Their risks aren’t confined to firefighters. A rapidly advancing fire in Greece cost nearly 100 lives in July when residents of a small village were unable to flee in time. Some of these victims tried escaping into the sea, where they drowned. The picture was just as grim last year in California, where the area burned was the size of Delaware. At least 46 people perished in these fires, and thousands of homes went up in smoke.

It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of what seems like such an impossible challenge. Most people don’t have the option of becoming first responders on the front lines of climate change. But a global problem needs a policy solution, and we have to make sure that our government hears the voices of people like me who care about this problem.

My generation is poised to become the largest in America’s history. And we’re taking that responsibility seriously. My generation is fighting fires, stopping floods, and building the clean technology that will help to adapt to the worst impacts of climate change. And there’s one more thing that we’re doing. My generation supports climate leaders. It’s a simple way that all of us, in our own way and in our own communities, can change the world.

Great Falls native Cory Beatty graduated from high school in 2015, and fought wildland fires across the Western United States before starting his college studies in climate change science. To learn more, visit www.beaclimatevoter.org.

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