Remember "Captain Planet?" I do, though I was veryyoung when the show was on TV. My friends and I would pretend to save the worldfrom pollution and litter, but that was just a game, and those days are gone,right? Well, technically it was just a game, and if we were caught playing"Captain Planet" today we would be asking for a beating (and I'm surethere are plenty out there who would be glad to give it to us).

But as Ilook back, good old Captain Planet had a point: save the world and have a goodtime doing it. But how many teenagers do you know would rather pick up litterthan go to a party? I don't know about you, but I sure don't know any.

Sowhat's a teenager to do? Well, the options are endless. Instead of throwing yourcheeseburger wrapper on the ground, put it in the trash. Opt to walk somewhererather than drive. Recycle; it doesn't take much energy to throw a pop can in ablue bin. And if you're walking and you see a piece of trash that doesn't havetoo much gunk on it, pick it up and throw it away. It might not look"cool," but let me ask you this: would you rather go out for a night onthe town when the place looks like a dumpster? Nah, didn't think so.

It'snot that hard. I'm not asking you to bust out the Captain Planet capes and runaround the block picking up every piece of trash you see (although that would besomething!). Just take three seconds to walk to the trash can and throw somethingaway. And wouldn't you rather take a nice relaxing walk on a beautiful day thandrive?

Now, if you'd like to bust out the Captain Planet attire, hey, gofor it. But cape or no cape, taking a little time now will save a lot in the longrun. One of these days you will look outside and see the real beauty of theearth, and you'll thank yourself for it. Oh, and Captain Planet will, too.