How the next generation is thinking about the environmental crisis — and leading solutions
Earlier this year, 24-year-old Shaama Sandooyea dived to protest climate inaction amid the largest seagrass field in the world: Saya de Malha bank, between Mauritius and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. It’s one of the biggest carbon sinks in the oceans, and Sandooyea’s was the first underwater climate strike. Her aim was to highlight the relationship between the ocean and the planet and help people connect the dots. If the oceans die, we die.
Young people have always been a force for change – but access to information and technology has made the rising generation more organized and more educated than ever before. They’re also faced with a planetary emergency caused by decades of climate inaction. To change the status quo, young people are uniting behind the science, coming together for the oceans and speaking out for our planet.
In honor of International Youth Day, we’re amplifying young people: What issues youth leaders are focusing on, how they stay motivated, and how the next generation can handle the environmental crisis differently than the generations before them.
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“This generation has access to technology that facilitates conversation, brainstorming and planning. Social media platforms have played a great role in providing young people with inspiration to take on environmental crises with an innovative mindset.”
Forbi Perise a.k.a. ‘The Plastic Man,’ 24, coordinator of Greening Forward Cameroon and Ocean Uprise team member
A generational shift towards change
Younger generations from across the political spectrum are more likely to see climate change as an urgent issue – and take action against it.
A recent Pew Research poll found that about one-third of Gen-Zers and 28% of Millenials have either donated money, contacted an elected official, volunteered or attended a rally in the past year in an effort to address the climate crisis. Just over 20% of Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers had taken those same actions. Younger generations also show up in higher numbers in favor of phasing out fossil fuels. They’re also more likely than older generations to oppose offshore drilling (in the U.S. alone, such drilling operations are responsible for thousands of oil spills every year).
“Activism isn’t only about saying things. Taking action and leading by example is most effective.”
Christelle Sejour, 28, Pennsylvania USA, Ocean Uprise Collaborating Team
Young people are thinking about the bigger picture
Young leaders in the environmental movement understand that nothing exists in a silo, and they’re reshaping the way the next generation thinks about sustainable, equitable change. BIPOC people are disproportionately affected by polluted air, factories that emit toxins, plastic waste, climate change, heatwaves and floods. Youth leaders are educating themselves and looking at all parts of the environmental crisis when demanding change.
When artist and activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez spoke with Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch, he talked about how the new age of activism centers around rejecting the idea that resources, the planet and communities are disposable. Martinez also emphasized the need for more intergenerational and intersectional dialogue when discussing the climate crisis, and what everyone can and must learn from Indigenous peoples.
“I think this is a moment where we are being able to align our understanding of the vision we want moving forward. It’s not just about cleaning up plastic from the ocean or removing CO2 from the atmosphere, it’s not just about any one of these isolated things. We are facing the moment when we need to change the system.”
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 21, youth director of Earth Guardians
The youth leading the youth
Ocean Uprise is Parley’s youth-led community committed to protecting the oceans, finding creative solutions to environmental issues and taking action in their local communities. Our youngest ambassador is just eight years old.
The OU team identifies problems in their communities, both coastal and inland, and work with peers from more than 10 countries. Together, they brainstorm solutions to pressing local problems. Then they implement community projects. So far they’ve put on workshops in Hawai’i and cleaned up litter on a highway and in rivers in Idaho — in the pouring rain — to keep plastic bottles, cans and car parts from reaching the oceans via inland rivers.
Parley Youth Team leader Bodhi Patil asked some of the Ocean Uprise Collaborating Team about the issues they’re focused on, how they stay motivated and what everyone can do to create change. Here’s what they told us.
What do you think this generation is doing differently than previous generations when it comes to addressing climate change and plastic pollution?
“This generation has fostered more empathy for each other and brought to light the need for holistic climate and environmental justice. Climate change and social justice are inextricably linked and this generation is at the forefront of ensuring that the climate movement acknowledges the inequity in effects of the climate crisis.”
– Grace Fogarty, 21, Scotland
“This generation is benefited by the ability to share ideas and movements globally at a speed and scale that couldn’t even be imagined in previous generations. Joining a movement and finding ways to contribute to the causes you care most about can be done relatively easily today. Since we also have access to a wealth of information and science, we can feel assured that our actions are actually having positive impacts.”
– Xander Clark, 20, Georgia USA
Tell us about the issue that most has your attention.
“The health and wellbeing of our oceans may be the most important environmental issue on our planet because of the crucial benefits we receive from them such as oxygen production, climate regulation and carbon sequestration. Our oceans are also rich with incredible biodiversity that is reliant on a delicate balance that can easily be shifted by pollution, overfishing, changes in temperature, and changes in chemical makeup and distribution.”
– Xander Clark
“It’s hard to pick just one but my work with Parley focuses on plastic pollution. Everyone has had first hand experience with plastic pollution and the problem has created an opportunity for amazing innovation and problem solving.”
– Jordan Passman, 21, Florida USA
“No doubt climate change. Climate change has been a huge threat to both biodiversity and human wellbeing, yet people are still reluctant to reduce unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. The climate crisis has taken a toll on many countries and many of them are the most vulnerable countries with most of the world’s population.”
– Denise Cheung, 18, Singapore
Taking on the environmental crisis is a huge challenge. What keeps you motivated?
“It is not up to policy makers or green groups exclusively to address environmental challenges. We are all dependent on the environment, and the responsibility falls on each one of our shoulders.”
– Kamakshi Bhavnani, 16, Singapore
“I’m motivated by the creativity and passion I see within the youth of today. I’m seeing the attitude shift from despair to hope and purpose.”
– Jordan Passman
"Avoiding bad news burnout is crucial. Future Earth’s Good News Tuesday posts are a great resource for this."
– Grace Fogarty
How everyone can create change
The biggest thing Dyson Chee, 19, founder of Project O.C.E.A.N Hawai‘i, wants people to remember is that every action truly does count. In 2019, he was working to pass a disposable plastics ban on Oʻahu. Initially, he bumped up against a lot of skepticism. But then people started to speak up. One by one, people who had never been involved in activism or civics started submitting testimonies. One of the council members who had initially opposed the bill ended up voting to pass it, thanks to the number of people in the community who showed their support. It’s the strictest ban on single-use plastic utensils, straws and polystyrene foam containers in the State of Hawai‘i. None of it would have happened without individual people taking action. Getting involved in legislation can be powerful — and younger generations are more confident than older generations that they can influence the actions of government and corporate decision-makers — but it isn’t the only way to drive change.
1 — You can start your own fundraiser
2 — You can reduce plastic in your own life — here’s a guide on how to start, no matter where you’re at now
3 — You can host a beach clean-up
4 — You can create small changes in your community — here’s some inspo
5 — Tune into Ocean Uprise’s monthly Virtual Talks series
6 — Make noise and use your social media accounts to spread the word
“We still have a long way to go, but we are educating, collaborating, and advocating now more than ever before and we have had many wins along the way.”
Hannah Testa, 18, founder of Hannah4Change, a non-profit dedicated to fighting issues that impact the planet including plastic pollution
HOW TO TAKE ACTION
There’s strength in numbers but it starts with one. Read up, make noise, spread the word and give others the tools to do the same. This is the best way to drive world leaders to adopt policies that will slow climate change and help the oceans stay healthy so they can play their role.
