Jamie Minden's Environmental Activism Story

Hi, I’m Jamie Minden. I’ve been an environmental activist for a few years now, and it’s worked out pretty well for me. But most people who want to get involved (aka: don’t want to die) have trouble knowing where to start in activism. And I understand that there is a daunting prescient. Despite the common misconception, you don’t have to drop out of school, give up your job, stop w earing shoes, and move to San Francisco to become a climate activist. You can if you want, but you don’t have to. There are plenty of easy things you can do that you can work around your schedule. Look up groups like Sunrise, Youth Climate Strikes, 350.org, and Citizens Climate Lobby, and if there isn’t a group in your area, find a few friends and start one. If you’re not one for organizing, replace your gas burning water heater with an electric one. Explain to your cousin that Climate Change doesn’t mean that you can’t form a snowball, it means that the global temperature is rising. Turn your company in a more sustainable direction. Forbes Magazine predicts that the United States’ renewable energy business is worth 3 trillion dollars. Want to cash in?

Because the reality is that grassroots movements have been the cause of virtually all progress on the issue. Excuse my french, but most national governments haven’t done shit, so every bit of climate action you see, from recycling collection to the Green New Deal is the direct result of the tireless work of scores of passionate climate activists. Just normal people like you and me who want to make a difference.

But to backtrack slightly, I want to recognise that communities of color have been shunted aside in all of this. People of color are disproportionately affected by ecological issues, and yet they have always been the unrecognised leaders of this fight. People of color defend endangered species from poachers, risk their lives to protect the rainforests, and are arrested in our very own country for protesting developments that threaten to destroy sacred landmarks. But if you’re a person of color who wants to get involved in the climate movement, I want you to know that we hear you. Yeah, you might have to work a little harder to make your voice heard. I’m not going to sugar-coat it- this country has a history of environmental racism and a dishearteningly whitewashed climate movement. But that’s simply why your voice is more important than ever. Yeah, I’m a white girl, but I am behind you. Groups like Sunrise and

people like Alexandra Occasion Cortez are behind you. Your voice is important. You deserve to be heard. Don’t let anyone talk over you or tell you otherwise.

We only have 11 years left, so let us make them count. Let us give it our all, and put up a fight. Because once our emissions are past the tipping point, we cannot go back. Our chance is now. Every living person has a responsibility to do their part, no matter how small. Climate Change will be the struggle that defines every generation alive today. While the “greatest generation” had to stand up and tackle two world wars head on, we now have no other choice but to bear the burden of the cards we have been dealt, and fight for our futures. Look at this from a patriotic standpoint, and do your part for our country. Do your part for our world. I want YOU to join the Climate Protection Movement.

P.S. Not feeling inspired enough? Watch what these protesters did at Trump’s UN meeting. This protest got front page coverage on the Washington Post and New York times, and worldwide recognition at the UN conference.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/protesters-interrupt-pro-coal-event-at-un-c limate-change-conference/2017/11/13/d15a2276-c8ac-11e7-b506-8a10ed11ecf5_video.html