19-year-old Jessie-Ruth Corkins was challenged by her ninth-grade teacher to become more energy efficient. Jessie and her friend came up with the idea to use wood-chip furnaces to provide heat instead of traditional pollutant oil burning furnaces. One thing led to another, and Jessie soon found a greener idea: Prairie Grass, which can be made into pellets and burned! This idea helps struggling farmers because prairie grass isn't a food crop, therefore it won't raise prices or cause shortages--"A win-win for the farmers." In 2007, Jessie-Ruth founded the Vermont Sustainable Heating Initiative (VSHI) to promote the new fuel. She's currently using grant money to install pellet stoves in the homes of fifteen low-income families in Bristol and Montpelier, Vermont.