Newsweek

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event leveraging the power of blogs around the world to raise awareness and spark discussion on an issue and promote social change. This year, more than 9,000 bloggers are dedicating today's post to discussing climate change, and those posts are expected to reach more than 12 million readers. Although Social Citizens doesn't often tackle environmental issues, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to join a movement on the social web for social change. These are just a few ways Millennials can go, and already are going, green.

Buy Green. Being a green consumer is easier than ever, and it doesn't have to be limited to local produce, recyclable paper and reusable bags and water bottles. Last month, Newsweek released its first Green Rankings, which scores the 500 largest US-based companies on their efforts to cut emissions and adopt responsible environmental polices. Among the top 10 are Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, IBM, Nike, and Starbucks. This list will make it easier for you to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to the environment. Check out Newsweek for the full list of rankings and some insight into why they took on this project.

Serve Green. As part of of the Serve America Act this year, President Obama created a Clean Energy Service Corps, which will be a part of AmeriCorps, and will train and put full-time volunteers to work on efficiency programs for homes and offices, weatherizing low-income homes and installing renewable energy systems. These new positions likely won't be announced until next year, so in the meantime you can explore existing AmeriCorps positions with an environmental focus, like wildlife restoration, trail building and invasive species removal. Or check out opportunities through the Corps Network, which enrolls more than 29,000 young people in service and conservation programs each year, and those young people, in turn, mobilize 227,000 volunteers who contribute 21.3 million hours of service every year.

Teach Green. Are you a student or teacher? Try one of these ideas to integrate environmental education into classrooms and community service. Edutopia's searchable database has more than 150 ways to engage other students on various climate topics, and you can add your own or rate and comment on projects you've tried.

Join Green. Even if you're not a blogger, there are endless ways for you to join the online effort to raise awareness and encourage action on climate change. Add a personal story on the UN Foundation Climate Board. Watch and vote in the Drive Smarter Video contest. Challenge a friend to an online environmental education game. Participate in the Greenpeace cool IT challenge campaign to turn IT industry leaders into climate advocates and solution providers.

Find other ways to take action at Change.org and see some of the thousands of other climate change posts from Blog Action Day.

Time for some morning math!

(New media + adaptation) * (new perspectives + information) = a whole lot more people reached.

That's why I dig this Newsweek article about Change.org, an online community relaunching as an online hub and media network for social issues and collective action. Now, people can follow any of Change.org's 13 separate issue-oriented blogs, each with a dedicated editor.

This smart transition is part of a larger move toward connecting online and offline behavior. One timely example is the current election fervor to not only get us to the voting booth, but also keep us involved and participating long after the inauguration. (And of course, I was excited to see Newsweek supporting its points with stats from our foundation, as well as our partners Tom Watson and CNCS.)