Which  are green?

Well, the short answer is – none of them.

Of course, there’s no denying they’re convenient. So if you really need them, here’s what to look out for:

• They should be made from bamboo, ideally organic.
• They should be biodegradeable or compostable.
• They should not contain parabens, triclosan, SLS, alcohol, ureas or phosphates.
• They should not be bleached (chlorine).
• They should have recycled – and recyclable – packaging.
• Avoid wipes that are contained in a bag inside a plastic container –  that’s just wasteful packaging.
• Although it avoids the problem of drying out, don’t buy wipes that are individually wrapped – just imagine how much extra packaging that wastes!
• Avoid antibacterial wipes – like antibacterial soap, they’re not good for us or the environment.
• Avoid scented wipes (if possible) – scent is mostly unregulated, artificial chemicals.
• And definitely don’t use wipes for cleaning kitchen or other surfaces. Use a reuseable sponge or cloth – it’s miles cheaper, and better for your health.

This is one item you probably don’t want to buy in bulk. After some time, wipes lose their moisture, and therefore become less useful. So if you’re buying them, buy only the quantity you know you’ll use in a short time.

And you definitely don’t need different wipes for baby, for your glasses’ lenses, for your car etc. They’re all essentially the same (it’s just marketing that makes them seem different). Find an ecofriendly brand you can trust and stick with it. Or even better, don’t buy any!

And that’s why I’m not recommending any brand of these products this week. Single-use disposables are just lousy for the environment. Go reusable and save the planet!

The world is running short of drinking water.

Many countries will soon face water crises. Are there solutions?

Is water privatization the answer? What are the pros and cons?

Could privatizing water be a great business solution – or an absolute disaster? It’s an interesting question –  find out here!

Global Green News:

Here’s an interesting thought. If your employer were to give you an extra 6 days off each year, would you give up smoking? One company in Japan thinks it will. They want their employees to improve their health and stop smoking – not with penalties but with incentives.

Non-smokers complained that smokers took far more breaks each day than non-smokers. They did some calculations – and announced that non-smokers would get an extra 6 days paid vacation per year. Interesting idea!

An ambitious plan will plant a massive 73 million new trees in the Amazon basin in Brazil. This multi-million-dollar plan will help Brazil to move closer to its Paris Agreement goals. It’s said to be the largest tropical forest restoration in the world, and it’s hoped that the scale of it will help to bring down the cost of reforestation. Reforestation is hugely important for climate change.

US Green News:

It used to be that the US and Syria were the only 2 countries that didn’t sign the Paris Climate Agreement. Now Syria has signed. The US has contributed more than any other country to carbon emissions (China now emits much more each year, but the US has been polluting for longer). Despite its massive contribution to the problem, the US is now the only country in the entire world which is not working to solve climate change.

Luckily some states and cities will still implement carbon reduction measures – and so will many, many caring Americans.  But not Rick Perry (US Energy Secretary). He visited Africa – to promote fossil fuels there (yes, in a wonderfully sunny continent already suffering climate change). He said (and I couldn’t quite believe it) that fossil fuel use in Africa would help prevent sexual assault. What? He thinks that light will help. Well, assault happens with the lights on too, plus there are safe alternatives that provide light. Let’s not get developing countries dependent upon on an unreliable central grid that makes climate change worse. Give people energy independence with solar.

Ohio is suing Energy Transfer Partners for spilling millions of gallons of drilling fluid from its new pipeline. The pipeline (by the company which is behind the Dakota Access Pipeline) has already had 13 violations this year, including dumping diesel fuel near water supplies. Oil people like to say “drill, baby, drill” but the truth is more “spill, baby, spill”.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program — supported by 13 federal agencies — officially released the fourth National Climate Assessment. Its conclusion: Humans are, without doubt, the cause of global warming.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Please spread the Green word and share this info.

And if you’re on Twitter, get a daily green tip by following me – @EcoExpert1 . See you there!