“Green” seems to the buzzword going around today. Kids all over the country are making the connections between their lifestyle, their environment, and their health. As a result, their lives are changing for the better. They are lowering their carbon foot print on the planet and reaping the benefits of an organic life-style. Youth have often been the main vehicle for revolutions, and the movement for eco-equity just might be another example.

Turn on the radio and it is not hard to find artist rapping about green, but what if instead of money, they were rapping about lettuce, collard greens, and organic broccoli? After all, hiphop started as a stage to voice the social injustices of the inner city; eco hip-hop voices the social injustices of the inner city caused by environmental factors.

Eco hip-hop is no different than any other social justice movement. Organizations likethe California-based Grind for the Green brings kids out to hip-hop events to expose them to alternative energy methods and organic foods. Eco movements are bringing opportunities and possibilities back to inner city. Have you heard President Obama talking about green jobs? Movements like community gardens, rainwater collecting, and converting to solar energy are creating jobs and cleaning up urban areas.

Whoever said kids couldn’t make a difference was obviously wrong. Youth-generated green movements are taking root and branching across the country, and organizations like Grind for the Green are streamlining the channels of communication to bring messages that need to be heard, preferably over a hot beat.