Demonstrators from several environmental groups including Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise Movement demand broad action at a youth-led climate strike near City Hall on December 6, 2019 in New York City. Scott Heins / Getty Images
By Jacob Wallace
This story is published as part of StudentNation's "Vision 2020: Election Stories From the Next Generation" reports from young journalists that center the concerns of diverse young voters. In this project, working with Dr. Sherri Williams, we recruited young journalists from different backgrounds to develop story ideas and reporting about their peers' concerns ahead of the most important election of our lives. We'll continue publishing two stories each week over the course of September.
In the speech she gave at the People's Climate March in Washington in 2017, Jansikwe Medina-Tayac, then 15, told a crowd of thousands, "This [climate change] is not just an environmental issue. This is a race issue, this is an immigration issue, this is a feminist issue."
<p>The experience was a formative moment for Medina-Tayac, who devoted much of her free time to climate justice advocacy. "I remember waking up the next morning and my mom was like, 'Jansi, your video got like 500,000 views,'" Medina-Tayac, who lives in Silver Spring, Md., said. "At that age you're not used to being listened to by people."</p><p>Now 18, she cofounded the Washington chapter of Zero Hour, a woman-of-color-led climate justice organization with fellow student activist Khadija Khokhar in February. "To me, the people who are fighting against climate change and who are most affected are people of color," Medina-Tayac said. "And yet we don't see them reflected often." This is what she hopes Zero Hour will do. </p><p>Medina-Tayac, a member of the Piscataway Nation, a Native American tribe historically based around the Chesapeake Bay, and Khokhar, a Muslim and a first-generation immigrant, both felt that other climate movements they participated in were whitewashed. After meeting at one of Jane Fonda's Fire Drill Friday rallies in the fall, they kept in touch, and by the new year, they decided they wanted to be a part of a movement that incorporated inclusive policies and more people of color in leadership. "I honestly feel like there aren't enough of those spaces," Medina-Tayac said. "I'm really just making sure to reach out to as many communities as I can and really creating a space where people feel safe to share about their experiences. Just a space where people can learn and share and be equal partners."</p><p>Young voters are intimately aware that they will be forced to bear the full effects of climate change, and this is especially true for frontline communities in areas with higher pollution or fewer green spaces or on coastlines being eaten away by rising oceans. Zero Hour's platform reflects that duality: The organization calls for a "Just Transition" away from fossil fuels by 2040 like many other climate advocacy groups, but it also counts defending the treaty rights of Native Americans, for example, as a core part of its mission "because treaty rights are the only truly rigorous laws already in place that protect the land, the water, the wildlife, and the people."</p>
<p>Far beyond the presidential election, young activists from organizations like Zero Hour, Sunrise Movement, and beyond are demanding that all political candidates in the 2020 election begin to make mitigating global warming a key policy issue, and not just a talking point. During this polarized election year, these activists are finding ways to create climate policy at every level of government. "The goal is to get mass mobilization, to get everybody out in the streets," Khokhar said. "The entire climate movement is already rolling."</p><p>Millennials and Generation Z are the only generations in the United States where a majority of survey respondents say Earth is getting warmer due to human activity, according to a 2019 survey by <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/" target="_blank">Pew Research Center</a>. Among 1,000 voters aged 18–29, one <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqymn/exclusive-poll-80-of-young-voters-think-global-warming-is-a-major-threat-to-life-as-we-know-it" target="_blank">survey</a> found that as many as 4 in 5 believe "global warming is a major threat to human life on earth as we know it."</p><p>Though the majority of Generation Z is still too young to vote, Generation Z and millennial voters already make up nearly 40 percent of the electorate, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/11/04/election-2020-young-voters-key-democrats-path-beating-trump/2458445001/" target="_blank">according to</a> Carolyn DeWitt, president and executive director of Rock the Vote. With that level of power comes expectations about their clout as a voting bloc. </p><p>Although Medina-Tayac is now voting age, she is remaining focused on educating young people about policies like the Green New Deal rather than the presidential election. "I think the Green New Deal is really, really important and has sparked a lot of really interesting ideas in the movement," Medina-Tayac said. "[The climate justice movement] needs to be people-powered and there has to be policy-making." </p>
<p>During the Democratic primary, Khokhar was a strong supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders and valued his support for the Green New Deal. But now, with the primaries over and the pandemic ravaging the nation, she's accepted a position as the Detroit fellow for Zero Hour's Vote for Our Future campaign. In the role, which was created as part of a campaign to boost youth voter turnout, Khokhar is partnering with community organizations near her home in southeast Michigan, where she returned when quarantining began.</p><p>"What we're trying to do is get out young voters, because the youth voter turnout is a lot lower than it should be," Khokhar said. "It should be a lot higher, and the people that young people who aren't voting should hear that message from are [other] young people."</p><p>Some young activists compare today's climate activism to the civil rights movement in the 1960s, arguing that both are youth-led movements focused on systemic change. And like in the civil rights era, the current wave of activism has driven engagement at the polls. In modern times, the more young people participated in activist work ranging from signing an online petition to attending a demonstration, the more likely they were to vote in the 2018 midterm elections, according to <a href="https://circle.tufts.edu/our-research/youth-activism-and-community-change#activism-on-the-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research</a> conducted at Tufts University's Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.</p><p>In fact, much like the civil rights movement, the modern environmental justice movement began in the South. In the 1980s, a young sociologist named Robert Bullard was asked by his wife, attorney Linda McKeever Bullard, to conduct research for a lawsuit against the local waste management company. Bullard studied the location of toxic waste sites in Houston and discovered that for decades, these sites had been systematically placed in neighborhoods that were predominantly Black or brown.</p>
<p>Bullard waited years to get recognition from mainstream civil rights organizations, but he places his work in a long line of activism around dignity for black workers in the United States. Bullard notes that the final event that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended before his assassination was a sanitation workers' strike in Memphis, where Black workers were forced to move the city's garbage for low pay in inhumane conditions. "The environment piece was not something that was on the radar [of civil rights organizations,]" Bullard said. "The issue died with him."</p><p>But Bullard continued to press his case with Black civil rights groups and white environmental groups, undeterred. By 1990, Bullard had conducted enough research with academics and activists around the country to write what would become his first book, <em>Dumping in Dixie</em>. "It took two decades for us to get the two groups to converge in a way that people saw this as something that should be baked into their work," Bullard said. </p><p>Indeed, young activists have become increasingly more focused and sophisticated in how they push for action on issues like climate change, said Katie Kirchner, national director of the Roosevelt Network. A former campus organizer herself, Kirchner coordinates a program that "trains, equips, and develops progressive policymakers" at the local level. Kirchner sees that local work as complementary to activism taking place at the national level to create federal climate policy. "The organizing that Gen Z has been doing in general has been phenomenal," Kirchner said. "We have to have a movement that's powerful enough to hold politicians accountable across the board at every level, really."</p><p>In their inaugural meeting at a Washington, D.C., hotel on February 23, Medina-Tayac and Khokhar walked attendees through a PowerPoint presentation of how they believed climate change and sustainability were intersectional issues. </p>
<p>"We believe that people on the frontlines should lead the movement," Khokhar, 19, told the attendees. "Especially in the climate movement, we've seen in a lot of organizations, it's a lot of privileged white people, to be completely candid, who are leading this movement who haven't really faced the effects of the climate crisis or are just now starting to. So we really value giving the voice back to the people who have been fighting this fight for so much longer."</p><p>The organizers walked attendees through slides that helped introduce some of the young attendees to complex issues like colonialism, racism, and the prison-industrial complex. By the end of the discussion, the gathered crowd was discussing future plans for an Earth Day strike and the importance of scheduling events to be inclusive to those fasting for Ramadan and welcoming to long-time residents of Washington, D.C.</p><p>One of the young activists in attendance that day was Iris Zhan. A high school student in Clarksville, Md., Zhan is just 16. Last year, Zhan wanted to organize a #FridaysForFuture walkout at her high school in solidarity with the movement begun by Greta Thunberg, the internationally renowned student climate activist from Sweden. But Zhan realized that in order to get students to come to her rally she'd have to ensure they wouldn't be penalized by the school for attending. </p><p>"We're like, 'How are we going to get people to come out?'" Zhan said. "The only way is to get an excused absence for that day." </p>
<p>Zhan circulated a petition that eventually received hundreds of signatures, enough to convince the school to make the walkout an excused absence. As a bonus, the petition also increased awareness about the work she was doing with Sunrise Movement, another youth environmental justice group. </p><p>"[After that,] people kind of knew who I was, like I'm the climate person," Zhan said. "There's real stuff you can do besides a walkout, and people were able to see that." </p><p>Since the walkout, Zhan has gathered a group of friends she considers her "strike circle" to attend local meetings for organizations like Zero Hour and attended a climate strike at the Howard County government building in December, where she spoke with local politicians about the movement. </p><p>Zhan said that although she considers herself and her peers to be studious, they also view it as equally important to take time to advocate for policies that matter to them, regardless of whether they're able to vote. Walkouts, for instance, were once considered radical, Zhan said, but she believes they're almost a new normal for Generation Z.</p><p><span></span>"I think when you plant the activist mindset at a young age, it sticks with you," Zhan said. "Once you care about it you can't un-care about it, it kind of ingrains itself into your personality, and change[s] the way you act."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://www.thenation.com" target="_blank">The Nation </a></em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Young Republican Climate Activists Split Over How to Get Their Voices Heard in November’s Election
22 September
Climate
The 2020 presidential election poses a critical test of climate conservatives' willingness to put their environmental concerns before party politics. filo / Getty Images
By Ilana Cohen
Four years ago, Jacob Abel cast his first presidential vote for Donald Trump. As a young conservative from Concord, North Carolina, the choice felt natural.
But this November, he plans to cast a "protest vote" for a write-in candidate or abstain from casting a ballot for president. A determining factor in his 180-degree turn? Climate change.
<p>Climate didn't become a voting issue for Abel until months after the 2016 election. As a college freshman at Seton Hall University, he found himself increasingly frustrated by lackluster Republican responses to an issue now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">leading</a> millions to march in the streets. </p><p>Abel felt that his party's future, like that of his generation, depended upon it addressing climate change with the appropriate urgency.</p><p>While his progressive counterparts helped propel a "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c686caa2-a8c5-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04" target="_blank">Squad</a>" of climate leaders into Congress, Abel advocated for market-driven climate solutions like carbon pricing as a spokesperson for republicEn, a right-leaning climate advocacy organization. </p><p>"The Green New Deal was actually a big catalyst for a lot of young Republicans coming forward and pushing for serious Republican solutions" on climate change, said Abel. </p><p>Momentum on the left stirred new conversations on the right, as young conservatives banded together in hopes of sustaining both their party and the planet. Their cries for climate action helped open older Republicans' eyes to the risk of losing young voters, and a seat at the table in future climate policymaking, if the GOP didn't change its tune.</p><p>"Over the next 10 years," Abel said, he "wants to see Republicans come together with Democrats to come to a realistic solution," along with Republicans proposing "more and more solutions" of their own, including around what Abel considers a critical "middle ground" measure to advance decarbonization—carbon pricing.</p><strong><strong></strong></strong>
<p>"Because we're still kind of relatively new to actually taking this topic seriously and proposing policy," said Abel of the GOP, "I think our policy response could be more robust and more detailed."</p><p>Only a decade ago, Abel's story might have been a novelty. Now, it's commonplace. From <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfires-west-coast-death-toll-burn-2020-09-15/" target="_blank">raging</a> wildfires on the West Coast to Hurricane Sally's massive <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54174831" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flooding</a> in the South, climate disasters are politicizing young people across the ideological spectrum who have experienced them first hand. </p><p>Younger Republicans are much more engaged with climate change than their parents and grandparents, said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. The program's research <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/do-younger-generations-care-more-about-global-warming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shows</a> young Republicans are more likely than older ones to believe in human-caused global warming and to support climate action. </p><p>Frustrated by party leadership that doesn't <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/24/millennial-and-gen-z-republicans-stand-out-from-their-elders-on-climate-and-energy-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">represent</a> their call for urgent climate action and public discourse that discounts their views, young Republicans also seem more willing to pose their own climate solutions. They don't want to see a World War II-style mobilization; they want pragmatic proposals advancing private sector innovation. </p><p>The 2020 presidential election poses a critical test of climate conservatives' willingness to put their environmental concerns before party politics. While some young Republicans who prioritize the issue of climate change remain loyal to Trump and others turn to Biden, a growing number like Abel are not supporting either candidate. </p><p>Given <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/swing-state-margins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump's thin margin of victory in 2016</a>, young conservatives who choose not to vote for either major presidential candidate may help Biden just as much as those who vote for him over Trump, Leiserowtiz said, depending on the state they vote in. Millennials and Gen Zers will <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/an-early-look-at-the-2020-electorate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comprise</a> 37 percent of eligible voters in November, which gives them vast electoral influence, if they vote.</p><p>If youth show up in force to oust Trump from office, their votes could provide a "powerful warning sign" for the GOP, Leiserowtiz said. It would affirm that for Republicans to win the youth vote and have a path to the White House moving forward, they must embrace climate action now. </p>
Fractures Among Young Climate Conservatives
<p>While young conservatives have united around the urgency of climate change, they remain divided over how to bring their concerns to the ballot box. Some embrace right-wing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-attacks-republican-convention/2020/08/24/434e5b46-e66d-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html" target="_blank">attacks</a> painting Biden as a "tool of the left" and find his climate agenda "radical." Others can't find a way to justify voting for Trump, even if it means breaking with their party.</p><p>Patrick Mann from Orange County, California, voted for Trump in 2016. But today, he's leading Aggies for Joe at Texas A&M University and is co-founder of Texas Students for Biden. </p><p>Mann grew up watching wildfires ravage his home state, nearly forcing his family to evacuate in 2017. The GOP is failing to "meet the moment" for climate action, Mann said. He's hoping Biden will deliver on a promise to "<a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/caucus/2020/01/06/joe-biden-democrat-president-iowa-caucus-restore-soul-our-nation/2806422001/" target="_blank">restore the soul of our nation</a>." </p><p>Taylor Walker from Pensacola, Florida, is also determined to make her voice heard on climate, including by casting her first-ever vote for president—but not for Biden.</p><p>Walker, a statewide campus coordinator for the conservative environmental advocacy group American Conservation Coalition, felt compelled to act on climate change after seeing the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/gulfspill-impacts-summary-IP.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lasting environmental and economic damage</a> the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico wreaked on her home state. As a practicing Christian, Walker feels a "responsibility from God to steward the environment," which means fighting climate change while protecting industry. </p><p>She lauded Trump's <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/06/22/trump-tweets-full-endorsement-of-desantis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">support</a> of Ron DeSantis' run for Florida Governor in 2018. Walker appreciated DeSantis' <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-01-11/florida-gov-desantis-signs-executive-order-to-protect-states-waters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ambitious environmental vision</a> and said he "passed quite a few green initiatives in the first few months of his term." The governor's environmental <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article239258123.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">record</a> since has been controversial, with DeSantis earning dismal ratings from the Sierra Club and <a href="https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/ron-desantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">League of Conservation Voters</a>. </p><p>Walker also praised Trump's <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/08/reversal-trump-ban-oil-drilling-off-coasts-florida-georgia-south-carolina/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent</a> commitment to banning offshore drilling on the state's coasts, which came two years after he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/01/04/trump-administration-plans-to-allow-drilling-off-all-u-s-waters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposed</a> vastly expanding oil and gas drilling in U.S. continental waters. The move "shows a good faith investment" in finding clean energy alternatives, Walker said.</p><p>Walker said she'd examine both major presidential candidates' platforms and records on climate policy up until Election Day, but she doesn't think there's much, if anything, the Biden campaign could do that would convince her to swing left. If Trump can help pivot the GOP in greener directions, she said, "then more power to him."</p>
A False Equivalency
<p>Young climate conservatives may fear climate denial and delayed climate action, but more than that, they fear the growing political momentum around the Green New Deal, the massive spending it entails and <a href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">Biden's citing of it</a> as a "crucial framing for meeting the climate challenges we face."</p><p>Many don't want to split with their party to support a Democrat whose <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/03/757220130/joe-biden-on-bipartisanship-gun-control-and-regrets-over-inaction-after-a-traged" target="_blank">allegedly bipartisan intentions</a> they doubt. If stymieing what they consider a radical green agenda means re-electing a climate change denying president, so be it. </p><p>"I'm scared of climate change, but I'm also scared of the Green New Deal and what it means for America," said Ben Mutolo, a republicEN spokesperson and junior at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. </p><p>Mutolo felt encouraged by former Ohio Governor John Kasich's <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2020/08/17/kasich-speech-to-democratic-convention-follows-years-of-building-conservative-credentials/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">appearance</a> at the Democratic National Convention, but he still struggles to see himself voting for Biden. Though the candidate paints himself as a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-08-12/harris-biden-different-generation-similar-political-instinct" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">centrist,</a> Mutolo believes he's "cozying up to the ultra-progressive left." </p><p>Mutolo, who wants to see market-based climate solutions like a carbon tax, feels torn between a candidate whose climate plan relies on taking an "<a href="https://joebiden.com/environmental-justice-plan/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All-of-Government approach</a>," and one with no efforts to reign in global warming at all. <span></span></p><p>Leiserowitz said he appreciated how a conservative might feel Biden's climate plan "doesn't jive with their limited government, free-market approach."</p><p>But he sees a strong distinction between voting for a presidential candidate with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/biden-climate-plan.html" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan</a> that includes large renewable energy investments, which have <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/politics-global-warming-april-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bipartisan support</a>, and a candidate trying "to take the country in the opposite direction, towards more fossil fuels."</p><p>Equating the two seems "hard to square rationally," said Leiserowtiz. But most people don't vote rationally. Research <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/1/15515820/donald-trump-democracy-brexit-2016-election-europe" target="_blank">shows</a> they vote based on their social and political identities, not policy positions, and are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3834737/" target="_blank">influenced</a> by messaging from their social circles.<br></p><p>As someone ready to talk climate solutions, rather than debate science, Mann, the Texas A&M student, has struggled to connect with Republican peers supporting Trump. He believes that people concerned about climate change have a moral imperative to support Biden. "Voting for someone who took us out of the Paris Agreement, you're not going to get progress on climate change," said Mann. "Trump is not making America a leader on this." </p><p>Given the vast threat posed by climate change, Mann said, a vote withheld from Biden is just as problematic as a vote for Trump. </p><p>Mann knows he can't change people's minds, but that won't stop him from trying. "All I can do is plant ideas in their mind of why it's important" to elect Biden now and put climate leaders into office beyond this November, he said. "Hopefully, those grow."</p><p>While some young climate conservatives like Mann are engaging their peers in discussions about the presidential election, others like Walker are more concerned with raising awareness of market-driven climate solutions or getting out the vote for local and Congressional races.</p><p>Whatever their course of action, the chance to help shape climate policy for a critical next four to eight years isn't lost on any of these young climate conservatives. How they cast their ballots, and in what numbers, may solidify for the right a reality already made clear on the left—political survival now goes hand in hand with efforts to stabilize the climate and invest in the futures of today's youth and those of generations to come. </p>
<p><em><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org" target="_blank">Inside Climate News</a> </em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20092020/young-republicans-climate-change-biden-trump-voting" target="_blank"></a></em></p><p><em>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647767066#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Activists gather in John Marshall Park for the Global Climate Strike protests on September 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum / Getty Images
By Alexandra Villarreal
As West coast wildfires color the skies dystopian red and orange and an aggressive hurricane season batters the U.S. Gulf coast, college students are demanding their schools take bold action to address the climate crisis.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Caitlyn Daas is among them. The senior at Appalachian State University and organizer with the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative (ClimACT) stands on the frontlines of her school's grassroots push to go "climate neutral," part of a years-long, national movement that has inspired <a href="https://reporting.secondnature.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hundreds</a> of institutional commitments to reduce academia's carbon footprint.</p><p>Carbon neutrality commitments typically require schools to dramatically cut their carbon emissions by reimagining how they run their campuses — everything from the electricity they purchase to the air travel they fund. Colleges across the country, from <a href="https://secondnature.org/climate-action-guidance/carbon-neutral-colleges-and-universities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the University of San Francisco</a> to American University in Washington DC have already attained carbon neutrality. Other academic institutions, including the University of California system, have taken steps to <a href="https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/may/20/university-of-california-completes-fossil-fuel/#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20California%20announced,as%20solar%20and%20wind%20power." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fully divest from fossil fuels</a>.</p><p>But as young activists like Daas urge their universities to do their part to avert climate disaster, many are frustrated by tepid responses from administrators whom they feel lack their same sense of urgency and drive. Appalachian State, part of the University of North Carolina system, has committed to reaching net-zero emissions decades down the line, but Daas and her fellow activists fear that's far too late. She's baffled that an institution devoted to higher learning is seemingly ignoring the science around the climate emergency.</p><p>"If our voices don't matter, can you please stop telling us that they do?" Daas says.</p>
<p>College activists concerned about the climate crisis have largely focused their efforts on two popular movements that go hand-in-hand: reaching<a href="https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_3cbb5394-d27a-11ea-8d95-efad3d7293d1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> carbon neutrality</a>, and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/opinion/letters/colleges-divestment-fuels.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> divesting university endowments</a>. Broadly, the term "net carbon neutrality" means that a campus zeroes out all of its carbon emissions, says Timothy Carter, president of<a href="https://secondnature.org/mission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Second Nature</a>, a nonprofit focused on climate action in higher education. This can be achieved through modifying campus operations, often with the help of alternatives, such as renewable energy certificates and voluntary carbon offsets (activities that atone for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/carbon-offset" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other emissions</a>). In Second Nature's definition, investment holdings don't factor in a school's carbon footprint. Carbon neutrality often falls within a wider umbrella of climate neutrality, which also incorporates justice and other concerns.</p><p>Divestment campaigns, meanwhile, pressure universities to shed investments in fossil fuels in their endowments. "We cannot truly be climate neutral if we continue to invest in a fossil fuel industry," says Nadia Sheppard, chair of the Climate Reality Project <a href="https://climaterealityproject.org/chapters-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">campus corps chapter</a> at North Carolina State University, where oil, gas and consumable, nonrenewable fuels account for around <a href="http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_2aed037e-4b7b-11e9-9660-73d3cbdd1487.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$43m</a><a href="http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_2aed037e-4b7b-11e9-9660-73d3cbdd1487.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> in university investments</a>.</p><p>Across North Carolina, the heated campus battles brewing over climate policy this fall represent a microcosm of the national conversation. The University of North Carolina system – <a href="https://www.northcarolina.edu/about-us/" target="_blank">which includes 16 universities</a> and one gifted public residential high school – has set a <a href="https://rmi.org/our-work/electricity/elab-electricity-innovation-lab/elab-accelerator/elab-accelerator-teams-2014/elab-accelerator-2014-teams-university-north-carolina-system-energy-future/" target="_blank">2050 goal</a> to go carbon neutral, the same year as the state <a href="https://deq.nc.gov/energy-climate/climate-change/nc-climate-change-interagency-council/climate-change-clean-energy-16#:~:text=Clean%20Energy%20Plan%20Goals&text=Reduce%20electric%20power%20sector%20greenhouse,attain%20carbon%20neutrality%20by%202050.&text=Foster%20long%2Dterm%20energy%20affordability,modernizing%20regulatory%20and%20planning%20processes." target="_blank">at large</a>.</p><p>But students are frustrated by the distant deadline. "I do believe 2050 is realistic," says Isaiah Green, president of the UNC system-wide Association of Student Governments. "But it's so realistic that it's just not enough, in my opinion."</p>
<p>Laura England, a ClimACT member and senior lecturer in sustainable development at Appalachian State, approaches the issue with similar gravity as the undergraduates at her school. "That concept, 'our house is burning,' was a metaphor. But really in 2020, it is literal," she says.</p><p>Students and faculty at Appalachian State are angling for net zero emissions by 2025, or at least 2035, but have felt unheard. ClimACT lambasted the school's administration last week in a letter emancipating themselves from the official climate action planning process, at least until its leadership declares a climate emergency and responds accordingly. "The question we face is astonishingly simple," the group wrote. "Do we have the political will to chart a path toward a safe and just climate future, or will we continue careening toward hot house earth?"</p><p>Lee F Ball Jr, chief sustainability officer at Appalachian State, admires young people's passion and would "bottle" and "serve it" if he could. But to reach neutrality by 2025, the university would need to spend tens of millions of dollars it doesn't have.</p><p><span></span>"There's no real silver bullet of clean energy out there that we've been able to find, so we're in a wild west of carbon accounting and climate action," Ball says. "There's no rulebook, there's no prescription for this stuff."</p>
<p>Other students in the UNC system are advocating for more transparency and accountability around their school's investments.</p><p>Kelsey Hall, the leader of a divest campaign at UNC Asheville, <a href="https://www.unca.edu/events-and-news/stories/unc-asheville-commits-to-environmental-social-and-governance-criteria-for-portion-of-endowment/" target="_blank">successfully pushed the school administration</a> to divest around 10% of its endowment from fossil fuels last year. But the other 90% remains in the hands of the UNC management company, which invests in a nebulous category of "<a href="https://uncmc.unc.edu/files/2020/02/FY-2019-UNCIF-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy and natural resources</a>" – oil, natural gas, power, etc.</p><p>"Returns [on investments] are very, very close" between the competing portfolios so far, says John G Pierce, vice-chancellor for budget and finance at UNC Asheville. But university leadership isn't prepared to entertain divesting more of its endowment just yet.</p><p>"It's frustrating," Hall says. "But it's something that I've learned since becoming involved with the campaign, is just that, like, universities move slowly."</p>
<p>At Duke University, a top tier private institution in North Carolina, the administration has agreed to a much quicker <a href="https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/12/duke-university-carbon-neutrality-2024-offsets" target="_blank">2024 climate neutrality date.</a> There, students have been more concerned with how they arrive at that target.</p><p>They want the school to reduce actual emissions as much as possible, "rather than relying on more questionable, less rigorous ways of offsetting emissions in the books", says Claire Wang, a recent Duke alumna and Rhodes scholar.</p><p>"It'd be very easy for a huge polluter to, you know, only pick a low-hanging fruit, maybe bring emissions down 10%, and instead buy very cheap carbon credits for the remaining 90% and say they've reached carbon neutrality," Wang says.</p><p>Although student activists often direct their ire toward school administrations, their greatest antagonist may simply be a ticking clock. Undergraduates generally only get a four-year window on campus to make a difference, and they've lost precious time because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has in some ways pulled focus from climate issues.</p><p>Environmental campaigns, meanwhile, require long-term, dedicated attention spans. Gabriela Duncan, co-president of UNC Reinvest at UNC Chapel Hill, found article after article in her school paper about past divestment movements, and she knows that "there realistically is no way" that the university will divest during her academic career.</p><p>To avoid yet another loss of momentum, she's focusing on creating "a really strong foundation, so that we can have a sustainable movement for many years."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> </em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/21/student-climate-protesters-urge-universities-carbon-neutral-#img-1" target="_blank"></a>From Your Site Articles
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Portuguese students protest in front of the Portuguese Parliament on behalf of climate change on March 15, 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal. Horacio Villalobos / Corbis / Getty Images
By Holly Young
In what is being described as an unprecedented climate case, four children and two young adults from Portugal have filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against 33 industrialized countries.
<p>The young people, supported by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), <a href="https://youth4climatejustice.org/assets/images/GLAN_COURT_APPLICATION_2020.09.02.pdf" target="_blank">allege the countries</a> — which include Germany, the UK, Russia and Portugal — have failed to enact the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-high-emission-countries-lagging-on-climate-protection/a-51644769" target="_blank">emission cuts</a> needed to protect their futures.</p><p>The case focuses on countries whose policies lawyers argue are too weak to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/kyoto-protocol-climate-treaty/a-52375473" target="_blank">Paris Agreement</a> goal. They cite the country ratings of the <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate Action Tracker</a>. </p><p>The plaintiffs range from age 8 to 21 and come from Lisbon and Leiria in Portugal. The case states climate change poses a rising threat to the six young people's lives and physical and mental well-being. It invokes <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/un-rights-body-climate-change-could-be-grounds-for-asylum/a-52101672" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">human rights</a> arguments — including the right to life, a home and to family — as well as claiming discrimination. </p><p>"Our generation is living in an age of great danger and uncertainty, so our voice must be heard," said Andre Oliveira, 12, whose father is translating for him.</p><p>"It's clearly not the case that young people are the only people vulnerable to the effects of climate change," said Gerry Liston, legal officer at GLAN. "But because they stand to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/children-at-risk-of-new-threats-like-climate-change-warns-unicef/a-51290018" target="_blank">endure the worst impacts</a>, we're saying the effects of failing to adequately address greenhouse gas emissions amounts to unlawful discrimination on the grounds of age."</p><p>"It's not about finger-pointing, but all about giving all these 33 governments a chance to act better and faster," said Andre. "It is a matter of human rights and that's why we're going all the way to Strasbourg."</p>
A First at Strasbourg
<p>While there are numerous recent and ongoing climate cases, many also involving young plaintiffs, it is the first of its kind to be brought to Strasbourg. The international court, set up in 1959, deals with alleged violations of civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.</p><p>The pressing need for significant and wide-scale action among many large emitters warranted going directly to Strasbourg, rather than through domestic courts which is more common, explains Liston. "A decision from the European Court of Human Rights is urgently required in order to provide the legally binding decision that would then filter down and prompt the change that's required at the domestic level." </p><p>According to GLAN, if successful, the 33 countries would be legally bound to tackle overseas contributions to climate change, including that of multinational companies, as well as ramping up emissions cuts. While the timescale ahead and whether the court will decide if the case is admissible is not yet clear, Liston said they have applied for the case to be given priority. </p>Portuguese Wildfires
<p>The plaintiffs belong to three families and became involved in the case after hearing about GLAN's climate work through a local contact.</p><p>Many cited seeing climate change hit their doorsteps as encouraging them to act, particularly the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/portugal-breathes-sigh-of-relief-as-fires-brought-under-control/a-39367823" target="_blank">deadly Portuguese wildfires</a> in 2017. </p><p>"I directly experienced the terror of the fires," said Catarina Mota, 20, one of the four that live in Leiria, one of the areas hardest hit. Rising sea levels, the constant threat of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/yes-climate-change-fuels-forest-fires-but-thats-not-the-only-factor/a-41006333" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forest fires</a> and increasingly abnormal temperatures are now part of her everyday reality. "These changes make me feel apprehensive," she said, adding sometimes the heat makes it hard to breathe or sleep. In July this year the <a href="https://www.ipma.pt/pt/media/noticias/news.detail.jsp?f=/pt/media/noticias/textos/resumo-clima-julho-20.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hottest temperatures</a> in 90 years were registered in the country. </p><p>"What motivated me to be involved in this case was the desire for a world where one can at least survive," said Catarina. "Because if nothing is done by our governments this will not happen."</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fridays-for-future-uganda-climate-change-africa-activism-food-security-water/a-54732304" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate action</a>, such as this case, is necessary "in order to have a future and a healthy life without fear" said plaintiff Claudia Agostinho, 21. "Our generation and all future generations deserve this."</p>Wave of Climate Litigation
<p>The Strasbourg case is one of a growing wave of climate litigation around the world. <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/climate-change-litigation-shows-no-sign-of-abating-as-plaintiffs-use-a-variety-of-strategies-to-bring-lawsuits-against-governments-and-carbon-majors/" target="_blank">According to the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment</a>, while the majority happen in the U.S., over the last year climate cases were filed across six continents, 80% of them against governments.</p><p>It also noted a recent increase in litigation by activists and advocacy groups, and the use of human rights arguments. </p><p>While there are ongoing cases in many countries — including South Korea, Peru, and Canada — regarding states' human rights obligations to mitigate climate change, the most recent high-profile example is the Dutch <a href="https://www.urgenda.nl/en/themas/climate-case/" target="_blank">Urgenda case</a>.</p><p>In 2019 the country's Supreme Court became the first highest level domestic court to establish a state's duty to significantly and immediately reduce emissions in line with human rights obligations. This summer activists were <a href="https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/681b8633-3f57-41b5-9362-8cbc8e7d9215/2020_IESC_49.pdf/pdf#view=fitH" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">also successful</a> in taking the Irish government to court over climate action failures. Greta Thunberg is among 16 youth activists who also have an ongoing legal complaint to the UN committee on the rights of the child. </p>Politics, Protest and the Courts
<p>"I think one case inspires the other," said Caroline Schroeder, from Germanwatch, an NGO supporting 9 young people with a <a href="https://www.germanwatch.org/en/constitutional-complaint" target="_blank">constitutional climate complaint</a> in Germany. She sees the Strasbourg case and growing trend of climate litigation as born of the same mounting frustration driving the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/cliamte-change-environment-greta-thunberg-merkel-global-strike-climate-action-luisa-neubauer/a-54618006" target="_blank">Fridays for Future</a> movement - namely, that "politics is not doing enough."</p><p>"I wish we wouldn't have to bring the cases," said Roda Verheyen, a climate lawyer working on the <a href="https://peoplesclimatecase.caneurope.org/" target="_blank">People's Climate Case</a> filed against the EU institutions. "But it is essentially still the case that the level of protection afforded to our children by the legislators is too low. And that's why the courts will keep seeing these cases." </p><p>Verheyen points out that in emphasizing a general duty to protect rather than challenging a specific law, the Strasbourg case is less concrete than others she has worked on. Yet a win there could have wide-reaching implications for member states, she adds, and even a loss could potentially "reinforce the strength of the litigation both in national cases and on the EU level."</p><p>Its ultimate strength, Liston argues, is in bringing home the time perspective and imminence of the threat.</p><p>"This case shows that there are people who stand to suffer horrendous effects of climate change within their lifetime," said Liston. </p><p>The youngest plaintiff, now 8, will be 28, in 2040, the year in which the UN panel of scientists expect <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many of the most severe consequences</a> of climate change to unfold. </p><p>Andre, 12, said he hopes the case will bring "acknowledgement of the voice of a generation that lives with high anxiety and increasing fear of incoming catastrophes, but also a generation that has all the hope that things will change." </p>From Your Site Articles
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Activists from the climate protest group Extinction Rebellion wear PPE as they perform during a march through central London on September 1, 2020. Isabel Infantes / AFP / Getty Images
After a coronavirus-induced hiatus, the activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) is back on the streets of the UK demanding action on the climate crisis.
<p>The group kicked off 10 days of planned civil disobedience on Tuesday with protests in London, Manchester and Cardiff, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/extinction-rebellion-plan-two-weeks-of-disruption-as-parliament-returns?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3RnBU7-hTcnfN9CsAiaNVPCLkIrspHNWlD5H7dJCT-ApTChhUAeYKYvcg" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. The London protest ended in Parliament Square as the UK's legislative body returned from its summer recess.</p><p>"The government is failing to do what's necessary to keep people safe. We are here, taking action, because their criminal negligence is putting lives at risk," Extinction Rebellion said on its website, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-britain-protests/extinction-rebellion-urges-returning-uk-lawmakers-to-take-climate-action-idUKKBN25S4W0" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. "We refuse to be bystanders and wait for this emergency to push beyond the point of no return."</p>
<p>Specifically, the group wants Parliament to pass the <a href="https://www.ceebill.uk/" target="_blank">Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill</a>.</p><p>The CEE Bill was written by a coalition of scientists, lawyers and activists determined to advance UK climate policy beyond its current goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Instead, it would require a climate plan that would:</p><ol><li>Reduce emissions enough to account for the UK's "fair share" of carbon pollution</li><li>Account for the country's whole carbon footprint, both at home and abroad</li><li>Protect nature both in the UK and abroad by looking at the impact of consumer supply chains</li><li>Not rely on new technologies as an excuse to keep polluting at current levels</li><li>Create a citizen's assembly "with bite" to shape climate policy</li></ol>
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<p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government's climate legacy and promised new announcements in the fall, Reuters reported.</p><p>Before a cabinet meeting, he told senior ministers that he planned a green recovery from the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"From this crisis we will build back better in this country, we will build back faster and we will build back greener," Johnson said. "And there will be a lot more to come about the way in which this government is going to lead a new green industrial revolution for the UK."</p><p>The planned disruptions come a little less than a year after XR's "Autumn Uprising" shut down large parts of central London and led to more than 1,700 arrests, the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/extinction-rebellion-set-to-hold-10-days-of-climate-change-demonstrations-across-central-london-a4536891.html" target="_blank">Evening Standard</a> reported. This in turn led to the Metropolitan Police <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/extinction-rebellion-banned-london-2640972104.html" target="_self">banning</a> the group in London, a move later found to be <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/extinction-rebellion-ban-london-unlawful-2641246275.html" target="_self">illegal</a>.</p><p>Tuesday's London protest drew thousands of people and resulted in 65 arrests, according to The Guardian.</p>
<p><br>This year, the Metropolitan Police have set limits on when and where gatherings can take place and prohibited the use of boats, vehicles or other structures in processions, the Evening Standard reported. They have also threatened a roughly $13,000 fine for organizing a gathering of more than 30 people during the pandemic, The Guardian reported.</p><p>XR already canceled protests planned for earlier in the year because of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.</p><p>The Guardian reported that a majority of Tuesday's protesters wore masks, and XR has also organized a digital rebellion for those who cannot join in person.</p><p>For some participants, however, the virus made them more determined to take to the streets.</p><p>"By living the way we live, we are making ourselves more vulnerable to these pandemics and that's why [the climate crisis] should never have been off the agenda, it should be part and parcel of the Covid debate," 50-year-old Ava, from Lewes in East Sussex, told The Guardian.<br></p>
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Swedish founder of Fridays for Future movement Greta Thunberg wears a face mask as she walks to the Chancellery to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 20, 2020. Odd Andersen / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Swedish climate leader Greta Thunberg donned a mask and joined a socially distanced Fridays for Future protest in Berlin just a day after she and three other youth activists met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government took over the European Council presidency in July, to discuss the planetary emergency.
<p>Thunberg—along with Luisa Neubauer of Germany and Anuna de Wever van der Heyden and Adélaïde Charlier, both of Belgium—met with Merkel on Thursday exactly two years after the first school strike for the climate took place, which the four activists <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/19/greta-thunberg-and-fellow-activists-decry-political-inaction-climate-crisis-after" target="_blank">noted</a> in an op-ed for the <em>Guardian</em> Wednesday that detailed their plans to share with her an <a href="https://climateemergencyeu.org/" target="_blank">open letter</a> from July, now signed by over 125,000 people, calling on European Union and global leaders to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FaceTheClimateEmergency" target="_blank">#FaceTheClimateEmergency</a>.</p><p>About 100 activists reiterated that demand with their Friday demonstration in the German capital. Tweeting about the meeting with the chancellor, Fridays for Future Berlin wrote that "conversations must be followed by deeds—that's why we take to the streets together!"</p>
<div id="dc9a2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8229fb577f8697ac42ee3e8843974dc9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296748619522093056" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">School strike week 105. We’re back, social distant. Berlin! #climatestrike #fridaysforfuture #schoolstrike4climate… https://t.co/jcY5vVtahZ</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1296748619522093056">1598003937.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="9032c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a0befc79f58c9dc4b239b3d6d45dada"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296733781626257408" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Nach dem Gespräch mit Merkel gestern haben heute 100 Aktivist:innen von #FridaysForFuture zusammen mit… https://t.co/e2UwCuZtNA</div> — Fridays for Future Berlin (@Fridays for Future Berlin)<a href="https://twitter.com/FFF_Berlin/statuses/1296733781626257408">1598000400.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>After the 90-minute meeting with Merkel, Thunberg <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/greta-thunberg-climate-youth-movement-targets-angela-merkel/" target="_blank">told</a> reporters that "we want leaders to step up, take responsibility, and treat the climate crisis like a crisis."</p><p>The Swedish teenager <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">added</a> that the Fridays for Future activists want world leaders "to dare to step out of their comfort zones, to prioritize the future ahead of us now, and to be brave enough to think long-term."</p><p>Citing a German government<a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bundeskanzlerin-merkel-trifft-vertreterinnen-von-fridays-for-future-1778472?view=renderNewsletterHtml" target="_blank"> statement </a>issued after the meeting, <em>Politico</em> <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/greta-thunberg-climate-youth-movement-targets-angela-merkel/" target="_blank">reported</a> that "the group discussed the climate priorities of the German E.U. Council presidency, the E.U.'s objective of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, and efforts to hike the bloc's 2030 emissions reduction targets."</p><p><a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">According to</a> <em>Reuters</em>:</p><blockquote>The government spokesman said Merkel and the activists agreed that global warming posed a challenge for the world and that industrialized countries had a special responsibility to tackle it. <br><br>"The basis for this is the consistent implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement," the spokesman said.<br><br>The German government admitted earlier this week that it would have missed its climate target for 2020 if the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus pandemic had not caused a large drop in greenhouse gas emissions.<br></blockquote><p>Neubauer <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">told</a> journalists that Merkel "at least confirmed that she is willing to get stuff done during the [E.U.] presidency... Yet eventually, at the end of the day, it's about common budgets, it's about very clear targets, it's about numbers and figures and that we need action, more than really nice and big words."</p><p>"It became very clear that we look at the situation from different perspectives," Neubauer said of the climate crisis after the meeting. "As a physicist, [Merkel] does understand the science. As a politician, she well understands the political complexity behind that struggle. The question is now how to fill that gap."</p><p>The German activist added that "the interests of future generations have to be somehow balanced with interests of generations today—and that's a huge challenge and we're not denying that at all."</p>
<div id="1f351" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1da318c4cb38c5a6e5e7abe03d7fd66e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296809297435860992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">During the Corona crisis, the #FridaysForFuture demonstrations could not take place. Now #climate activists, includ… https://t.co/clnemnAEmp</div> — Deutschland.de | Germany (@Deutschland.de | Germany)<a href="https://twitter.com/en_germany/statuses/1296809297435860992">1598018404.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Neubauer also shared that Fridays for Future is mobilizing another worldwide strike next month, while acknowledging challenges posed by the pandemic.</p><p>"We used to strike in masses on the streets which was for many weeks not thinkable during corona and is still a very challenging task," she noted. "We're listening to the science and we are adjusting. We're moving to spaces where we can strike safely—sometimes digitally, sometimes in smaller numbers on the streets."</p><p>"We have decided to strike again globally and safely, if possible on the streets... we're mobilizing right now for September 25," Neubauer said. "The climate crisis hasn't slowed, it's escalating. We need people to demand action and this is obviously what we keep doing."</p><p>The calls for urgent action in Berlin on Friday were echoed by other school strikers across the globe. Some participated in the weekly Fridays for Future protest digitally due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while others wore masks and took additional safety precautions like the strikers in Germany.</p>
<div id="516c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc7d43c79b060445bfba2448e9003946"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296698566455562240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Week 36! #schoolstrike4climate from Kenya. let's stop talking and act!Action is better than words. We cannot eat co… https://t.co/WN3Nn5db4G</div> — Dorcas Wakio (@Dorcas Wakio)<a href="https://twitter.com/WakioDorcas/statuses/1296698566455562240">1597992004.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="07915" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e4814f20335a07c6e64eac54bdff8a6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296692265780486145" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">School has started again and we are back at the #ClimateStrike in front of the Swedish Parliament again! The strike… https://t.co/8X9zhEvlKz</div> — Isabelle Axelsson🌍 (@Isabelle Axelsson🌍)<a href="https://twitter.com/isabelle_ax/statuses/1296692265780486145">1597990502.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="ee5b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f96586f8ace84eefa25e4f55ffaf3552"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296642301255536641" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#ClimateStrikeOnline week17 危機感を持てば、行動せずにはいられません。 危機に気づくということは行動するということです。 ※私たちの"行動しないリーダー"はまだ気候危機の深刻さを理解していないのです。… https://t.co/l0fxBus5lN</div> — Tenshin てんしん (@Tenshin てんしん)<a href="https://twitter.com/ShindoTenshin/statuses/1296642301255536641">1597978589.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="417d1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="272cf96a7e5bd51a38001515719e2f8c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296690147270909952" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#FridaysForFuture climate strike at Sydney Town Hall https://t.co/N6DByTMqGK</div> — Fridays For Future Sydney (@Fridays For Future Sydney)<a href="https://twitter.com/fff_Sydney/statuses/1296690147270909952">1597989997.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"This is week 80 of my <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/schoolstrike4climate?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">#schoolstrike4climate</a> but are you listening?" <a href="https://twitter.com/NamugerwaLeah/status/1296723352602718208" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Leah Namugerwa, a 16-year-old in Uganda. "Whether you do or not I'll continue doing what is right for my and future generations."</p>
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Tens of thousands of people attend a Black Lives Matter protest which was mainly peaceful on June 6 in London, United Kingdom. Phil Clarke Hill / In Pictures / Getty Images
As climate activists, we can't fight the climate crisis without considering the systemic impacts that environmental racism and White supremacy have on the frontline communities most affected by pollution and our warming world.
<p>Over the last few months, many around the world have taken time to recognize and educate themselves about the fight against police brutality, racism, and inequity. While this fight has been going on for decades, it's time for White activists, in particular, to step up our game and do everything we can to become effective allies to those leading the fight for social and environmental justice.</p><p>You've probably seen articles and social media posts about supporting Black Lives Matter and environmental justice, but what can we do online to help amplify the voices of these organizers – and how can we stand with them?\</p>
Do a Social Media Audit and Reconsider Who You Follow
<p>As the movement for social and environmental justice continues, it's important to pay attention to the voices and media outlets you're consuming information from. Take a few minutes to look at your social media feeds – do you follow people of color and diverse voices? Do you follow credible news sources?</p><p>Take a look at what you've posted so far and think about <em>why </em>you posted. As allies, we can help the movement by centering our posts and online actions around supporting the activists and organizers on the ground. Think or ask about how you can best amplify these causes – for many that could mean retweeting or reposting, educating your followers, or even by directing followers to donation or petition pages.</p><p>Next, take a look at who you follow. It can be easy to get stuck in a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/problem-social-media-reinforcement-bubbles-what-you-can-do-about-ncna1063896" target="_blank">social media bubble</a>, where your social feed will filter out opinions you may not necessarily agree with. By continuing to audit your social media and expand your range of news sources or pages you follow to have varying opinions or backgrounds, you ensure you have a well-rounded news feed and could even hear about a news story that you may not have known about before!</p><p>For many environmental justice fights around the US and world, local news outlets and activists may be the ones covering the story first. By taking a look at our follower lists, it gives us space to recognize any information gaps! Check out the accounts of people you trust to follow useful resources and activists.</p><p>Need some recommendations to start you off? Here are some of the <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/top-climate-experts-follow-twitter" target="_blank">top climate scientists</a> and <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/young-climate-activists-follow-twitter" target="_blank">youth activists</a> we suggest you follow on social media.</p>Challenge Yourself and Others to Continue Learning
<p>It's okay not to know everything. In fact, it's completely normal.</p><p>One of the best parts of being a climate advocate is that we continue to learn and grow with the climate movement and science. To protect our air, water, and land from pollution, we have to stay up to date with the newest science and solutions – it's the same thing when advocating for social and environmental justice!</p><p>For many, this means keeping up to date on social media and in the news with what protests are happening and why, how we can support them, and what local organizations are doing to defend their communities. It also means trying to keep an ear out for the stories that major outlets aren't covering extensively.</p><p>Take the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/atlantic-coast-pipeline-canceled-after-years-delays-accusations-environmental-injustice-n1232987" target="_blank">recent victory in the fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for example</a>. Local environmental justice groups in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina had been fighting for years against the pipeline. When it was canceled a few weeks ago, activists celebrated, but the story never seemed to get the same level of attention as the latest tweet from the White House.</p><p>Social media gives us the opportunity to learn from others with varied experiences and gain resources to information that can make us better activists.</p>Expect to Make Mistakes and Learn to Listen
<p>We will all make mistakes. It's a part of continuing to educate ourselves and growing as an ally and activist. Even the most experienced advocates have said the wrong thing or made a mistake in their time.</p><p>For many of us, especially White climate activists, these may be relatively new concepts, but we must make the fight against racism our fight. Take a look back at what you've posted before and learn from any past mistakes, using this moment to learn what went wrong and share what you learned with others. By educating yourself, you can help others who may be experiencing similar mistakes or have questions.</p><p>Additionally, the best way to learn about the impacts of systemic racism on frontline communities being impacted by police brutality or climate change is to listen. Give Black activists and people of color an opportunity to tell their stories and give yourself time to reflect on their experiences. It may (and probably will be) uncomfortable in some moments but it's necessary to make progress in a movement where we can fight together for long-awaited justice.</p>Use Your Platform and Following to Amplify Diverse Voices
<p>Whether you have a big social media following, only follow close family and friends on social media, or don't have social media accounts at all – use the platform or online environment you have to amplify the voices of Black activists and people of color.</p><p>It can be as simple as sending an email to close friends or retweeting posts from local organizers. Sharing information from those on the front lines to those who trust and follow you not only helps local activists but can help educate others!</p><p>For many, you're a trusted messenger. What does that mean? You can read more about it in one of our <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/why-trusted-messengers-matter" target="_blank">past blogs</a>, but here's a quick definition from <a href="https://www.bu.edu/ise/2019/04/16/trusted-messenger/" target="_blank">Boston University:</a><br>"People believe people whom they trust, and they're more likely to act based on the recommendation of that influential other person."</p><p>Your family, friends, and followers trust you – use that privilege as an opportunity to educate them and amplify the voices of those leading the social and environmental justice fight!</p>Want to Learn More About Climate Activism and Environmental Justice?
<p>Feeling inspired to join the movement for environmental and climate justice? Sign up to learn more by becoming a Climate Reality Leader.</p><p>By signing up for one of our Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings, you'll learn about fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts on low-income families and communities of color, and how to build the broad, inclusive, and powerful coalitions necessary to fight back.</p><p>Join former Vice President Al Gore and an all-star lineup of environmental justice leaders, climate scientists, business leaders, and more to learn how to fight for a just, healthy future for all.</p>
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Environmental activists attend the Climate Network's Global Climate Strike protest in Bogota, Colombia on September 20, 2019. Juancho Torres / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
By Inés M. Pousadela
In early 2020, as millions went into lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the environment experienced temporary relief from the impacts of human activity. As skies cleared and birds and animals claimed city spaces, it became apparent that the young people who had mobilized for the climate across the world in 2019 were right: Much environmental damage is the result of human action, and as such, can also be reversed through human initiative.
<p>The experience of 2020 has made clear that whether the threat is climate change or a pandemic, humanity won't survive its challenges unless people act collectively on the basis of scientific consensus.</p><p>Before the pandemic hit, the climate emergency had made headlines and had become part of everyday conversation. It all started when one determined young girl, then 15 years old, walked out of school and staged a solo protest outside her country's parliament. But it wasn't a solo protest for long, because hundreds of thousands of young people quickly took up the initiative.</p><p>Driven by inspiration rather than imitation, young people throughout the Global South organized their own local climate actions, feeding into the global climate movement. They used this global platform to draw attention to—and infuse new energy into—long-standing, under-acknowledged Indigenous movements defending land, water, and air against extractive industries and agribusiness.</p>
<p>In Ghana, <a href="https://civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/interviews/4313-ghana-work-in-the-little-corner-of-your-community-has-a-potential-to-cause-change-at-the-top" target="_blank">Perk Pomeyie</a> of the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement used graphic design and social media to mobilize young people around #FridaysforFuture and #SchoolClimateStrike. He also collaborated with the International Youth Climate Movement in the region to mobilize during the United Nations' Africa Climate Week in Accra in March 2019. "As a grassroots activist in Ghana, this was the first time I gained a strong personal conviction that my work in the little corner of my community has a potential to cause change at the top, if supported with the right tools, capacity, and resources," he explained.</p><p>Across the Global South, activists have adapted their tactics to their local situations, all while shaking off delegitimization attempts that characterized the climate movement as driven by privileged people from the Global North.</p><p>"Although it is a very progressive thing to hold strikes in Global North countries, in a country like Sudan, going to school is a privilege for a lot of students. It doesn't make any sense for people to strike from a school they got into after a huge struggle," said <a href="https://civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/interviews/4133-sudan-young-activists-show-climate-solidarity-through-drought-floods-and-tears" target="_blank">Nisreen Al Sayeem</a>, of the Sudan Youth Organization on Climate Change and Youth and Environment. "Young people in Sudan are taking three different paths for climate action: policy, activism—including advocacy, campaigning, and work in civil society organizations—and community-based work."</p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://www.civicus.org/index.php/state-of-civil-society-report-2020" target="_blank">State of Civil Society Report</a> from CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, puts the spotlight on this rising generation of young climate leaders, who are giving fresh impetus to persistent struggles in countries including Colombia, Ghana, and Sudan. They may not have received the same media attention as Greta Thunberg, but these youth activists are every bit as committed, engaged, and important.</p><p>In their collective undertaking, these climate leaders have cast aside stereotypes of young people as impulsive and immature. They have come to embody the voice of reason by embracing science, encouraging evidence-based decision-making, and challenging disinformation. They are offering a lesson to their governments on what it means to act responsibly.</p><p>Young people face considerable risks when they take action in countries where civic and democratic freedoms aren't widely respected, and where environmental, Indigenous, and land rights activists have long experienced violent and even lethal repression. One <a href="https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/interviews/4305-colombia-the-protection-of-the-environment-is-inseparable-from-the-success-of-the-peace-process" target="_blank">young environmental activist</a> from Colombia vividly described the dangers he faces daily in a country where "people live in a state of incredible anxiety due to the systematic murders of social and environmental leaders," leaving them "afraid to speak, organize, and protest." Demonstrating how dangerous climate activism can be, he asked not to be named for security reasons.</p>
<p>One way in which young climate leaders try to mitigate such dangers is by building alliances that may offer safety in numbers, and by connecting their domestic struggles to global climate concerns. In Colombia, major domestic issues are deforestation and population displacement, linked to the troubled implementation of the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas, which sought to put an end to a half-century-long armed conflict.</p><p>Climate activism in Colombia received a boost during the mass anti-government protests that erupted in November 2019, as climate activists encouraged protesters to embrace environmental demands. "In a country where people are afraid to speak," said the Colombian activist, the fact that millions took to the streets in what was considered the largest mobilization in several decades was "a unique opportunity" for the climate movement to push its agenda. "We may not be able to mobilize people specifically around climate, but we can take advantage of these mass mobilizations and put our issues out there … so that they understand that our issues also concern them and they start mobilizing for them as well."</p><p>In this activist's experience, global inspiration led to local action, which in turn led to participation in regional processes to build a Latin American climate network. These regional efforts then led to the creation of a national environmental network, bringing together young people from all over the country to work for climate action. Still a work in progress, the national environmental network succeeded in getting the protest movement to include among its demands the declaration of a national climate emergency. Coming full circle, Colombia's national environmental network now also views global policy-making arenas as a battleground for future struggles.</p>
<p>Climate activism happens simultaneously at all levels, connecting the local to the global—from the streets of Bogotá and Manila to the sites of environmental damage in Bangladesh and Nepal, to high-level international forums such as the <a href="https://www.civicus.org/documents/reports-and-publications/SOCS/2020/SOCS2020_Climate_en.pdf#page=37" target="_blank">United Nations</a>. In country after country, climate activists operate within institutional systems, and employ disruption tactics when necessary and possible, to communicate their message: The climate is in crisis, and going back to business as usual after the pandemic is not acceptable.</p><p>The climate movement has suspended street action because of COVID-19, but activism continues online. The movement has already succeeded in turning a political nonissue into an urgent agenda item. Now the pressure is on to promote a green recovery from the pandemic, countering the existing inertia to pursue a carbon-fueled dash for growth.</p><p>When it comes to the key decisions that will shape human lives in the post-pandemic world, this new generation of activists will continue to pressure decision-makers into giving them a future worth fighting for.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/ines-m-pousadela/" target="_blank">INÉS M. POUSADELA</a> is a Senior Research Specialist at CIVICUS and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report 2020. She has written several books and articles on political representation, social mobilization, participation and accountability, and civil society.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2020/07/17/youth-climate-leaders-global-south/" target="_blank">YES! Magazine</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg discusses EU plans to tackle the climate emergency with Parliament's environment committee on March 4, 2020. CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2020 – Source: EP
By Abdullahi Alim
The 2008 financial crisis spurred a number of youth movements including Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring. A decade later, this anger resurfaced in a new wave of global protests, from Hong Kong to Beirut to London, only this time driven by the children of the 2008 financial crisis.
<p>These movements enjoy mass popularity, but how effective are they? Greta Thunberg proclaimed that "<a href="https://time.com/5768561/greta-thunberg-davos-panel-time/" target="_blank">pretty much nothing [had] been done</a>" since staging school strikes to raise awareness of the climate crisis in 2018, while Micah White, co-creator of <a href="http://occupywallst.org/" target="_blank">Occupy Wall Street</a>, has said that social change as we know it is dead.</p><p>As the world now faces the <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/" target="_blank">deepest economic downturn</a> since the Great Depression, there will be greater social unrest and calls for a new set of solutions.</p><p>Youth movements will need to find a more mature form of activism to counter the popularized puritanism that has prevailed. More precisely, here are 4 considerations for young changemakers as they seek a more just and equitable world:</p>
1. Learn From the Past
<p>Young people tend to be comfortable with change. Their instant adoption of technology is an example.<a target="_blank"> However, they may lack an understanding of the more permanent realities – requiring patience and </a>stoicism.</p><p>This wisdom is typically in the hands of individuals who either work within systems or who have accumulated far more tenure. This was effectively echoed by 13-year old activist, Naomi Wadler who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Aa6XLZe9A" target="_blank">said</a>, "We can educate our youth a lot better. We're not delving deeper into social justice movements from the past."</p><p>Youth movements that are informed by the success and pitfalls of prior efforts offer a more promising outcome. Take for example, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, co-founded by a 32-year old Alicia Garza.<span></span></p><p>Unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960's, BLM lacks central governance. This means that opponents can't attack its leadership as a means to discredit the whole movement. In the 1960's, this is exactly what happened to the civil rights movement, when critics went after Martin Luther King, stalling the collective efforts of the movement.</p><p>In fact, King spent his final year <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/04/martin-luther-king-jr-50-years-assassination-donald-trump-disapproval-column/482242002/" target="_blank">mired in public disapproval</a> with over 75% of Americans considering him "irrelevant" including 60% of African Americans.</p><p>By studying the legacy of previous efforts, BLM has managed to rally approximately <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/big-majorities-support-protests-over-floyd-killing-and-say-police-need-to-change-poll-finds/2020/06/08/6742d52c-a9b9-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html" target="_blank">75% of the American public</a>; a feat that will undeniably ensure the longevity of its cause.</p><p>For the youth climate movement, it too must reconcile the long record of activism that predates its tenure. It ought to model itself as an intergenerational movement by giving greater credence to the activists, environmental scientists and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/juan-manuel-santos-colombia-indigenous-peoples-coronavirus-pandemic-climate-change-environment-nature/" target="_blank">indigenous elders</a> that have fought for climate justice before its inception and ultimately signal the nuance and maturity that would activate allies within systems of power.</p>2. Become Part of Systems Change
<p>From the college campus to the coworking space, you would be hard pressed to avoid the sight of a social impact competition that invites young people to resolve some of the world's most intractable problems.<br></p><p>Unsurprisingly, this often leads to problematic and incomplete solutions. Take, for example, <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/tackling_heropreneurship" target="_blank">an app for African farmers</a> developed by students who have neither farmed nor been to Africa.<br></p><p>Fortunately, there is a growing shift towards empowering young people to better diagnose the systems that uphold inequality. For example, Oxford University hosts the annual <a href="http://www.oxfordglobalchallenge.com/" target="_blank">Map the System</a> competition to celebrate some of the most promising youth-led mappings and the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/story" target="_blank">Global Shapers Community</a> convenes more than 7,000 young people under the age of 30 to address local, regional and global challenges.</p><p>To achieve systemic change, young changemakers must first unpack systems into <a href="https://wtf.tw/ref/meadows.pdf" target="_blank">three components</a>; elements, interconnections and functions:</p><ul><li>Elements are essentially the key stakeholders in the system. This can include individuals, land or objects.</li><li>Interconnections are the laws and social norms that bind the elements together.</li><li>Functions are the end-goals.</li></ul><p>Take for example, the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace as a systems issue. The elements in the system would include the victim, perpetrator and other intermediary bodies including line managers and human resource teams. The interconnections could include forced arbitration laws that prohibit employees from seeking public courts and a managerial culture that protects high performing perpetrators and pressures victims into silence. In which case, the ultimate functions (or rather dysfunctions) of the system discourage victims from pursuing action and enable perpetrators and enablers to enjoy the benefits of career progression without due trial.</p><p>Systemic change is about redesigning the interconnections (the cultural norms and laws). In the example above, it involves challenging the use of private arbitrary courts and uprooting a toxic work culture. Reclaiming this intuition opens a pandora's box that ultimately allows for any given system to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>Today, young changemakers can rely on online resources like <a href="http://systems-ledleadership.com/" target="_blank">Systems-Led-Leadership</a> to analyze any given system of inequality and then direct their unique skills and knowledge towards the most effective intervention.</p>3. Avoid Heropreneurship
<p>Daniela Papi-Thornton first coined the term <a href="http://tacklingheropreneurship.com/" target="_blank">heropreneurship</a> to describe a growing trend that credits social change to the "founder" of an organization or movement exclusively.</p><p>This culture has inspired an entire generation of young change-makers who are swayed by the allure of the "heroic" founder and whose behaviors are validated through youth awards, grants and speaking circuits that glorify a role in the limelight. This pervasive culture undercuts the entire spectrum of actors that really creates social change.</p><p>Social change does not necessarily warrant the creation of a new organization or movement. Change-makers should consider the root causes that perpetuate and uphold inequalities and then map the existing players and solutions. This process might point to scaling up the work of an existing organization or helping a local candidate run for office.<br><br>For young people who wish to create social change, their efforts – while extremely important – may go unnoticed. This is an expectation that needs to be managed.<br></p>4. Know Your Place
<p>In 2016, a political action committee entitled <a href="http://canyounot.org/" target="_blank">Can You Not</a> emerged with the aim of discouraging white men from running for office in minority districts.</p><p>Despite the comical graphics, the campaign highlights an important question for young changemakers, particularly if they advocate for issues that they have not lived: in the quest for social change, can the actions of change-makers unwittingly perpetuate injustices, even as they seek to end them?<br></p><p>In the example above, could the notion of a white man effectively assuming the role of a translator between minority communities and government only reinforce their structural underrepresentation in political decision-making? Could the desire to assume office without lived experience also signal little faith in the leadership of the very communities being served?<br></p><p>A more effective approach to social change may be to encourage such actors to take stock of the unintended consequences of misrepresentation. In doing so, they may come to appreciate the importance of "stepping back" to allow others to "step forward." More concretely, this could result in building trusted relationships with the community and eventually empowering more local voices to consider public leadership.<br></p><p>For young changemakers, it is pivotal that they assess their own standing in a given system and avoid perpetuating the very inequalities they wish to tackle.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0MDM1MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MjEyNDM3MX0.9BL0cHnv4UisooKaSxh7B4oKJuKpEPUi8mGTmX1Xfoo/img.png?width=980" id="fb495" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f0f1ac331784be079123990844df136b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Strategic Intelligence: Youth Perspectives. World Economic Forum
A More Targeted, Effective Kind of Activism
<p>Social media has played its critical part in providing young people with a vehicle to advocate for social reform.</p><p>Whether it's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/23/greta-thunberg-speech-un-2019-address" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg's speech</a> during the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 or <a href="https://variety.com/2018/politics/features/emma-gonzalez-parkland-interview-1202972485/" target="_blank">Emma Gonzalez</a> rallying crowds for more stringent gun control. younger voices are swaying public opinion and pressuring political systems to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>The impact of these extraordinary young people is inspiring, but arguably they struggle to provide a course of action for the average young person who is motivated to pursue social change. The inconvenient truth is that social reform is difficult and even more so for a young person who wrestles with challenges related to experience and credibility.<br></p><p>To be more effective, young changemakers must forge greater bonds with late-stage activists as well as potential allies within systems of power. They must also understand the systems that uphold equality and pinpoint the intervention that would most likely inspire systemic change.<br></p><p>Finally, it is pivotal that they invest in a support system and seek to dissolve <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/this-is-how-wellbeing-drives-social-change-and-why-cultural-leaders-need-to-talk-about-it" target="_blank">personal anxieties</a> that may compromise their change-making potential.</p><p>It's time for youth activism to grow up.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue near the Trump International Hotel during a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
By John R. Platt
This year has brought us some brutal lessons so far, chief among them the fact that systemic racism drives or amplifies nearly all our societal and environmental ills.
Now is the time to listen to the people affected most by those problems of environmental justice and racism — and the activists working to solve them.
<p>Here's a good place to start: We've gathered 16 essential recent books on environmental racism and related topics from leading journalists and experts. Two of these are hot off the presses and scheduled to hit shelves this month, while the rest were pulled from <a href="https://therevelator.org/tag/revelator-reads/" target="_blank">previous "Revelator Reads" installments</a>. All provide vital insight into the problems that plague people and the planet, while also offering solutions for a more just future.</p><p>Since we're still in the middle of a pandemic — another problem made worse by racial injustice — it obviously remains challenging to visit local bookstores and libraries, so these links all go to publishers' sites, where you can order hard copies or e-books. You can also find enough information to order any of these books from local stores, which may offer delivery or curbside pickup.</p><p>This list is hardly exhaustive and pulls mostly from books published over the past two years, and it weighs a bit heavily on Indigenous authors and protests like Standing Rock. So please feel free to <a href="mailto:tips@therevelator.org" target="_blank">recommend</a> any insightful books we missed.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.newsociety.com/Books/E/Engage-Connect-Protect" target="_blank"><em>Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders</em></a> by Angelou Ezeilo</strong></p><p>The founder of the Greening Youth Foundation provides a critique of the too-white environmental movement and a toolkit for engaging younger participants from African American, Latinx and Native American communities.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.beacon.org/As-Long-as-Grass-Grows-P1445.aspx" target="_blank">As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock</a><em> </em><strong>by Dina Gilio-Whitaker </strong></strong></p><p>The history of Indigenous resistance may offer all of us the strength we need to keep fighting, from the coauthor of <em>"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans</em>.</p><p><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamie-margolin/youth-to-power/9780738246666/" target="_blank"><em><strong></strong></em></a><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamie-margolin/youth-to-power/9780738246666/" target="_blank"><strong><em>Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It</em></strong></a> <strong>by Jamie Margolin</strong> <u><strong><u><span></span></u></strong></u></p><p><u><strong><u><span></span></u></strong></u>An essential book by one of the country's most engaging youth activists. Margolin, a queer Latinx, cofounded Zero Hour and helped energize 2018's record-breaking Youth Climate March. Now she shares her experience and expertise — along with that of other young activists — and offers advice on everything from organizing peaceful protests to protecting your mental health in a time of crisis. Greta Thunberg provides the foreword.</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300743/environmental-justice-in-a-moment-of-danger" target="_blank">Environmental Justice in a Moment of Danger</a> </strong></em><strong>by Julie Sze</strong><strong></strong></p><p>As we've seen many times over the years, activists standing up for environmental justice often face violent reprisal. This academic book examines the what Sze calls the "historical and cultural forces and resistance to violence, death, and destruction of lives and bodies" to reveal guideposts for future (and hopefully safer) action.</p><p><strong><a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300232158/climate-change-streets" target="_blank">Climate Change From the Streets</a><em> </em>by Michael Méndez</strong></p><p>Méndez argues that the climate crisis is also a crisis for public health, especially in lower-income communities of color, and that both problems can only be solved by addressing issues of environmental justice. His book — subtitled "How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement" — taps into Méndez's own research into California communities and grassroots activism to show how the problems that plague us can also bring us together — but only if we invite everyone to the table.</p><p><em><strong><a href="http://tupress.temple.edu/book/20000000009800" target="_blank">Latinx Environmentalisms: Place, Justice, and the Decolonial</a> </strong></em><strong>edited by Sarah D. Wald, David J. Vázquez, Priscilla Solis Ybarra and Sarah Jaquette Ray</strong><span></span></p><p>More than a dozen top minds come together to examine thoughts and cultural processes otherwise ignored by the environmental movement.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.littlebrownspark.com/titles/harriet-a-washington/a-terrible-thing-to-waste/9780316509428/" target="_blank"><em>A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind</em></a> by Harriet A. Washington</strong><br></p><p><span></span>This book will open your eyes, make you angry, and then point you toward solutions for ending the plague of pollution-related health problems in marginalized communities of color.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.sevenstories.com/authors/65-aric-mcbay" target="_blank">Full Spectrum Resistance</a><em> </em><strong>by Aric McBay</strong></strong></p><p>This two-volume series provides a powerful primer for activism on social-justice and environmental issues, using examples from more than 50 resistance movements around the world. The first book discusses how to build movements, while the second examines strategies for change.</p><p><strong><a href="https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/indigenous-environmental-justice" target="_blank"><em>Indigenous Environmental Justice</em></a> edited by Karen Jarratt-Snider and Marianne O. Nielsen</strong></p><p>When pollution harms your physical, financial and spiritual health, it's more than an injustice. But that's what happens time and time again in Indian Country. This book addresses situations ranging from Standing Rock to uranium mining on Navajo and Hopi lands through lenses of colonization, sovereignty and — perhaps most importantly — victory.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/poisoned-water-9781547602322/" target="_blank"><em>Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation</em></a> by Candy J. Cooper with Marc Aronson</strong></p><p>We've already seen several bestselling and powerful books address the Flint water crisis, but this is the first one specifically written for young-adult readers. When you consider that kids were among the worst affected by the Flint tragedy, that makes this a story they need to read and understand — so they can grow up and help prevent it from happening to anyone else.</p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://btlbooks.com/book/unearthing-justice" target="_blank"><em>Unearthing Justice: How to Protect Your Community From the Mining Industry</em></a></strong><strong> by Joan Kuyek</strong></p><p>Covering everything from how to stop a new mining project to figuring out how to clean up an abandoned mine, this important book offers activists a primer for taking on all manner of extractive industries that can harm human health and the environment.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ecwpress.com/products/whose-water-is-it" target="_blank"><em>Whose Water Is It, Anyway? Taking Water Protection Into Public Hands</em></a> by Maude Barlow</strong></p><p>One of the world's most notable water-justice activists provides a step-by-step guide to help communities keep themselves from going dry due to the actions of irresponsible companies and governments.</p>
<p><u><strong><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/standing-with-standing-rock" target="_blank"><em>Standing With Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement</em></a> </strong></u><strong>edited by Nick Estes and Jaskiran Dhillon</strong></p><p><u><strong></strong></u><em>An essential volume to understand the history and significance of the famous resistance action, combining everything from essays and interviews to poems and photography.</em></p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://us.orcabook.com/One-Earth-P12339.aspx" target="_blank">One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet</a><em> </em><strong>by Anuradha Rao</strong></strong></p><p>This book for pre-teen readers delivers 20 short biographies of activists around the world who are working to save everything from trees to dolphins to people. In the process, it hopes to inspire the next generation of activists — especially those who might not have seen themselves represented in the still all-too-white environmental movement.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/" target="_blank">Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land</a><em> </em>by Leah Penniman</strong></p><p>A how-to guide for ending racism and injustice in our country's food system, both on farms themselves and in nutrition-starved African American communities. Bonus: The same techniques improve the soil, treat livestock humanely, preserve rare plant varieties and provide benefits for the climate.</p><p><strong><span></span><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622853/who-killed-berta-caceres-by-nina-lakhani/" target="_blank"><em>Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads and an Indigenous Defender's Battle for the Planet</em></a> by Nina Lakhani</strong></p><p>Honduran indigenous leader and activist Berta Cáceres won the prestigious Goldman Prize in 2015 — one year before she was murdered for her work trying to stop a hydroelectric dam from destroying a sacred river. This powerful book tells the story of her life and death, a tragedy echoed in the murders and assaults committed against hundreds of environmental defenders every year.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/john/" target="_blank">John R. Platt</a> </em><em>is the editor of <em>The Revelator</em>. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in <em>Scientific American</em>, <em>Audubon</em>, <em>Motherboard</em>, and numerous other magazines and publications. His "Extinction Countdown" column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/environmental-justice-books-june-2020/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trending
Police Condemned for Charging Peaceful Environmentalists With 'Terrorizing' in Louisiana
27 June
Climate
Two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019. MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
At least 40 U.S. climate and environmental advocacy groups on Friday rallied behind two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists who are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019.
<p>Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, respectively the director and a program assistant for Louisiana Bucket Brigade, "turned themselves into the Baton Rouge Police Department Thursday," <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_ebee9ed6-b586-11ea-8819-439269c90a96.html" target="_blank">according to</a> NOLA.com. "Rolfes was booked with terrorizing, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. McIntosh was booked with principal to terrorizing. Each was released Thursday afternoon after posting $5,000 bond."</p>
<p>The new wave of support for the activists and their nonviolent protest against plastic pollution came in a collection of comments <a href="https://earthworks.org/media-releases/intimidation-tactics-in-louisiana-wont-silence-opposition-to-formosa-plastics/" target="_blank">circulated</a> by the nonprofit Earthworks.</p><p>"These charges are mere retaliation in response to the critical work done by Louisiana Bucket Brigade," said Scott Eustis, community science director at HealthyGulf. "Formosa Plastics is a serial offender of the United States Clean Water Act, and discussing their criminal record with executives and government is essential work in this time of climate emergency, when Formosa Plastics seeks to derail all the good work for Coastal Restoration that Louisiana has accomplished."</p>
<p>"It is outrageous and chilling to see people criminalized simply for speaking out and advocating against toxic pollution in their neighborhoods," declared Liz Butler, vice president of organizing and strategic Alliances at Friends of the Earth (FOE). "Louisiana needs to hold Formosa accountable for poisoning St. James Parish, not punish people who are trying to protect their communities."</p><p>Rolfes and McIntosh deposited the box outside the home of lobbyist Tyler Gray on Dec. 11 with a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6956444-Letter-Included-in-Nurdles-Package-Sent.html" target="_blank">note</a> which said in part that the plastic pellets, also called nurdles, "are just some of the billions of nurdles that Formosa Plastics dumped into the coastal waters of the state of Texas, from their Point Comfort production facility."</p>
<p>The note also said the nurdles should not be removed from bags or left around children or pets, and explained that thousands of Louisiana residents are urging state officials to reject a key permit for a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/groups-challenge-louisiana-permits-formosa-plastics-giant-petrochemical-complex" target="_blank">controversial</a> $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that Formosa plans to build in a region nationally known as "<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse" target="_blank">Cancer Alley.</a>"</p><p>Last year, Taiwan-based Formosa <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/15/formosa-plastics-pay-50-million-texas-clean-water-act-lawsuit/" target="_blank">agreed</a> to a $50 million settlement for dumping nurdles into Texas' Lavaca Bay. Activists in Louisiana continue to organize in opposition to Formosa's proposed complex in St. James Parish, warning that the facility will adversely impact public health and the environment in the predominantly Black community.</p><p>"Black and Indigenous communities in the Gulf South have long been treated as a sacrifice zone for the profits of the fossil fuel industry, and activists fighting for their health, safety, and future should be thanked, not penalized," Angela Anderson, climate and energy program director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said Friday.</p><p>Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, director of 350.org North America, noted specifically that "Black residents of St. James Parish have been subjected to infamous levels of pollution and outrageous neglect from the agencies that should prevent it."</p><p>"This is a clear instance of the law and law enforcement being used to protect corporations, profit, and property over people," she said of the charges against Rolfes and McIntosh. "Louisiana is criminalizing protesters for speaking out against environmental injustice that the state has done next to nothing to address."</p>
<div id="2d9b4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aba472beff2e0cc9e7fa9ded595ae9b1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276202787915870210" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here's an incomplete tally of previous attempts to silence us:
📌Charging Pastor Manning with "inciting a riot" for… https://t.co/bz1t3dvowP</div> — LA Bucket Brigade (@LA Bucket Brigade)<a href="https://twitter.com/labucketbrigade/statuses/1276202787915870210">1593105429.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The charges against the pair "come on the heels of a series of incidents where environmental activists have been dealt hefty charges for actions challenging the petrochemical, oil, and gas industries in Louisiana," The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/25/environmental-activists-charged-terrorizing-louisiana-formosa/" target="_blank">reported</a> Thursday.</p><blockquote>In August 2018, Louisiana legislators passed a law <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/08/22/recent-arrests-under-new-anti-protest-law-spotlight-risks-that-off-duty-cops-pose-to-pipeline-opponents/" target="_blank">establishing a new felony charge</a> for anyone who trespasses on critical infrastructure facilities, including chemical manufacturing facilities and oil and gas pipeline construction sites. Over the following couple months, police used the new law to charge 15 people protesting the oil company Energy Transfer's Bayou Bridge pipeline. Local prosecutors have not yet acted on the charges.<br></blockquote><p>Local organizers have responded to the crackdown on Rolfes and McIntosh by forming the<a href="https://defenddemocracyalliance.org/" target="_blank"> Alliance to Defend Democracy</a>. RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne says in a statement on the coalition website that "we will not stand by as law enforcement and a toxic chemical company from Taiwan attempt to scare, silence, and intimidate us."</p><p>Representatives for national groups also reiterated their opposition to the proposed Louisiana complex. As Center for Biological Diversity attorney Julie Teel Simmonds put it Friday: "Black communities are being sickened by corporate polluters and these sham charges won't deter our opposition to this terrible project."</p><p>Other organizations that voiced support for the arrested Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists include Amazon Watch, Break Free From Plastic, the Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice, Greenpeace USA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/26/outrageous-and-chilling-police-condemned-charging-peaceful-environmentalists" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
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People wait in line to vote in Georgia's Primary Election on June 9, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
Georgia's mid-June primary was the latest example of pandemic-induced voter suppression. Long lines at polling stations stretched for blocks and blocks as socially distanced voters waited for several hours to vote in person. In Fulton County, which includes Atlanta and is the state's most populated county, some voters waited past midnight to cast their ballot.
<p>Scenes like the one in Georgia—and <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/04/09/wisconsin-election-milwaukee-had-5-voting-sites-while-madison-had-66/2970587001/" target="_blank">Wisconsin before that</a>—have ignited a national conversation about voting by mail. In response, President Trump has claimed that voting by mail "<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266172570983940101" target="_blank">will lead to massive fraud</a>" and favor the Democratic Party. Notably, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/862797418/twitter-points-users-to-fact-checks-of-trump-tweets-for-the-first-time" target="_blank">Twitter even placed a fact-checking warning on one of Trump's tweets</a> about voting by mail, breaking with its previous practice of not calling out Trump's falsehoods.</p><p><a href="http://www.andrewbenjaminhall.com/Thompson_et_al_VBM.pdf" target="_blank">Vote by mail does not favor one party</a> over another, a 2020 study from Stanford University found. Additionally, a recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that <a href="https://www.people-press.org/2020/04/28/two-thirds-of-americans-expect-presidential-election-will-be-disrupted-by-covid-19/" target="_blank">70% of Americans favor allowing people to vote by mail</a>. Even when broken down by political party, 87% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans favor expanding mail-in voting.</p><p>"Undermining voter confidence in the system is a form of voter suppression," said Raúl Macías, counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. "Millions of Americans have voted by mail safely and securely for decades."</p><p>The Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, has <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/Coronavirus%2520Response%2520Memo.pdf" target="_blank">recommended states provide a universal vote-by-mail option</a> to hold fair elections during the pandemic.</p><p><span></span>As of May 2020, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have "no excuse" absentee voting, and five other states conduct elections entirely by mail with limited in-person voting options. However, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-1-states-with-no-excuse-absentee-voting.aspx" target="_blank">16 states still require voters to provide an "excuse" to receive an absentee ballot</a>. While <a href="https://trustthevote.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/27May20_BipartisanTruthAboutByMailVoting_v3.pdf" target="_blank">most of the "excuse-required" voting states have ruled the novel coronavirus outbreak is a valid reason</a> to receive an absentee ballot, four of them—Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and Texas—have not made the necessary changes to allow absentee voting widely available during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In Texas, the state Supreme Court went as far as to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/27/texas-vote-by-mail-coronavirus/" target="_blank">block a ruling that would allow Texans to use the pandemic as a reason to vote by mail</a>. As it stands, Texas will only send absentee ballots to voters who are 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county during the election period, or confined to jail.</p><p>According to MOVE Texas, a nonprofit organization focused on civic engagement for youth in Texas, the ruling is anti-voter and could lead to voter suppression by forcing residents to choose between their health and voting. But, seeing anti-voter decisions from the state government is not a surprise to the MOVE team.</p><p>"In the past, we've seen elections as a statewide issue," said Raven Douglas, political director of MOVE Texas. "But, after the 2019 legislative session where we were able to defeat […] a really bad anti-voter bill, we came together with a number of ally organizations and decided we could no longer rely on our state government to pass pro-democracy reform."</p><p>So, in addition to starting a petition to voice the organization's disappointment in the <a href="https://movetexas.org/protect-our-democracy-from-a-pandemic/" target="_blank">Texas Supreme Court ruling against mail-in voting</a>, MOVE Texas is turning to local officials to help voters in other ways. Douglas noted that county officials can greenlight curbside voting options, extend clerk's office hours, provide extra drop boxes, and more.</p><p><span></span>"You don't have to wait on your governor or your secretary of state to pass guidance, you can do that directly with your elections administrator and your county clerks," Douglas said.</p>
<p>Macías also acknowledges the need for in-person voting expansion during the upcoming elections.</p><p>"We think it's really important that every voter has the opportunity to vote by mail this election, but also in-person voting has to be maintained," Macías said. That means modifying polling places to fit social distancing guidelines, expanded early voting, making voter registration easier online or by mail, and investing in education programs about how this election might be different from what voters are used to.</p><p>Additionally, Macías notes that for most states to scale up their vote by mail systems to handle a much higher volume of ballots, they will need new equipment, such as ballot sorters, signature-verification software, optical scanning devices, and enough printers to handle the expected increase of applications and ballots.</p><p>"We really want to see Congress send more money to help elections officials conduct their elections," Macías said. "This is really the time when the federal government needs to step up. It's too important."</p><p>In Michigan, Voters Not Politicians, a pro-democracy organization, is advocating for an even more radical solution: skipping the application process and just sending absentee ballots to all voters, with postage-paid return envelopes, for the November election, through a <a href="https://votersnotpoliticians.com/votesafe/" target="_blank">campaign called VoteSafe</a>.</p>
<p>"We're running out of time," Nancy Wang, Voters Not Politicians' editorial director, said. "Our campaign started seven weeks ago and with every day it's becoming harder and harder."</p><p>VoteSafe is asking state officials to take other measures to fight voter disenfranchisement, such as supplying secure ballot drop boxes and accessible polling locations that follow protocols for sanitization and social distancing, increasing funding for ballot security and tracking, and expanding access to local clerks' offices leading up to Election Day.</p><p>"We wouldn't be blazing trails here, we would really be following best practices," Wang said, citing the expert advice the organization received from the former elections director for Denver. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2018/05/10/the-cybersecurity-202-how-colorado-became-the-safest-state-to-cast-a-vote/5af317c930fb042db5797427/" target="_blank">Colorado is seen as a leader in election integrity and pro-voter policies</a>. </p><p>One of those best practices is running a culturally competent education campaign, meaning that Wang and her team must be sensitive to different communities' history with voting and cater to that. For example, Wang says, some people don't trust the U.S. Postal Service, so there must be enough drop boxes for physical ballots and in-person polling sites for voters who may be deterred by having to send their ballot through the mail.</p><p>"You need to make sure you're creating a system that doesn't disenfranchise voters for other reasons," Wang said. To do this, Voters Not Politicians has partnered with community groups across Michigan to make sure the messaging and education surrounding the election is sensitive and resonates with the state's communities.</p>
<p>"This issue is really a concern for organizations that work not just in voting rights spaces," Wang said. "There is a lot of really great work being done by other groups in the state."</p><p>Partnerships with organizations that don't strictly deal with voting rights can also help show that voting by mail is not a partisan issue, Wang says. A majority of Michigan voters are supportive of expanding voting options—67% of voters approved a 2018 proposal to expand voting by mail.</p><p>"We should be trying to make it easier to vote for everyone, particularly in this election cycle," Macías said. "We shouldn't be asking voters to choose between their health and their vote."</p><p>That same sentiment is what prompted the nonpartisan organization Democracy North Carolina to join several other voting and elections organizations in a <a href="https://democracync.org/news/democracy-nc-goes-to-court-to-ensure-north-carolina-holds-fair-safe-elections-this-fall/" target="_blank">lawsuit demanding that the state take "necessary steps to guarantee a fair, safe election in November</a>."</p><p>"The decision to sue came down to the fact that our general assembly has a history of either inaction on voting rights issues, or outright hostility to voting rights," said Tomas Lopez, the group's executive director.</p>
<p>What's needed, according Democracy North Carolina's suit, is a relaxation of voter registration requirements, making in-person voting safer and ballot drop boxes available, and easing the process of absentee voting. While North Carolina is a no-excuse absentee voting state—meaning anyone can apply to receive an absentee ballot in the mail—absentee voters must get the signatures of two witnesses or a notary for their absentee ballot to be counted.</p><p>According to Lopez, 4% of North Carolina voters voted by mail in 2016, but the state board of elections predicts 30% to 40% of voters will vote by mail this year. Lopez fears that with social distancing orders, absentee voters won't be able to acquire two witnesses, or a notary, and will either not submit their ballot, or submit it and have the ballot rejected.</p><p>"All the stuff that we're doing is about trying to make sure that our election rules are responsive to the reality that people are having to live in," he said.</p><p>Another reality is that <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2020/05/05/coronavirus-black-lives-matter/" target="_blank">COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting Black</a> and brown communities, the same communities that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/poll-prri-voter-suppression/565355/" target="_blank">suffer the most from voter suppression</a> efforts.</p><p>"One of the really concerning parts of this is that, absent the kind of changes we are putting forward, voting access for Black and brown North Carolinians is going to take a double hit, from COVID and all the ways which it's hitting communities, and from all the ways the election rules are failing to respond," Lopez said.</p><p>"The election is already different, the question is whether the rules are going to respond to it or not," Lopez said. "All of these COVID response issues are rooted in things we'd like to see in November."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2020/06/22/coronavirus-vote-election/" target="_blank">Yes! Magazine</a>.</em></p><p><em><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/authors/isabella-garcia/" target="_blank">ISABELLA GARCIA</a> is a former solutions journalism intern for YES!.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A Greenpeace rally in front of the Democratic National Committee headquarters on June 12, 2019 in Washington, D.C., calling for a presidential campaign climate debate after DNC chairman Tom Perez rejected the request . Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Despite mounting pressure on the party to craft a 2020 platform that includes ambitious climate policies, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez on Monday announced a drafting committee that, in the words of journalist Emily Atkin, "snubs progressive climate activists again."
<p>Perez's announcement followed reporting that Democratic Party leadership was "<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-climate-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-democratic-party-irked-by-councils-insurgent-climate-plan-sources-idUSKBN23M1DO" target="_blank">irked</a>" when the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/planet-stake-dnc-panel-pushes-biden-back-16-trillion-plan-fight-climate-crisis" target="_blank">released</a> policy <a href="https://www.dncclimate.org/the-platform" target="_blank">recommendations</a> for the platform on June 4 that are bolder than the proposals in presidential candidate Joe Biden's climate plan. Party insiders <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/15/dncs-climate-council-urges-party-go-beyond-biden-plan-calling-fracking-ban-and-16" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Reuters</em> the panel is an "insurgent" group that is not "taken seriously."</p><p>Several climate advocacy groups have endorsed the panel's recommendations, including Greenpeace USA on Tuesday. Charlie Jiang, a campaigner for the group, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/06/23/greenpeace-usa-endorses-dnc-climate-crisis-council-2020-platform" target="_blank">declared</a> that "as we confront the interwoven crises of climate change, white supremacy, and Covid-19, we must demand nothing short of a visionary, transformative agenda from Democratic leadership."</p><p>Perez, for his part, <a href="https://www.wispolitics.com/2020/democratic-national-committee-announces-platform-drafting-committee-members/" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement that "crafting our party platform is important work, and I'm confident that the members of this committee will engage Americans in a substantive dialogue of ideas and solutions that will articulate our party's vision for the country and mobilize voters in every community to elect Joe Biden."</p><p>However, the positions and backgrounds of those charged with drafting that Democratic Party's platform suggest the final version could fall far short of climate activists' demands. As Atkin <a href="https://heated.world/p/dnc-snubs-progressive-climate-activists" target="_blank">detailed</a> in her <em>HEATED</em> newsletter Tuesday:</p><blockquote>[The] majority of people on the drafting committee are Gen Xers and Baby Boomers (average age: 55) who have either have no history of prioritizing climate; aren't on record as supporting the Green New Deal; and/or haven't signed the <a href="https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJwlkE1uxCAMhU8zLCMgJCQLFt3MNRABkzBDIOKnbW5f6Eje-LP17Pe0KrDHdIsr5oJqhiSdEZwQwlZkBOZU8w25LG0COJXzAl11806r4mLou5TxER1iIdzoWesZr2ZaNlgJ1ZZau4BmHaB-QKpqHAQNIgZ_y0s5g7w4Srke49eDPluFaGPOztsK_owB7iGmvXHkBMUU45mOhDHK5oEM-8Tzaz7z73d-MHzuZMh1y0Xp96DjiZJ4qTe0SWualEmgztzlugXZYQ2u3BKC2jwYUVIFVD5J_H9b7gtEgJ_soRRIH9gsT3xZV4raMRNbJkEc0GI0f_hScwM" target="_blank">No Fossil Fuel Money</a> pledge. There's only one person on the drafting committee who could credibly considered a climate-focused Democrat. There are more big bank executives on the Democratic platform drafting committee than there are climate activists or millennials.<br></blockquote><p>Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will chair the drafting committee, Biden adviser Carmel Martin will be a non-voting member, and Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) will be an ex-officio member. The other members are Tony Allen (Del.), Stuart Appelbaum (N.Y.), Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas), Heather Gautney (N.Y.), Don Graves (Ohio), Rep. Deb Haaland (N.M.), Analilia Mejia (N.J.), Josh Orton (Wis.), state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (Fla.), Julianne Smith (D.C.), Richard Trumka (Penn.), and former Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa).</p>
<div id="c0733" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb3f5677897dd1fe3c24ce36f065c2bd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275207870615781383" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Breaking: DNC announces membership of the 15-person #DemPlatform2020 Drafting Committee. A sub-committee of the 187… https://t.co/iDWmFmZSIv</div> — DNC Environment and Climate Council (@DNC Environment and Climate Council)<a href="https://twitter.com/DNCClimate/statuses/1275207870615781383">1592868223.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Atkin created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PloB-PNkeg8j2s0UFFnFFPfcoxTMalI8S6pm8PhrVJ0/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">spreadsheet</a> of all the committee members with identifiers such as age, gender, and race as well as parts of their political histories—including whether they endorsed Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who were the two most progressive 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates before suspending their campaigns.</p><p>Haaland is the only elected official on the committee who has signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, and she and Clark are the only two members who supported Warren's presidential run, according to the spreadsheet. Just Gautney, Mejia, and Orton backed Sanders—who, as Atkin noted, "had the most aggressive climate plan."</p><p>Atkin's analysis came after she <a href="https://heated.world/p/the-dncs-troubling-platform-process" target="_blank">reported</a> for <em>HEATED</em> last month that Michelle Deatrick, who chairs the DNC climate panel, was worried that the platform drafting committee "would be filled with people who don't prioritize progressive climate policy like the Green New Deal." As Atkin put it Tuesday: "Her fears were founded."</p>
<div id="11fd5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e9c59dad31ab77f4c0d7f0545b434c6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275441365178937344" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The DNC's powerful platform drafting subcommittee announced yesterday does not include anyone from the DNC climate… https://t.co/AiVUrgAZUC</div> — Emily Atkin (@Emily Atkin)<a href="https://twitter.com/emorwee/statuses/1275441365178937344">1592923892.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The DNC council <a href="https://www.dncclimate.org/press/first-ever-dnc-environment-and-climate-crisis-council-launched-to-urge-the-democratic-party-to-take-bolder-more-aggressive-approach-to-the-climate-crisisnbsp" target="_blank">launched</a> in February to pressure the party to pursue more aggressive policies in the wake of Perez <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/10/dnc-wrong-side-history-challenged-activists-tom-perez-says-hosting-2020-debate" target="_blank">refusing</a> to hold a climate-focused primary debate. Deatrick is a former Sanders campaign surrogate and the panel's platform recommendations <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/planet-stake-dnc-panel-pushes-biden-back-16-trillion-plan-fight-climate-crisis" target="_blank">largely align</a> with the former presidential candidate's climate plan.</p><p>The panel suggested spending $10-$16 trillion on tackling the climate crisis over the next decade and committing to various emissions and renewable energy targets—specifically, "near-zero emissions by 2040; 100% clean renewable energy by 2030 in electricity generation, buildings, and transportation; and 100% zero-carbon new building infrastructure by 2025."</p><p>The council also called for prioritizing "working families above fossil fuel corporations by ensuring a just transition and building a green economy with millions of new, family-sustaining jobs" and addressing "the disproportionate environmental and climate harms to frontline and vulnerable communities"—and detailed various policies for each of those demands.</p>
<div id="eaba6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b432a294e2acc3e8f7a18a6118ffa32c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275442915930603521" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Excited by @greenpeaceusa's endorsement of @DNCClimate Council's bold, science-based Recommendations for the 2020 D… https://t.co/9w3m1Z8sa5</div> — Michelle Deatrick (@Michelle Deatrick)<a href="https://twitter.com/MDeatrick/statuses/1275442915930603521">1592924262.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In Greenpeace USA's endorsement of the recommendations, Jiang celebrated that the council decided to "stake a bold and much-needed new direction for the Democratic Party" and expressed hope that "the many visionary and essential elements of this proposal [will be] included in the official DNC platform to be finalized in August."</p><p>"It's critical that candidates and elected officials champion a Green New Deal and a managed transition away from fossil fuels, including the end of federal permits, subsidies, and financing for oil, gas, and coal," he said. "A world beyond fossil fuels—one that prioritizes justice for workers and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis over corporate profit—is possible if our elected officials are willing to fight for us."</p><p>"As platform negotiations continue, we hope to see more details emerge as to how the part plans to meet its important goals for achieving 100% clean power, transportation, buildings, agriculture, and industry; deploy federal investments quickly and equitably; and meaningfully engage with impacted workers and communities," Jiang added. "We must prioritize racial and economic justice for frontline communities while mobilizing the full power of the federal government to tackle the historic crises we face."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/23/dnc-snubs-climate-movement-just-greenpeace-endorses-democratic-panels-visionary-plan" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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