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Future Generations of Beauty

By Kate Malazonia

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At Keep Austin Beautiful, our donors, volunteers and staff come from all types of backgrounds and are all sorts of ages. Whether someone is just beginning college or long been in retirement, they are still able to contribute to our charity. This joining together of people from all generations highlights how despite all our differences, there is one thing that we will always have in common…our willingness to keep Austin beautiful for generations to come.


According to the Census report, 10% of Austinites are over the age of 65 and 71% of Austinites are between the ages of 18 and 64. While some Austinites grew up in a world where environmentalism was at the bottom of the agenda, the majority of Austinites are growing up in a world where it is demanded that it should be at the top. Here in Austin, our people have recognized the importance of staying ‘green’ since the 1970’s. This was a time when Austin's green building movement began. It can be pinpointed to a point in time where Austin residents fought the authorities as they attempted to build a nuclear power that they decreed was necessary to meet the city’s increasing power needs. This, of course, did not happen. Instead, the green movement in Austin gained momentum and it has not stopped since. 

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TODAY, National Geographic has named Austin as one of the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas and the population is set to double by 2030. TODAY, the people of Austin have a unique opportunity, and if TODAY, we are all able to join in unity to set our minds to keeping our city beautiful, then we will be the first in human history to leave our children and grandchildren… nothing.


 Future Generations of Beauty means a future Austin where there are no greenhouse-gas emissions. It means no loss of biodiversity. It means no litter and it means no pollution in our waterways. This utopia can only be achieved through people like you and me, through small acts of change that build up to make big ones. Just as the city has been reinventing itself to sustain urban life in the face of population growth/climate change, we need to reinvent ourselves by claiming individual responsibility no matter what our age.


We believe that all people have a shared responsibility to protect our natural world: to use only what we need and make smarter choices. It is within our power to pass what we have today-the beauty of this city, the resources, wildlife, and water - to the future generations. With climate change being more of an imminent threat than ever, we should all invest more time in conservation to meet this responsibility. Our city has often been described as a ‘hidden gem’ in America, US News selected Austin as the best place to live in. Anyone that enters our city is amazed by its urban greenery. We all know that this is by no chance…our city is described this way because of the dedication that has gone into it from passionate individuals. While cities can do what countries can’t, today we can do what the past could not

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