Greetings, everyone, Thanks for posting this.
I met Alec some time ago and was impressed with his eloquence and passion. He is charismatic and a natural born leader. His science is weak, and I hoped he would deepen his knowledge before becoming the too-busy leader that he has. But it seems from this article that he has some solid people working with him. This kind of youth initiative is precisely what is needed, and fully aligned with the Children's Bill of Rights. It is going to be fascinating to see how this works out. Of course, there will be the same delighted and scornful skeptics, the same types that pooh-poohed the effort to go after the tobacco companies, or the food-safety issue. Cheers, Lawry On May 7, 2011, at 7:36 PM, D and N wrote: > I had not heard of the Mothers Day marches. > Law suits first, then public support demonstrations. They know what they're > up against. > All best, kids. > Natalia > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/05/sueing-us-government-climate > > Alec Loorz, the 16 year old who is sueing the US government over its failure > to act on climate change. Photograph: alecloorz.com > I am 16 years old. This morning I filed a lawsuit against the United States > of America, for allowing money to be more powerful than the survival of my > generation, and for making decisions that threaten our right to a safe and > healthy planet. > > Our parents' and grandparents' generation have created a problem. They've > developed a society that depends on burning fossil fuels, like coal and oil, > to survive. They never realized that there were any huge consequences to > running our lives with fossil fuels. But now, we do. > > Our addiction to fossil fuels is messing up the perfect balance of nature and > threatening the survival of my generation. If we continue to hide in denial > and avoid taking action, my and I generation will be forced to grow up in a > world where hurricanes as big as Katrina are normal, people die every year > because of heat waves, droughts, and floods, and entire species of animals > we've come to know disappear right before our eyes. > > This is not the future I want. And I know that we still have a chance to turn > this picture around. But, it's going to take more than changing lightbulbs > and buying hybrid cars. I believe it will take nothing less than a > revolution... a revolution in our entire culture and way of thinking, so that > we value nature and the future of my generation with every action we take. > > And I believe this revolution needs to be led by youth. It's our future we're > fighting for, and we are some of the most creative, dedicated, and passionate > people on the planet. We have the moral authority to look into our parents > and leaders eyes and ask them, "Do I matter to you?" > > Also, as youth, we are the last group of people in the US who don't have any > official political rights. We can't vote, we certainly can't compete with > rich corporate lobbyists... So we are forced to simply trust our government > to make good decisions on our behalf. > > However, it's become clear that our government has failed us, by not > protecting the resources on this planet we need to survive. Even though > scientists overwhelmingly agree that CO2 emissions are totally messing up the > balance of our atmosphere, our leaders continue to turn their backs on this > crisis. > > The time has come for the youngest generation to hold our leaders accountable > for their actions. > > Today, I and other fellow young people are sueing the government, for handing > over our future to unjust fossil fuel industries, and ignoring the right of > our children to inherit the planet that has sustained all of civilization. I > will join with youth and attorneys in every state in the US to demand that > our leaders to live and govern as if our future matters. > > The government has a legal responsibility to protect the future for our > children. So we are demanding that they recognize the atmosphere as a commons > that needs to be preserved, and commit to a plan to reduce emissions to a > safe level. > > The plaintiffs and petitioners on all the cases are young people. We are > standing up for our future. > > But we will not only stand up in the courts. We will stand up in the streets > as well. > > Starting this Mothers' Day weekend, the youngest generation will rise up and > march in our communities. We will unite together with a powerful voice to > call for action on climate change, and demand that our society lives as if > our future matters. > > We will let the world know that climate change is not about money, it's not > about power, it's not about convenience. It's about our future. It's about > the survival of this and every generation to come. > > The iMatter March is a series of more than 100 marches in states all across > the US, and in over 25 countries worldwide, including Columbia, Gambia, > Germany, Thailand India, on Mount Everest (!) and there's even one being > planned by the son of an oil executive in Kuwait. > > And it's about more than just these events. This is a movement. A mass > movement of young people standing up with a unified voice to tell the ruling > generation that we will no longer just sit idly by as they make decisions > that threaten our future. We matter. Our future matters. > > Thomas Jefferson once said, "Every generation needs a new revolution." Well > this is ours. The time has now come for the youngest generation to make a > stand for our future. > > This is our revolution. This is our time. > > • Alec Loorz is the 16 year old visionary of the iMatter campaign and founder > of Kids vs Global Warming, a project of Earth Island Institute. A climate > change activist since he was 12 years old, he has spoken to nearly 200,000 > people in over 200 presentations, keynotes, and panels > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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