When we talk about the climate crisis, we talk about it in the future tense: sea levels will rise, there will be more intense storms, and the people contributing the least to climate change will be affected the most.

There is a problem with this rhetoric. The effects of climate change are occurring right now.

The question is no longer “Is climate change real?”, but “What can we do about it?” For the past few months, I have been organizing strikes across South Florida, along with other amazing youth all nervous about the same thing. And we are tired of being anxious, of being reminded daily that this crisis is looming and that no one seems to care.

On September 20th, we will wake this nation up. Youth across the country will take off school to strike. Because there is no point in studying for a future that might not exist.

Like some in my generation, I experience climate anxiety. I’ll be reading about the climate crisis and the most recent climate-related disaster, and my chest will begin to constrict. The refusal of so many people that don’t understand climate science, and how they don’t believe climate change worsens these feelings.

Oftentimes, it feels like these impacts are inevitable. But if I believed that, I would’ve stopped protesting a long time ago. That is why we must try our hardest to preserve the only world we have.

Two years ago, I did something very simple that changed my life. I Googled “Local climate organizations,” and began to attend meetings at the CLEO Institute. Why did I take that step? I can’t remember, but I felt like I was making the right choice.

Through CLEO, I finally got agitated enough to take action. Doing nothing was no longer an option. The IPCC special report had just been released and I was horrified especially when it outlined the exacerbated effects of climate change on low-income communities, communities of color, and countries in the Global South.

At the Miami DNC climate protests. Source: Sunrise Movement Florida.

Of the 5,000 kids in my school, only three of us are engaged in climate activism. To those 4,997 others, I want to say: I was once disengaged and hopeless too. But when the world is on fire we should all stand up for ourselves and fight for our future.

As a climate activist, I work alongside young people whose lives have already been impacted by climate change, and those whose communities will continue to experience disproportionate harm. At the Zero Hour Conference in Miami, I met Daphne Frias, a Latinx activist who represents the disabled community. As a 21-year-old, she would like to be thinking about a future in which she has a family, but, she says, ”I can’t even think about these things. We are at the precipice of a tipping point for this Earth and you will see me and my generation out there. We have one planet and this is our only shot—or life as we know it will cease to exist.”

Youth see that climate change is already harming our communities and that unless we act now, things will only get worse. We’re taking to the streets to demand that politicians address the climate crisis and the humanitarian crisis that comes along with it. We’re holding them accountable for their actions and inaction.

Just a week ago, Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc on the Bahamas. John Morales, a Miami meteorologist, reported that there was a 35mph increase in wind speed of the hurricane in nine hours. These “rapid intensifications” are happening more frequently in our warmer world, Morales explained.

Maria, Michael, Irma, and Dorian have shown that while nature has been thought of as a “great equalizer,” low-income and rural areas are the most vulnerable. These areas don’t have the infrastructure to withstand the damage and the people can’t recover quickly or relocate to safer places. Grueling images Bahamian infrastructure flattened and the death toll of Dorian, and climate crisis-related disasters continue to increase.

At the Miami DNC climate protests. Source: Sunrise Movement Florida.

The September 20th strikes will take place just before the UN Climate Summit on the 23rd. We are hoping our movement will convince political leaders to take the climate crisis seriously and to adopt immediate, significant, and concrete policies for a just transition to 100% renewable energy.

September 20th will start a massive influx of students who are empowered to strike and to make their voices heard. Join other youth around you in a strike nearby or grab your friends and start your own. The fight against climate change isn’t my fight or your fight, it’s our fight.

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