A little late but Happy Earth Day 2020!!! Â This year, I wanted to highlight just a few of the amazing young activists working to defend our planet who inspire me every day. Thank you to these amazing humans, and everyone else who is doing their part to improve our world!
Autumn Peltier: The âWater Warriorâ. An indigenous clean water advocate from the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, a First Nation reserve on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. In 2019 she was named the chief water commissioner by the Anishinabek Nation. She has been invited to the Childrenâs Climate Conference in Sweden, has spoken at the U.N. twice, and has met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss clean water concerns. She grew up understanding the importance of water and the need to protect it. She advocates for the universal right to clean drinking water.
Deepika Kurup: Activist and scientist who is passionate about finding a solution to the worldâs clean water crisis. She improved a method for cleaning water known as solar disinfection, where UV rays destroy pathogens in order to purify it. She found a novel way to speed up the process, which can take anywhere from six hours to 2 days, using a photocatalyst. Due to her outstanding work she was recognized as âAmericaâs Top Young Scientistâ in 2012 and honored with the âUnited States Presidentâs Environmental Youth Awardâ in 2014. Sheâs currently attending Harvard University and has two patents pending.
Jasilyn Charger: Founder of the International Indigenous Youth Council along with a few friends with the goal of defending her peopleâs water, and empowering and uniting indigenous youth. The group played a huge role in stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Jasilyn was among the very first to set up camp at Sacred Stone. âI wish (older people) understood the voice of the futureâwhich means to really listen to what we, the youth, have to say and honor our vision. The future is saying different things to us, there are many voices to be heard and our voices are strong for a reason. Our futures are not a commodity and neither are those of the ones who will follow us.â
Makasa Looking Horse: Water activist of the Mohawk Wolf Clan and Lakota, in Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada. After learning the NestlĂ© corporation was removing 4.7 million liters of water a day from her communityâs aquifers without their knowledge, she began to fight back and personally handed NestlĂ©âs CEO a cease and desist letter in June 2019. Her actions led to national attention, and she was invited to open for the United Nations Youth Climate Summit. As part of her Indigenous Studies program at McMaster University, Looking Horse is researching the poisonous water conditions on First Nations land. âWe are in the middle of and we are surrounded by these cities, but we are still in this water crisis. And I think thatâs all part of environmental racism.â
Vic Barrett: One of the 21 young plaintiffs suing the executive branch of the US government for failing to respond to the global climate crisis. "Barrett says he canât recall a world before climate change, which he sees as interconnected with police violence, inhumane migrant treatment, and indigenous land dispossession. "Weâre here to write a new story, a story in which our country is doing everything in its power to not only address the climate crisis, but the systemic injustices at its roots, a story in which our constitutional right to a safe climate is recognized by the highest courts.â
Helena Gualinga: Ecuadorian activist who has been fighting climate change her whole life, including fighting big oil alongside family members since she was a kid. She is an advocate for reducing individual waste, combating the fossil fuel industry, and protecting indigenous people in the Amazon, who have long been the defenders of the major rainforest. âI know that this is what I have to do, give a voice to the people that have been silenced and the people that donât have a voice.â
Melati & Isabel Wijsen: Sisters who founded the organization âBye Bye Plastic Bagsâ in Bali at the ages of 10 and 12. They sought to raise awareness and education about the harmful impact of plastic on our environment, animals, and health while also sharing how to be part of the solution. They envision a world free of plastic bags and where the young generation are empowered to take action, and to do what is right through education, campaigns, and political meetings. Since its inception in 2013, Bye Bye Plastic Bags has now grown into a well known international movement in 25 countries, and Bali has officially banned all single-use plastics.
Tekanang: An activist from the reef-lined island nation of Tuvalu, which sits on average about 6 feet above sea level. The atolls are constantly affected by rising sea levels and storm surges and Tekanang is passionate about combating climate change to preserve Tuvaluâs way of life and culture. He works to help the community youth be more vocal about how climate change affects them and their futures.Â
Greta Thunberg: Swedish environmental activist who has gained international recognition for promoting the view that humanity is facing an existential crisis arising from climate change. At age 15, she started spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on climate change and soon organized a school climate strike movement under the name 'Fridays for Futureâ with her classmates. After she addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, student strikes took place every week somewhere in the world. She has received numerous honors and awards including an honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society; Time magazineâs 100 most influential people and the youngest Time Person of the Year; inclusion in the Forbes list of 'The Worldâs 100 Most Powerful Womenâ, and two consecutive nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Boyan Slat: Dutch inventor/ Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup; which develops advanced systems to rid worldâs oceans of plastic. At age 18, Boyan devised a concept which utilizes the natural oceanic forces to passively catch and concentrate ocean plastic, through which the theoretical cleanup time could be reduced from millennia to mere years. On September 8, 2018 the worldâs first ocean cleanup system was launched from San Francisco, soon after followed by deployment inside the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.