Students leading the environmental charge

On Sept. 23, 2019, Greta Thunberg spoke at the United Nations (UN) to demand action from policymakers around the world regarding the climate crisis.

Thunberg is a 16-year-old girl from Sweden, and she has become the face of the environmentalist movement. In August 2018, she sat outside the Swedish parliament building and sparked the school strike movement. The International School Strike happened on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019.

She is not the only adolescent stepping up.

Amariyanna Copeny, also known as “Little Miss Flint,” is a 12-year-old activist from Flint, MI. When she was jus ten years old, she fundraised money to purchase 1,000 backpacks for children in her community, an action that received national coverage from ABC News. She also raises awareness for the ongoing water crisis in Flint. The crisis began in 2014 after officials changed the city’s water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River and failed to treat the pipes properly. The city still does not have clean water.

(Photo via pixabay.com)

Autumn Peltier is a 15-year-old member of the Wikwemikong First Nation in Canada. According to CNN, her journey as an activist began at eight years old after seeing a sign that warned against drinking the toxic water while visiting another reservation. In April 2019, she was named chief water commissioner by the Anishinabek Nation, a position held by her grandmother before her. On Sept. 28, 2019, Peltier delivered her second UN address on clean water. In a recap from the Canadian Globe and Mail, Peltier said, “we cannot eat money, or drink oil.”

Bruno Rodríguez spoke alongside Thunberg at the Sept. 23 convention. At 19 years old, Rodríguez led school climate strikes in his home country of Argentina. While Thunberg received the greatest coverage, Rodríguez echoed her sentiments that the climate could not be a problem left to future generations to fix.

Isra Hirsi is the 16-year-old daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar and a co-leader for the International School Strike. She helped organize the United States portion of the strikes and has played a role in her mother’s support of the Green New Deal.

Despite the attention these children get from lawmakers and world leaders, the issues they are tackling are still not receiving the action they need.

While their work is admirable, their message is clear: children should not have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Addressing the climate crisis is not an issue that can wait for the next generation to grow up. Policymakers in office now have the power to turn the tides and make a difference.

Written by Maclen Johnson.