“I don't want the world to be under water in 50 years,” said Auburn native Bryan Puertas, 23.

Puertas, who moved back to Auburn from New York City two years ago, has long had an interest in activism and politics. While he was in New York City, he did a lot of work with the Independence Party, and he has worked for non-profits like Save the Children. His work has included going door-to-door to raise money for people to sponsor children.

Puertas attributes his sense of civic responsibility in part to being a senior in high school when the events of Sept. 11, 2001 occurred.

“Not being really able to go down there because I was in school, that's one of my regrets,” Puertas said.

It's not just social and political issues that interest Puertas, though. He is concerned about the environment and is determined to let the world know that the environment is at the point where it's not the next generation's concern anymore, but the current generation's problem.

Puertas was recently recruited for the “Change It” activist boot camp in Washington, D.C. He found out about the program online through the non-profit job section of the Web site Craig's List. There were more than 1,000 applicants for the program, according to Puertas. The application involved answering essay questions.

“Last year, we received an overwhelming response from students interested in learning how to be more effective change agents in the world, so we decided to double the number of participants in 2007,” said Jeffrey Hollender, president of Seventh Generation. “We are honored and excited to have Bryan participating in this year's event. I know that when this year's participants return home, they will continue to ignite change in their community and in the world.”

One of the topics that the young activists learned about was sustainable energy. Puertas was especially interested in learning about wind power because he thinks it would work well in the central New York area. He sees windpower as a way to turn the economy around. With a lot of farmland to boast, Puertas says that central New Yorkers could host turbines on unused farm acreage, thereby making money by selling energy and raising their property value.

The young activists also learned about geothermal energy options, which could be used to take care of heating and cooling costs. Puertas holds that the option works on the principle that the earth is maintained at a constant temperature. After drilling about nine or 10 feet down, liquid gets cooled down or heated up, providing the necessary energy for the season. Homeowners can then use the natural temperature of the earth to either heat or cool their homes.

Puertas says that the activists also learned about systems thinking and how to change others' minds about their cause by showing how something works instead of just explaining it. Puertas also learned about non-violence training.

“How far are we willing to go tactically, what are we willing to subject ourselves to. I know personally I think I'm non-violent, but I don't know how I'd react,” he said.

In addition to learning how to be activists, Puertas says that the visitors were exposed to ecologically safe products created by Seventh Generation.

One cool thing he saw at the conference was the silverware, which was potato based.

“You could actually eat the silverware,” he said. “Those are the kinds of solutions they're trying to pursue.”

Near the end of the event there was a photo opportunity where the activists wore red shirts stating “Congress, You're in the Hot Seat,” and held up red chairs in front of the Capitol building.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Bernie Waxman, who were both part of the “Change It” program, stopped by to talk to the group. After the exercise, each group member took his chair and lobbied a local representative.

Puertas, of course, lobbied U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri's office and gave energy staffer Chris Wilcox the chair.

Some of the provisions that Puertas discussed with Wilcox were to raise miles per gallon on new cars to 40 mpg or above, to raise carbon emissions standards by 2015 and for the government to subsidize local communities for using sustainable energy. Arcuri's office was already on board for some of the proposed bills.

Puertas is a Cayuga Community College student and is hoping to plan some events for the school's Auburn campus. And he has applied for a college semester with Greenpeace for the spring.

Back at home, Puertas does his own work for the environment. He rides his bicycle everywhere, including work, school or just to go downtown.

“When they see my picture in the paper, they will say that's the guy,” he joked.

He can be seen frequently on Genesee Street and Grant Avenue on his bike, which he even rides in the winter.

Puertas recommends for the winter biking road warrior to get a bike with a fender and mudguards on it so if water comes up, the bicycle will block it. He also stands by mountain bike tires, which can be turned around in the winter so that the tread is able to deal with rougher terrain.

“It's a great way to stay in shape, and it's better for the environment. Anywhere that's within 20 minutes driving distance you can get there in the same time biking,” he said, adding that others should consider riding their bikes to work, “especially if you work out.

“It doesn't make sense to me getting in your car to ride to the gym to go work out. You'll get up a nice warm-up taking your bike to the gym.”