The climate change generation wants to be heard

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

In Uganda, religious leaders and anti-gay individuals have been very vocal against the LGBTI community and have disowned many LGBTI religious leaders. This has led some of these leaders to publicly come out and advocate for others and speak of their own experiences, showing the possibility of being LGBTI and religious.

When the federal government fails to stimulate social change, local areas step up. Tennessee is giving more structure and funding to community college education, and it’s drastically increasing graduation rates. Alaska and other states are getting rid of money bail. All around the country, citizen activists are becoming advocates and attempting to make our political system accessible to everyone. Despite partisan politics in Washington, D.C., the country is nonetheless experiencing social progress.

Funded by federal grant money, the state, and the Office of Naval Research, Hawaii County public transit has developed its first hydrogen-powered shuttle bus. What’s been called the “fuel of the future,” hydrogen fuel cells create a power source that’s only emissions are clean water vapor. While a seemingly viable and scalable clean-energy source, such development and infrastructure requires large financial investments that many states have yet to prioritize.

Portland-based NGO, Micah Challenge USA, uses scripture to reach Evangelicals about climate change. The organization partners with legislation-making initiatives, travels to Christian colleges, and contacts national and local leaders urging them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus. Underpinning every initiative is a core strategy: climate change is causing people to suffer, especially those that are experiencing poverty, and as Christians, they are called to help the poor and end their suffering.

The South Central Leadership Academy was started in Los Angeles by a college student who believes that gun violence survivors like him should lead the community response in finding solutions to violence. Its first year of paying more than a dozen student survivors to learn community organizing skills succeeded in attracting funding to expand to Nashville, Baltimore, and Atlanta. COVID-19 put the latter two expansions on hold, but LA and Nashville continued with well-attended classes learning remotely. Founder Marco Vargas hopes to turn this startup into a national network of youth leadership academies.

The Women’s Collective is a nonprofit that works with more than 10,000 subsistence farmers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to promote food security using millets, a crop resilient to drought and climate change. For Pavitra, one of those farmers, she began cultivating the ancient grains in 2015 and now has more than enough food to feed her family year-round. However, there’s a lack of public investment in millet production and machinery. And there’s no unified effort to create demand for millets: Some state governments lead the charge and in other states, it’s led by grassroots organizations.

Research shows that city council meetings are dominated by older, male and longtime residents. One Mayor is trying to change that. Under the leadership of mayor of Svante Myrick, in Ithaca New York, the city council began to offer childcare during city council meetings. “We don’t think anyone else has done it.’ People are using it, and some are even hailing it for it’s inclusionary nature. “Now we’re starting to see new people at meetings. People are using the childcare service.”

A New York-based nonprofit called Students for a Free Tibet is training Tibetans in "how to stage nonviolent protests." This effort, in conjunction with other Tibetan NGOs, has helped activists in Dharamsala, India to become "more organized, media savvy and technologically sophisticated," which in turn has increased the number of people who have come together to participate in the nonviolent protests.

Athletes are mobilizing young voters and raising awareness about the perils of climate change. The athletes have been able to use their large social media platforms and following to educate people, urge them to act, and reach out to elected officials through a concerted effort by nonprofit Protect Our Winters (POW).