In a whirlwind of discussions about fires burning down the Amazon, casting a veil of black ash over entire cities in Brazil, to presidential candidates being asked to make a stance on what they plan to do about global warming, the climate change discussion is a polarizing one. These discussions are also often led by the same generation of people that started the climate change issue in the first place, making it hard to believe they are genuine. That’s why these 3 young women from all over the world are such important voices for our generation to hear from.
(Photo via The New Yorker)
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg, a 16 year old from Sweden, has garnered quite a bit of media attention, especially over the past few weeks. Over a year ago, she started a popular movement, School Strike for Climate, by standing outside of Swedish Parliament with a sign repeating the slogan in Swedish. Fast forward to August, Greta set sail from the United Kingdom to New York for the United Nations Climate Action Summit on a racing boat Malizia II, which would leave no carbon footprint on her journey. She organized a week’s worth of climate strikes, leading one herself in New York City with the slogan, Fridays for Future. Since arriving in the states, she has delivered several moving speeches, most notably her address to the UN General Assembly. As a young girl with Asperger’s, she inspires countless young members of various societal communities to hold their elder’s accountable for their actions which have caused climate change. She inspires them all to use their voices to change the narrative before they are even old enough to vote.
(Photo via Amnesty)
Artemisa Xakriabà
Artemisa Xakriabà is a 19 year old indigenous climate change activist from Brazil, also speaking at the same climate strike in New York City that Greta Thunberg attended. There, she represented the Xakriabà people of Brazil as well as the larger movement of indigenous groups all over the world defending their homes. She spoke about the destruction of all Brazilian biomes, including the Amazon rainforest, and how the destruction of these natural settings affects the whole world, not just the people inhabiting the areas around them. She touches on the violence towards indigenous people who protect nature, and the erasure of their voices in climate change discussions. She powerfully stated “we fight for our Mother Earth because the fight for Mother Earth is the mother of all other fights.”
(Photo via Vice)
Isra Hirsi
Isra Hirsi is a 16 year old from Minnesota who founded the US Youth Climate Strike in January of 2019. As the daughter of now US Representative of Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, Isra has been politically active since she was 6 years old, where she attended her very first protest. One of her first objectives when starting her organization was to get every presidential candidate to participate in a climate debate. Her goal is to make climate change the main topic of discussion in debates and of legislation when the new president takes office. As a young, black, muslim girl, she is the embodiment of diversity in America, and is a perfect representation of young people in the fight against global warming.