Youth activists fight for our future

When I think about my future, I think about a lot of things. One thing I think about is climate change and how that will affect my options in life. It’s scary and I, like a lot of young people, feel both angry that people in power are not doing enough and the need to do something, myself.

I think we all pretty much know that climate change is a global emergency created by humans. Because of the increasing heat in the atmosphere caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, by people, there has been an unnatural rise of global temperatures and sea levels. This in turn has led to many changes, including more frequent hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and tornadoes. 

In 2021, “The Lancet” surveyed 10,000 people between the ages of 16-25 about climate change. The data showed that “59% [of the young people surveyed] were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried” about it. It’s also causing more than half of them to feel “sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty.” And most felt the government wasn’t doing enough and felt betrayed by adults.

The climate crisis is a lot to deal with, on top of everything else, like gun violence, racism and the pandemic. It can feel so overwhelming that it’s paralyzing. But inaction on climate change isn’t an option. We can get involved in youth climate change activism.

One way that young people are stepping up is by starting or joining youth organizations, including, Zero Hour, Sunrise Movement and Fridays for Future to pressure adults to act in the fight against climate change. You can join any or all of these groups. 

We can be youth activists right here, in our school and community. We have the Green Team, Bin Cops and a Climate class all doing different things to make an impact. These students have the potential to become future leaders through learning about activism and acting upon it to take charge. Through their activism, they are already beginning to inspire and raise awareness in our school. You can still join Green team and Bin Cops and help our school become a zero-waste school. And you can ask your guidance counselor to put Climate Solutions on your schedule for next year and learn about how you can lead the way for your family and friends switching to Green energy, composting and lessening their carbon footprints.

As our generation and future generations are undoubtedly the most affected by the increasingly hot climate, youth activism can benefit our society. So, we need to make some noise and wake up the adults, corporations and government leaders and demand that they change their behavior and laws so that we can think about bright futures, just like they got to.