{"id":1161,"date":"2020-10-23T22:56:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T02:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/ramapo-green\/?p=1161"},"modified":"2020-12-09T13:42:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T18:42:27","slug":"ramapo-green-leads-discussion-on-climate-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/ramapo-green\/2020\/10\/23\/ramapo-green-leads-discussion-on-climate-activism\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramapo Green Leads Discussion on Climate Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"
Read this article on The Ramapo News<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n On Oct. 21, Ramapo Green hosted a climate conference called \u201cReaching the Turning Point: The Youth Climate Movement and Our Election.\u201d Moderators included director of the sustainability major Dr. Ashwani Vasishth, Dr. Michael Edelstein from the environmental studies program and adjunct professor and Executive Director of ClimateMama<\/a>, Harriet Shugarman.<\/p>\n The event consisted of several different presentations with multiple speakers to discuss the different facets of environmentalism. Speakers approached the topic from all angles, but they mainly focused on the aspect of climate activism, showing Ramapo students all that is being and can be done.<\/p>\n Chief Vincent Mann from the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough-Lenape Nation began the day by giving a prayer of thanks to the creator of Mother Earth and for our lives. He talked about the intersection between climate change and issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement. He noted the visible changes in the world and in universities as youths gain awareness of the responsibility they have to each other and to future generations to find solutions.<\/p>\n Tipping Points: The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good<\/strong><\/p>\n After the introductory prayer, Dr. Edelstein transitioned with a summary of the day\u2019s objectives to discuss turning points with the youth climate movement and the upcoming presidential election.<\/p>\n A tipping point was defined as when a small change pushes a system into a large or accelerated response. In 1980, we exceeded the tipping point of 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere, and today we are at 411.15 ppm. Rising global temperatures and melting arctic ice have entered a positive feedback loop as a result.<\/p>\n Dr. Edelstein spoke about how today, colonialism, capitalism and corporate globalism drive us to use the resources 1.5 times more than Earth needs. Human activities like burning fossil fuels have already caused 1 degree Celsius of global warming above pre-industrial levels.<\/p>\n Climate change is only one planetary boundary, but it can cause catastrophes by itself and amplify other more critical boundaries such as species loss. Dr. Edelstein shared personal experiences of witnessing damage caused by climate change. On Aug. 9, 2010, he was in Russia during a major heat event. Fires and crop failures were abundant, and nearly 55,000 people died.<\/p>\n Dr. Edelstein went on to summarize big oil\u2019s historical hold on both US political parties. President Obama entered the U.S. in the Paris Agreement, but he did not remove the energy policy created by President Bush that favored big oil. This occurred even after InsideClimate News revealed Exxon Mobile had systematically funded climate denial despite 80 percent of their research proving the existence of climate change.\u00a0Within the past four years, the Trump administration has weakened or withdrawn 462 environmental regulations.<\/p>\n There is a bright side. The world is on the verge of a paradigm change. Organizations such as Extinction Rebellion are advocating for nonviolent protests for climate action. Climate change has become a political issue that politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been elected on. This movement is being driven by people of color and youths, and as a result, 18 million people stated they will be climate-first voters in the 2020 election.<\/p>\n Young Voices of the Climate Action Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n These diverse youth leaders were given an opportunity in the afternoon to share their journeys with climate change activism, and the ways they\u2019ve turned their passion into action.<\/p>\n Two of the presenters are still in high school, but political climate action is still incredibly important to them. High school senior Rachel Lee gave a presentation about her involvement in\u00a0Zero Hour<\/a>,\u00a0a New York City based youth-led organization that recognizes the intersections between climate change and oppression of minority groups.<\/p>\n \u201cNow more than ever, students are rallying behind comprehensive solutions like the Green New Deal,\u201d Lee said. \u201cUnfortunately, many of us lack the ability to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley Park, a high school junior, is engaged in activism that also aims to empower younger generations to interact with climate action. She became aware of her concern for the environment in fourth grade, and later on she realized how her passion for art could become a vehicle for the activism she wanted to partake in.<\/p>\n
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