Climate Change: Young People’s Passion into Political Action
By Eve London, Bethesda Green Environmental Leader 2019-2020
Within seconds of the first ring of my high school’s lunch bell, a hundred students with posters swarmed the front of my school. With bright and colorful posters reading “There is No Planet B,” “Let the Youth be Heard,” and “Climate Change is Worse than Homework,” my peers left school for the day to protest in Washington DC. That day they passionately protested government inaction to address our global climate crisis. Their voices were loud that September day in 2019. Their chanting and marching paid off when a year later America voted for science and making dealing with the climate crisis a national priority. Indeed, young people are making a difference in the politics of climate change. Their passion is turning into political action and votes. Now, the challenge is for my generation to keep the momentum to make sure environmental promises are kept.
My parents grew up worrying that nuclear war would end the world. For me and my generation, climate change is the threat to our lives. Not surprisingly, we are passionate about taking action to mitigate the climate crisis. According to Author Sharon Delgado, young people are “effective because they not only think [about addressing the climate crisis] with their head but also with their heart” (1). It directly impacts our lives and our future. Young people recognize that “the policies and decisions made today will influence climate and sustainability outcomes for the remainder of this century and beyond” says Professor Karen O’Brien (2). If the stakes are so high my generation needs to continue to make our political officials hear our voices and opinions.
Joe Biden, the presidential elect, and Kamala Harris, the vice president elect, and their team recognize the importance of the climate crises. They formed a strong, ambitious, and forward-thinking environmental platform which reflected my generation’s views and opinions. Biden promised to re-enter the United States in the Paris Climate Accord, protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and develop the Green New Deal. Biden’s victory does not mean that it is time for young people to put the lids back on their markers, put away their poster board, and relax. Now is the time for young people to make sure Biden follows through with his platform promises. Our generation must ensure that Biden does not, “[fail] to meet pledges… and [break] promises” like other political officials have in the past says sociologists Foran and Widick (3).We have to unite and make our voices even louder.
Young peoples’ power and impact are greatest when we work together. One way to expand our impact is by joining environmental youth led organizations like Zero Hour and the Sunrise Movement. Youth organizations like these provide young people a platform to make their voices heard and foster a team of passionate and outspoken leaders. Research by Professor Sanson and her colleagues show that “activism has helped [young people] manage their anxiety about the future and channel it into determination, courage, and optimism” (4). These are qualities that we must harness to keep up pressure to demand real policy changes.
Young people may be dispirited by those who perceive our generation as “lazy, self- centered, and [not] spar[ing] the climate and ecological crisis even a second of our thoughts” (5). How can our generation not be doubtful of our capabilities and power if Greta Thunberg, one of the leading youth environmentalists of our generation, originally thought this about us. We must
prevail and remind ourselves as researchers like Jennifer Malon emphasize that “although doubt could diminish feelings of hope, it may also work alongside hope to encourage climate change activism” (6). I am confident my generation will prove the skeptics wrong.
Even with Covid-19 obstacles my generation’s young environmental activists are still motivated and realizing impressive accomplishments. Youth environmental organizations member voices on zoom meetings, calls, and in writing are just as loud as they were when they were marching on the streets. Our generation’s ability to overcome Covid-19 restrictions and safely organize suggests our commitment to environmental change and ongoing, active engagement in politics.
Works Cited
1 “Experience: On the Front Lines of Climate Change.” Love in a Time of Climate Change: Honoring Creation, Establishing Justice, by Sharon Delgado, 1517 Media, Minneapolis, 2017, pp. 159–180. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1pwt3z9.14. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.
2 O’Brien, Karen, et al. “Exploring Youth Activism on Climate Change: Dutiful, Disruptive, and Dangerous Dissent.” Ecology and Society, vol. 23, no. 3, 2018. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26799169. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.
3 Foran, John, and Richard Widick. “Breaking Barriers to Climate Justice.” Contexts, vol. 12, no. 2, 2013, pp. 34–39. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41960451. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.
4 Sanson, A.V., et al. “Responding to the Impacts of the Climate Crisis on Children and Youth.” Child Development Perspectives, vol. 13, no. 4, Dec. 2019, pp. 201-207. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/cdep.12342. Accessed 17 November 2020.
5 Thunberg, Greta. “This book is your toolbox.” Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use it, by Jamie Margolin, Hachette Books, 2020, pp. xi-xiii.
6 Marlon, Jennifer R, et al. “How Hope and Doubt Affect Climate Change Mobilization.” Frontiers in Communication, vol. 4, Frontiers Media SA, 2019, doi:10.3389/fcomm.2019.00020.
Image Source: Flickr – “Youth Climate Strike” by the MN Senate DFL
About the Author
Eve London is a freshman at Dickinson college, and a 2019-2020 Bethesda Green Environmental Leader from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. She is passionate about environmental youth groups, education, policy, and justice. She wrote this Op-Ed for her Environmental Connections class at Dickinson. She hopes to major in Environmental Studies.
