Julia was an early adaptor of an environmentally friendly practice: she insisted on bringing cloth bags to the grocery store so we wouldn't waste the plastic or paper bags. It was a small effort, and she moved on from that to a serious vegetarian commitment-even insisting on buying shoes, bags and coats made with man-made materials. Her passion for saving animals and not wasting materials is wonderful to watch-even as it adds a layer of complexity to our everyday life.

Suzanne Riss, Working Mother's editor, and I are working on our environmental issue for November. We are excited about helping reader moms and the companies they work for to sort through the complex issues that we are all so worried about. Our goal is simple: to help save the planet from the threat of environmental problems so that our children will inherit an earth as beautiful and bountiful as it is now.

Children like Julia are leading their parents in the concern for and passion about the environment. We have so much to learn from them. In business we call this "mentoring up," where the Gen X and Gen Y employees mentor us Baby Boomers with new ways to think and grow.

If your child has been mentoring you on the environment we want to know about it. We're going to include an article about what we're learning from our kids--so be sure to give me your comments if you are lucky enough to have an environmentally active kid in your house.