Global Kids Leader Kate Scherer at the People’s Climate March for Jobs and Justice in Washington, DC
My name is Kate Scherer. I am 17 years old, and I’m a climate activist.
For the last three years I have been working with the Human Rights Activist Project at Global Kids for climate justice.
Working with the non-profit Global Kids, high school students from all over New York have been lobbying to mandate climate education in New York City public schools. The students of Global Kids, myself included, marched along thousands of people in Washington, DC for climate justice.
We marched because climate change is not just an environmental problem, it is a human issue. Everyone here is affected.
We are not just fighting for our environment, we are fighting for our future. As a young person I am personally invested in the climate movement because my generation and coming generations will feel the effects of climate change more than any other.
We are the ones feeling the effects of rising temperatures.
We are the ones that will see an increase in extreme weather events that will jeopardize our homes and livelihoods.
We are the generation that will witness rising sea levels wipe island countries like the Maldives off the map by 2050. We are the ones whose futures will be defined by climate change.
We marched because we were told we could be anything when we grow up, but we won’t have a world to grow up in.
We marched to show our leaders— our legislators — that they need to take us seriously and pass legislation that limits our emissions and focus on sustainability.
And we know that youth are not the only ones affected. As New Yorkers, we are already beginning to feel the effects of climate change. People all over New York are still trying to recover from Super Storm Sandy, a storm that was scientifically proven to be worsened by climate change. Our storms aren’t the only things that are getting worse.
Over the next 75 years, surrounding waters will rise about six inches. That may not sound like a lot but, Queens, NY (where I live) is less than two miles from the East River, and I go to a high school in Manhattan less than a mile from the Hudson River, and personally the thought of rising waters is terrifying.
Here in Queens we are also facing rampant air pollution, with Long Island City and Astoria having the highest rates of particulate matter in NYC. These are the pollutants that lead to long term health problems.
As a New Yorker, I marched because our health and well being as a city is at stake and we will not sit idly by. We made ourselves heard.
We marched to show that we will not accept inequality and injustice.
We marched to show our lawmakers in Washington and the new president that we are pro women’s rights, pro immigrant’s rights, pro LGBTQ+ rights, pro refugee rights, and most of all, pro human rights.
Even if you didn’t have a chance to attend the People’s March for Climate Jobs and Justice in DC, find another way to make your voice heard. Educate yourself and those around you, reach out to your council members and your senators. Speak to them and voice your concerns because we will not be silenced.