A green roadshow is touring the Island's schools to teach young people the 'three R's' ¿ not reading, writing and arithmetic, but 'reduce, reuse and recycle'.

Sustainable development group Greenrock yesterday extended their goal of 'changing the mindset' into Bermuda College ¿ showing young people the consequences of global warming.

Interspersing clips of Al Gore's environmental film 'An Inconvenient Truth' with talks on the local impact of climate change in Bermuda, the visit was one of a series of presentations to schools on the Island.

Students were told how to reduce their carbon footprint, by taking greener means of transport (car pooling, walking and public transport) and by cutting down their power consumption at home. They were urged to set an example among their families by recycling and composting, and taking reusable cloth bags to the shops.

Eugene Dean, a member of Greenrock's project team, said: "Today we produce things for convenience without taking the environmental impact into consideration. We are so focused on forging ahead we forget the things we've lost along the way."

Mr. Dean, who is also part of Emperial Group, which produced BEST's recent Picnic in the Park festival, said: "We're now moving into a period of consequences so we don't really have the luxury of time. Huge environmental changes are unfolding in our lifetime, so whether we like it or not we're having to live with them.

"A lot of times the environment isn't discussed around the family table so we're going into the community and raising the profile of this issue with people. We're looking to shock people but also empower them into making changes. We want people to live with a sense of purpose and with some real tangible steps they can take to reduce global warming."

The students were all given an assignment aimed at cutting down their fuel and electricity use over the next month.

Alexandra Schweizer, 17, of Somerset, said: "We don't really recycle at home but we do compost. I thought the movie presentation was inspiring, and yes, I think I could do a lot of the things on the assignment."

Janeal Parson, 21, of Sandys, said: "I learned a lot today, particularly how fast the world's population is growing and how climate change makes hurricanes worse, leading to more erosion. I hope to reuse more things. We don't recycle so I guess I could start that at home."

Yesterday's presentation also included a talk by Dr. Mark Guishard, Director of the Bermuda Weather Service.

It follows similar talks on climate change at Berkeley College and CedarBridge Academy. Greenrock aims to continue the roadshow at other schools on the Island and also, evening screenings for adults, but it all takes funding. Any companies willing to sponsor Greenrock should contact the group via its website: www.greenrock.org