The fifteen-year-old environmental activist fighting to save our future
- Text by Adam White
- Photography by Andrew White
“My generation has this incredible opportunity to lead the way and make a difference. Climate change, environmental catastrophe, the loss of our forests, the extinction of cultures and languages – I see these all as opportunities rather than things to be feared. Because fear doesn’t really create change. What creates change is our ability to adapt to the things we fear, and our ability to create in a time of need.
“In the last ten years, things have gone so far back in the opposite direction. People still look me in the eye and tell me they don’t believe climate change is an issue that we need to be worried about. I’ve met whole communities whose lives and cultures have been lost to a crisis that people still deny.
“Last year, myself and twenty-one other youth plaintiffs came together with an incredible organisation called Our Children’s Trust to file a lawsuit against the federal government. We’re demanding that the courts regulate and hold them accountable to honouring our constitutional right to a healthy atmosphere. We’re demanding that the courts force the government into putting climate recovery plans into place, cut CO2 emissions, and re-forest the country.
“I do not fear the problems that we face as a generation. Each one has been a manmade crisis, either directly or indirectly. Our society revolves around oppression, patriarchy, white supremacy and capitalism. What I do fear is whether we will wake up in time as a people and shift culture. Will we reverse the tide of destruction and injustice that we’re seeing around the planet? What I fear most is that in my lifetime I will not have accomplished enough as part of this movement. That terrifies me.”
Keep track of our Millennial Hopes and Fears online special.
This article originally appeared in Huck 55 – The Freaked Out Issue. Buy it in the Huck Shop now or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Activists slam “pervert glasses” in new guerrilla campaign
Everyone Hates Elon — Stickers have appeared on the London Underground network, criticising the wearable technology’s covert filming capabilities.
Written by: Isaac Muk
New exhibition highlights British radical living over 200 years
Earthly Paradise — Taking place at the William Morris Gallery, it explores the homes and lives of artists, writers, musicians and more, as well as the conditions that allowed them to thrive.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters joins team of new Palestinian resistance documentary
Freedom Theatre — Directed by Rishi Pelham, the film spotlights a theatre operating in the Jenin refugee camp.
Written by: Ella Glossop
Just Stop Oil holds first protest in 17 months
No new drilling — Having previously said that it was “hanging up the hi-vis”, the climate activist group has blocked a road outside Parliament to protest Andy Burnham opening the door for new oil and gas extraction licenses in the North Sea.
Written by: Ella Glossop
In photos: The enduring resistance of Notting Hill Carnival
Carnival of Resistance — A new photobook by Wayne Campbell and Wayne Crichlow reflects on the protest beginnings of Europe’s biggest street festival, along with the traditions keeping its original spirit alive today.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Tens of thousands gather to remember Jason Arday at London vigil
Stand Up to Racism — It took place in Trafalgar Square, with speakers paying tribute to the former Cambridge professor’s life and achievements, while calling for accountability over the reporting he faced from the mainstream press.
Written by: Ella Glossop
