Sometimes, the biggest ideas have small origins. That’s why the Lexus Eco Challenge gives middle and high school students across the country the opportunity to think big, flex their intellectual and creative muscles and tackle some of the planet’s most pressing environmental issues.

Lexus wildly successful Eco Challenge, now entering its third year, gives bright and ambitious next-generation environmentalists the opportunity to not only learn more about their planet, but actually brainstorm and develop solutions for some of its greatest needs. Lexus innovative and inspiring program is open to teams of middle and high school students (under the guidance of a teacher advisor) and rewards inventive and original approaches and solutions to current and future environmental problems with grants and scholarships (with grand prizes of $50,000 and several first place prizes of $30,000).

The program covers the topics of land, water and air/climate by encouraging teams to develop new means of approaching challenges ranging from deforestation to water conservation to global warming. In all, Lexus has given over one million dollars to the pioneering young students, teachers and school districts who are participating and confidently tackling the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.

Last year’s grand-prize winning teams (of the nearly 800 teams and over 5,100 students who entered) developed a solar-powered biodiesel processor that converts used restaurant vegetable oil into useable biodiesel fuel while simultaneously educating the public through grassroots initiatives like blogs, MySpace, YouTube and more. Another grand-prize winner set their sights on aiding Haitian refugees struggling to cope with devastating hurricanes by sending solar powered ovens, seedlings and low enviro-impact “green” recipes.

The Lexus Eco Challenge not only benefits the participating students and teachers, but their surrounding communities as well. Much of the challenge is aimed at generating community awareness for serious environmental issues. Though the students are certainly thinking global, some of their most important work is accomplished right in their own backyards. By inspiring the next generation of leaders, Lexus hopes that the environmental issues of today can soon become a thing of the past.

The greatest ideas often start with a simple spark.

Registration for the first Challenge begins this September. For more information on the Lexus Eco Challenge and details about how to register your team of aspiring environmentalists, go online to www.scholastic.com/lexus.