“They failed us, so we’re stepping up”: A conversation with the nation’s youth climate activists
BY: Nina Joung
Credit: Power Shift Network
When did climate change activism become something you associated with young people?
Was it when 21 youth plaintiffs from the ages of 11 to 22 filed a lawsuit against the government for failing to protect its youngest constituents? Or maybe it was the exchange between Senator Dianne Feinstein and various youth climate organizations including the Sunrise Movement that went viral. Now, the hashtag #Fridays4Future is growing across the world after its young founder and now Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greta Thunberg inspired an international march of youth climate advocates happening on March 15, 2019.
Whatever the event, it’s now impossible to talk about climate action without discussing young people’s role in it.
That’s why Peril & Promise and Twin Cities PBS’s Rewire hosted a Twitter Chat among the youth organizations that are on the front lines of the fight such as the Power Shift Network, Youth v. Gov (the young people behind the Juliana vs. United States lawsuit) and the Sunrise Movement, as well as reputable climate communicators from the Huffington Post, George Mason Center For Climate Change Communication and Rewire who are documenting the growth of this movement.
Here are our favorite tweets from our #YouthClimateChat:
What is the gap in climate action that spurred this movement by young people? Youth climate activist organization Sunrise Movement and Huff Post climate reporter Alexander Kaufman respond:
The gap that spurred the youth climate movement is exemplified by the recent controversy over @SenFeinstein's response to @sunrisemvmt protests. Many Republican lawmakers deny climate science. But most Dems who say they believe haven't taken any serious action #YouthClimateChat
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) February 27, 2019
When asked whether they’ve been underestimated because of their age, Sunrise Movement and Power Shift Network are too familiar with the consequences of trivializing youth-led climate action:
A3: Definitely. Ppl use our age to discredit us, laugh at us, to say we’re just pawns. But we shrug it off & keep pushing for a #GreenNewDeal. And tbh, keep underestimating us- it’ll make it easier to win if we can catch the fossil fuel billionaires off guard 😉 #YouthClimateChat
— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) February 27, 2019
A3 (1) There are definitely big challenges from people underestimating us that have come up time and again in the 13 years since Energy Action Coalition was first founded, that we've seen over and over. One of the largest is the lack of funding for youth work #YouthClimateChat
— Power Shift Network ? (@powershiftnet) February 27, 2019
Some good news about climate change opinion from the George Mason Center for Climate Communication:
A4 2/2: Thankfully, we find in our most recent survey that only 14% of Americans think it’s already too late to do anything about global warming. We’ll be watching to see if that number changes over time as we approach 2030. #YouthClimateChat pic.twitter.com/Y4kQKbcx9V
— Mason Climate Comm. (@Mason4C) February 27, 2019
Twenty two year old youth plaintiff Alex Loznak explains his personal connection and the legal argument behind the Juliana vs. US lawsuit:
A7 3/3 #youthvgov also exposes the US govt's 50+ yrs of knowledge of #climatechange dangers but its support of fossil fuels anyway, and demonstrates personal climate change impacts to youth, such as damage to my family’s farm #YouthClimateChat
— Our Children's Trust (@youthvgov) February 27, 2019
Thank you to all the organizations and individuals who joined in on the conversation!
Our SRL teen reporters get hands-on experience studying #climatechange. Check out their stories https://t.co/K8GYUZ6MBE #YouthClimateChat
— Student Reporting Labs (@reportinglabs) February 27, 2019
But in some way, we are all complicit, we were all in on it, we all used up carbon budget from the future.
Young people did not have any say in those decisions, but will have to live with the consequences – #YouthClimateChat
— Max M ☀️ (@_max_m) February 27, 2019
We’re excited to continue documenting the youth-led climate change activism movement as well as share some of the work of youth activists and climate communicators who are reporting on these issues. Let’s keep the conversation going!
A13: we’re the ones who will suffer the brunt of the climate crisis and the adults who’ve been in charge our whole lives have let us down. It’s our time to rise up and shape our own futures. #YouthClimateChat
— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) February 27, 2019
A1: a crisis of this scale requires government action– but the adults who’ve been in charge for decades haven't done enough. Plus, they've taken billions of $$ from fossil fuel CEOs/execs/lobbyists. They failed us, so we’re stepping up #YouthClimateChat
— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) February 27, 2019
