The melting ice caps, endangered polar bears, warming oceans, floods and hurricanes, even the air we breathe: It's all part of 21st-century environmental concern and foremost on the minds of many young people.

In that spirit of environmentalism, several hundred students from across the Southeast were in Raleigh on Saturday to race alternative-fuel vehicles they had built for the 13th Annual Electric Vehicle Challenge. The race is sponsored by the nonprofit organization SMARTT Challenge -- Students Making Advancements in Renewable Transportation Technology.

The group seeks to educate children and the general public about alternative-fuel technology, electric vehicles and the environmental benefits of eschewing oil. And with gas prices topping $3.50, this year's competition felt a little less academic.

"We decide to create it like a rocket ship," said Dante Powell, 13, of Gaston Middle School, who was showing off a footlong solar-powered vehicle he and a classmate built. The car, hot-glued and wired together with help from their teacher, had handily won a semifinal race.

Why did it win?

"Basically because of the structure and how slender it is," said Powell, who thinks he will end up practicing law. "But if that law thing doesn't work out, I'll definitely do this," he said.

Powell was one of a couple of hundred middle and elementary school students from across the state. They had come to the event, at N.C. State University's McKimmon Center, with custom-built solar mini-vehicles.

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose, it's just fun," said Brianna Smith, 8, of Raleigh.

For high school students, the competition was more serious. They came from across the Southeast with full-scale electric vehicles, some built to reach speeds well over 100 mph.

Matthew Griffin, 17, was the driver for his team's converted electrical Mazda Miata. He and and half a dozen teammates came to compete from West Wilkes High School, near Boone.

"This one's got enough torque to be able to spin the wheels in fourth gear," Griffin said.

But that's not really the point.

"It's really about alternative transportation," he said. "And this is exactly the type of vehicle that people in cities need more of. I guess you could say I'm an environmentalist."

The competition Saturday brought the curtain down on a yearlong program that teaches alternative-fuel applications. The program is designed to reward students for innovative vehicle engineering and for raising awareness about alternative fuels, said Jennifer Goodwin Whitley, SMARTT Challenge executive director. Extra points were given to students who generated news coverage of their projects, Goodwin said.

"Our planet is in danger," said Chelsea Yang, 9, of Fuller GT Elementary School in Raleigh. She and her friend Jamie Hagwood raced a vehicle they had named Bluebird USA. "We're supposed to do something about it."