Green Grinds

We environmentalists are all supposedly a bunch of dour fuddy-duddies. Likewise, the world's privileged youth are often maligned as resource-gobbling apathetics. It's always gratifying, then, to see hip young segments of the population subvert these stereotypes. Take Brazilian-American pro skateboarder Bob Burnquist. Burnquist, 29, is one of the world's best stuntwood specialists, respected by the inner circle for feats like looping a natural fullpipe without a roll-in and famous among the MTV generation (and their parents) for his X-games exploits. No nihilistic-skater pose here: Burnquist is an up-front environmentalist and sustainability advocate who runs a small organic farm on his SoCal property (right next to his skate ramps), eats low on the food chain, and eschews the junk-food sponsorships some skate pros succumb to. (He's a recent endorsee of Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt, in fact.) Right on, Bob. While we're at it, a crack of the tail goes to the Washington, D.C.-based Greenskate Laboratory. Using environmentally sound building techniques, this all-volunteer crew built a beautiful bowl, right on the city's bus lines, using only discarded tires and other recycled materials. Git some!