As a school board member, it’s amazing to me to see students publicly engaged on issues that matter to them. That’s the whole point of education in a democratic society. I am inspired by young people organizing to combat climate change. This movement is youth-led and has been growing worldwide in an effort to demand political leadership decisively act before it is too late.
I’m also saddened that these concerns are so deeply felt because previous generations failed our children in so many ways. All too often, political leaders entrench themselves in old ways of thinking.
Every credible scientist says we have a short amount of time to act. We owe it to our children to get this right.
Young people don’t get to make decisions yet. We do. That’s why millions of adults all around the world are joining students at the Global Climate Strike on Sept. 20th.
Climate change is a complex issue that affects us all. We can’t overcome its challenges with half-measures. It will take a massive effort at every level of government, from school boards to the White House, to lead the world as a carbon neutral nation. That takes political courage.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Green New Deal would provide tuition-free education so that young people could enter a modern workforce that benefits society, rather than chasing dollars working at meaningless jobs to pay back obscene student debt. It would provide good, union jobs, as part of a just transition for workers in the current economy. A job guarantee, Medicare for All and college debt cancellation are part of the social safety net we need to lead a massive global transition away from private fossil economies.
We instinctively know when our river floods, when storms rip through our cities and when we suffer through brutally cold polar vortexes that we pay for climate change one way or another. Will we be proactive or reactive? Will we even be around to know the difference?
Power concedes nothing without a demand. By striking all over the world on Sept. 20, young people are speaking out. We should listen.
This letter to the editor is my opinion alone and does not reflect the opinion of Moorhead Public Schools or any other board members.
