Marching with my friend for climate justice.
As a 15-year-old, my number one concern is climate change.
My future will be shaped by the action or inaction taken today to fight the crisis.
So I was not happy when Donald Trump recently announced he was pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
I can’t say I was surprised, but I was still furious. The Paris Climate Agreement was not a perfect solution to the problem of global warming, but it was a start.
Enraged by what was happening, I decided to speak our against the administration and climate change at my local March for Truth.
Here is what I said:
“When you were a kid, did you have to worry that the survival of your generation was being threatened by your own leaders and in some cases, your own parents?
Did you have to worry that when you were old, the seas would be acidic and lifeless, and the natural wonders and animals you loved would still be around for you to share with our own children?
Well, I do.
My entire generation does.
I’m in high school right now. I’m a freshman, actually. I am a member of one of the most vulnerable populations- youth.
My generation can’t quite vote yet, which means we didn’t ask for any of this. We didn’t ask for climate change. We have no vote, which means we didn't ask for Trump or the destruction his administration is doing by taking steps to make the climate crisis even worse.
Donald Trump is 70. Scott Pruitt is….I don’t know, but he’s old.
They won’t have to deal with the mess they’ve made.
I will!
My entire generation will pay the biggest price for the damage they do to the earth.
Right now, citizens have no choice but to fight back against this destruction.
The White House isn’t going to save us from climate change, so now we have to step up and take charge.
If you care about the young people in your life, you must battle the climate crisis in every way you can.
Clean up your own pollution, donate to and join organizations that fight the climate crisis, call your local and state representatives about the climate crisis, and advocate for climate change fighting bills in your state capitals.
Stand up for the young people in your lives.
Make our movement unstoppable.
I want a healthy earth and a livable future.
That shouldn’t be too much to ask.”