It's time to behave like we live here.

• Author: Schwartz, Stephan
• Position: Voices

EAST MEADOW, NEW YORK--In August, I attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development, a United Nations conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. I was part of an eight-member delegation from SustainUS, a national network of American youth working for sustainability.

Most people probably don't know what "sustainable development" means. It's simple: Sustainable development is the idea that we can protect natural resources and reduce poverty without sacrificing economic growth--that they're not mutually exclusive, that we require all of them.

I've been interested in environmental and human rights issues for a long time. I recycle at home and bring home my empty water bottles to recycle. I walk home two miles from school as much as possible to conserve fuel and reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. This year, I am president of my school's Environmental Club.

Getting teens to pay attention to this kind of conservation is challenging. We grow up assuming that our consumer choices have no impact on the environment or on poverty. There is a lack of information about where products come from, whether they be fast-food burgers or clothes made in foreign sweatshops. By researching on the Internet, it's possible to learn the true environmental and human costs of consumer goods, and the business practices of large corporations.

I...