Orson Welles co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane when he was 26-years-old. It's okay, all you folks in your mid- to late-twenties, don't despair: it depresses me too. But I don't want you to feel bad for wasting yourtwenties, I really want you to also realize you basically wasted your teen years, as well. Yesterday, Collin highlighted 19 incredible stories of human accomplishment, which are impressive in their own right, but if you found those people inspiring, you have to hear about these 21 kids that didn't waste their youth like I did.
Kenyan Teen's Invention Saves Lions, Helps Farmers
13-year-old Kenyan inventor, Richard Turere used broken LED flashlights to create a lighting system that tricks lions into thinking humans are patrolling the area, which is enough to keep the lions away, protecting his family's livestock (and their very lives) and reducing risk of human-wildlife conflict. I once figured out how to work the S-O-S setting on my flashlight impressing absolutely no one.
16 years old Nadav Ossendryver created Kruger Sightings, a wildlife tracker website that provides real-time animal sightings for Kruger national park in South Africa. All I ever did was watch that classic Battle at Kruger video three times on YouTube and send the link to my friends with the subject line: WHOOOOOAAAA!
Teen Finds Way to Decompose Plastic Bags
Teens Run E-Waste Recycling Business
Jason Lin, a 15-year-old high school sophomore and his friends run the website iReTron.com where people can sell their old phones, laptops, game systems and many other gadgets and accessories to keep them out of the landfill. I still have a drawer of old chargers I can't seem to find time to deal with.
California Teens Protest Abercrombie & Fitch Perfume
After learning that Abercrombie & Fitch's fragrance, Fierce, contains some 14 chemicals that cause all sorts of terrible stuff to happen to your body, students involved with Teens Turning Green took to the streets to protest the spraying of A&F's fragrance, calling it "toxic trespassing." Hell yes! Just walking by one of their store fronts feels like a bio-hazard.
15-Year-Old Parker Skies to the Top of the World
Teens Sue States to Protect Climate, Declare Atmosphere a Public Trust
When I was young, I probably saw every episode of Matlock and Columbo reruns. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Alex Loorz actually used the real life legal system to try and save the world for the benefit of all humanity. Where were my priorities?14 Year-Old Turns a '72 VW Beetle into an Electric Car
10-Year-Old Girl Stops a Mountain Being Sold to China
After noticing some unusual new equipment near the Jarilla Mountains in New Mexico, 10-year-old Caitlyn Larson and her parents discovered a foreign company was planning to strip the mountain and send 6 million tons of ore to China. They rallied opposition and eventually helped the State of New Mexico realize the new mining wasn't properly permitted, which has thus far saved the wildlife and vegetation that call the mountains home.9-Year-Old's Science Fair Project Saves City Thousands of Gallons of Water
Curious how he did it? It is simple, but effective.6-Year-Old Who Beat Cancer Fights to Save Penguins
"In the hospital, I asked Aggie if he had a wish; if there was anything he wanted," says Aghelos' mother, Elizabeth Kouvaras. "He didn't want an X-box or a Playstation. He said he wanted to save penguins. 'What are we going to do without animals?' he asked. If they die, we will all die." That's heavy stuff, Aghelos.
13-year-old Fights to Save Endangered Parrots
Aaron Friedman has made it his mission to help preserve the critically endangered Kakapo parrots. "It might make a difference and at least I'll know that I've tried," says Aaron. Word.Talented 11-Year-Old Paints Birds, Raises Over $200,000 For Gulf Coast Relief Efforts
While most kids -- and most adults -- wrung their hands in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and wondered what we could do to make sure it didn't happen again, 11-year-old Olivia Bouler partnered with the Audubon Society to sell off original sketches of the avian members most affected by the spill, and raised more than $200,000 for Gulf Coast relief efforts.10-Year-Old Pressures KFC to Stop Destroying Forests
After getting McDonald's to change to recycled packaging, Cole and some other friends decided to pressure KFC to stop cutting down endangered forests in North Carolina. It didn't work, but did you even try to help? Exactly.
10-Year-Old's Petition Prompts Jamba Juice to Ditch Styrofoam
libookperson/CC BY 2.0 When I am handed a drink in a styrofoam cup, I cringe, regret not having my own cup and probably go ahead and drink my smoothie. Not 10-year-old Mia Hansen. When she realized Jamba Juice was serving smoothies in styrofoam cups, she started a petition, which eventually gained 130,000 signatures and prompted the company to change their cups to a more sustainable material. Thank you, Mia for helping us adults be less terrible.
12-Year Old Develops Solar Cell That Absorbs 500 Times the Light of Existing Cells
"William Yuan, a 12-year old boy from Beaverton, Oregon, has developed a new 3D solar cell which if it ever gets commercialized could seriously change the face of solar power."
Okay, I'll just stop there. We both know there are so many more super kids that have done incredible things that would just make us feel even worse for accomplishing so little. Now that we're sufficiently demoralized, let's go out and show these kids what adults with more money, education and power can accomplish! Let's show these kids whose boss!
