It's time for parents to redirect a fraction of children's time spent now on sports, TV and tutoring to political activism. Civic participation offers the activities and benefits of schools and sports: public speaking, exercise, debate practice, camaraderie, art, social skills, and determination. Their engagement will create a more just and sustainable world.

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"Can you attend a rally this weekend?"   I ask.

"No, my kid's got travel soccer," is the frequent response.

For many today (including me til recently), canvassing and protesting are subordinate to kid activities.  

Life is busy and always will be. But the urgency of today's challenges mandate greater dedication to creating a just, sustainable society.   Having kids occasionally pack sandwiches for the hungry in church is no longer enough. We must teach them to stop the world from creating the homeless, poor and suffering.

Walking Around the White House on Nov, 18 at the "Do the Math" Protest by Veena Trehan

Political activism must become the new travel soccer.

Sure, children's sports contribute to their health and camaraderie. But those benefits -- and stimulation, the lessons of triumphs and failures, and the power of teamwork -- can also be found squarely in civic participation. Some parents and kids get it, like the Mom whose presence with her 6-year-old son at Bill McKibben's "Do the Math" Sunday event was another typical climate-related outing for the two, or the mother whose move to Occupy DC gave her young teenage daughter "the best possible education". But for many, saving the world comes second to scoring a goal.

A small redirection of resources could save our planet.

Travel soccer players put 8 hours to 14 hours a week, or 400 to 700 hours each year, into their sport. It would be great if they channeled all that time into political activism, but even devoting 1/10 of it would yield 40 hours annually.

Another popular kid activity is watching TV. Adolescents watch about 20 hours a week (or 1000 hours a year). Redirecting just 5 percent would result in 50 hours with high-achieving role models and cool parents and kids.  

Many kids get tutored for five hours a week (some of this of the don't-get-a -B-variety), or 250 hours a year. In 25 hours, they could learn more about civics, civic responsibility, the nation's history and social justice.

Let's look at the pressing issue of climate change. Sunday's "Do the Math" tour was organized by 350.org and featured speeches by Bill McKibben and other environmental leaders, then a march around the White House. Were local kids looking for meaningful engagement, 1 million alone (versus the 3,000 people there) could have been present, doubtlessly leading to the president denying the new Keystone XL permit.

And three basic facts McKibben highlighted that used trendy "real world" arithmetic might have led them to ask questions.

1. The primary accomplishment of 2009's Copenhagen Summit was agreement that planetary warming should be kept to less than two degrees. Coal and oil burning has raised temperatures almost one degree resulting in half the Arctic sea ice melting, ocean acidity rising by 30 percent, and America experiencing its warmest year, epic droughts, and a hurricane in New York.   We're believed to be on the path of 3 to 3.5 degrees. Four degrees, according to the World Bank's warning of last week, would lead to a "doomsday scenario".   Is it our responsibility to take civic action and how should be do this?

2. It is generally agreed by scientists that we can burn no more than 565 gigatons by midcentury to have a 80 percent probability of staying within the 2 degree threshold. We are increasing our carbon output by 3 percent a year and will hit this maximum in 16 years. When can we expect to hit it and will this work?

3. Coal and oil and gas companies have 2,795 gigatons of reserves, or five times what we can safely burn. These reserves are priced into their share price and used as collateral. Tar sands comprise half this carbon, and Exxon's reserves ALONE would take us 7 percent over the line. Bill McKibben framed it starkly, "Either Exxon will have to give in, or physics will have to give in." When has physics surrendered in the past?

Bonus: How does one get Americans to stop feeling guilty about energy use, as they are willing to use renewable sources, but live in a country where oil companies have discredited climate change and vilified renewable energy investments? How do we build a movement that fights a company that made more money last year than any company in the history of money?

The answer is through activism that offers the many benefits of schools and sports: public speaking, exercise, debate practice, camaraderie, art, social skills, and determination through engagement.

Arts and Entertainment -- What kid wouldn't want to walk by -- or create -- brightly colored signs, watch dancers and musicians, or chant:

Michele Obama

Tell your man

Stop the dirty

Pipeline plan.

Effective writing and communicating -- McKibben compares the situation to someone offering you more than you can drink. McKibben illustrated it with cheap beer (Keystone), saying a rugby player that drank 5 times more than he could handle would be "wasted", "wrecked", "trashed", "toasted", and "totaled"   with a long-lasting hangover, like our planet would be. McKibben also said, "What tobacco companies are to individual health, fossil fuel is to the safety of the planet." Kids can find their own ways to communicate and persuade others.

Exercise -- The world's oldest workout? Walking, what parents and kids will do from the subway or car to demonstrations, the farmer's market, or door to door.

Goal setting for progress -- A quick transition to renewable energy is doable. Germany is ahead of schedule to get 35 percent of its energy from renewables by 2035, even though Munich is the latitude of Montreal, not Mali.   One quarter of China uses solar hot water heaters, but just one percent of America (mostly for swimming pools).

Democracy and Money -- After the exercise of voting, we must continue to influence issues. This includes using the power of divestment, something Archbishop Desmond Tutu days said was critical to South Africa ending apartheid. Kids can be involved in rallying and education campaigns, as well as the central goal of the movement: to divest from fossil fuels. They can petition schools and relatives to move their money.

There can no longer be segregated and separate movements -- black people alone fighting police brutality; Latinos, for immigration reform; gay and lesbians, for their rights; and liberals and environmentalists, against climate change. People who care about the Earth and its citizens, all parents and kids, must build a safe and sustainable future.

Gus Speth provided useful advice to this group. The "ultimate insider", who served as environmental advisor to Presidents Carter and Clinton and founded the Natural Resources Defense Council, chose civil disobedience to protest the Keystone XL pipeline that he knew would result in his arrest. In front of the White House last year, he was handcuffed then sent to DC jail. Players on the soccer field, those sitting at Kumon, or vegging in front of the TV -- and their parents -- should reflect on the words he sent from his cell.

"I've been in a lot of positions in this town but none of them seem as important as where I am now."

Authors Bio:
Veena Trehan is a DC-based journalist and activist. She has written for NPR, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and local papers.