i’m sorry for bringing you into this world. it must be stressful and unfair and frustrating. it already is here in 2022 and has been for many, for years. but i would hazard a guess that this is a scary time to be alive and growing up so i’m sorry for putting this upon you. but truly, i’m happy that you’re here. i’m excited for the life you have to live and the growth that you will go through. while it may be hard and daunting to keep persevering and making change, you can do it. 

it was very conflicting for me thinking about having kids. towards the end of high school and beginning of college, i didn’t want children because i was scared of the future. i didn’t want the responsibility of making that choice to put people through a messed up world of crisis after crisis. i had little hope for the future. i was never able to imagine anything at all. people all the time would ask, where do you want to go to college? where do you see yourself when you graduate? in five years? in 10? in 20? who knows?? when i pictured the future, i saw nothing besides darkness. i couldn’t form a single vision or even see an exaggerated destructive future.

the media and ideas that i surrounded myself with were often bleak regarding the state of the world. there would be at minimum 2°c of warming if action was taken as soon as possible in 2022. aggressive, immediate, widespread action. and with that warming and the unknowns of tipping points and albedo, a potential runaway greenhouse effect. oceans warming and acidifying, changing currents and air circulation, completely reshaping the planet. plants and animals going extinct every day, that leaf on the evolutionary tree of life gone forever. extreme weather events whiplashing between massive droughts and mighty floods, heat waves with blazing fires and ice-free winters. sea levels rising meters and meters higher, swallowing islands and coasts, forcing people out of their homes and closer and closer together. the list goes on. 

and now i’m sure you know all of this intimately. you see it and experience it every day. and other people are more at risk than you. the world for so long has been fraught with inequity and oppression. i hope that the communities we live in now are more kind and caring than what pervades today. we’re so caught up in disavowment and deregulated capitalism in favor of a habitable future. i’m sorry. 

but you being alive is proof that i have always cared about you before you even came into existence. back when this letter was being written and even before, i was concerned. i mean of course, i’m constantly concerned. but i was concerned about the future and our planet and the people to come after me. one time, a guest speaker in one of my classes with bill mckibben told us about a study that had just come out about young people (gen z) and our anxiety about the future. most young people were concerned. and most young people also didn’t want to have kids because of climate change and the scary future. but, the guest told us, if you’re here in this class right now and concerned, you go have kids. pass on those genes that care. especially because we know that the people who don’t care will definitely be having kids and passing on their genes. hah yikes. 

while that seems so self-centered to have children so that my particular genes can be passed on, i guess it sort of made sense. if i cared about the planet and people and climate justice, why not get more people to care about that? about this time, i was learning that i really cared (care still? hopefully?) about environmental education. i wanted to get more people outside to recreate and learn about the natural world. i wanted to get people invested in our planet and help them make connections to places that were threatened. if they had an opportunity to spend time outside hiking and learning about different trees in the forest and how invasive species were spreading and threatening hundreds-of-years-old trees; or if they could paddle down a river and see acres of irrigated farmland and also nutrient runoff clouding the river; or if people were able to dive in the tropical oceans, that used to be way lower in latitude, and be surrounded by beautiful, colorful fish and notice the less vibrant coral that was slowly being bleached, then maybe people would understand. then maybe people would do something. build people power and change culture. that became my hope and goal. 

and now i’ve got you! you’re not just alive as a passing of my concerned (anxious?) genes. you’re here because children are our future. because young people are so incredibly powerful and moving. young people work so hard and have so many intentions and dreams and know how to imagine a world. young people picture a better future and work towards it because everything depends on that work. and through you, i’m reminded to keep working. i’m reminded that i can never lose hope and never stop because the future depends on it. my life might feel small or disconnected or powerless in the big wide world, but as long as i’m doing something that isn’t nothing, it’s something. and if i’m talking about that something and sharing that something and getting more people involved in that something, it’s helping. so thank you. 

this must be a lot to be growing up in this wild time. and a lot of pressure from the world and maybe from me in this writing. i, along with many others, especially at your age, used to feel the crushing weight of the entire world on our shoulders. it was easy to feel paralyzed by that anxiety. easy to pretend that everything was okay and other people would take care of it. so much more comfortable to do a tiny bit and hope that the world wouldn’t come crashing down on top of us. but it’s hard. and scary and tiring. while the weight of the whole world doesn’t rest upon your shoulders, do something. do something to make at least one person, one animal, one plant, one something better. use your imagination. picture the world that you want. and figure out how you can get there. i’m right here to help. what is your vision? 

and remember to love life. it may be hard. and without power and privilege in this world it is a lot harder. but please, create a life that you love. not every second is going to be happy. that would be unhealthy. but find your center and calm. find what grounds you and brings you joy and nourishes you. and remember those things. remember and cherish the smallest instances of stopping to stare at a lovely flower in the busy city. of listening to the waves as they roll and crash and feel the grains of sand beneath your feet. breathe in and smell the freshness and crispness of the clean, cool mountain air as it revitalizes you. my whole heart is with you. 

♡ with love 

the men’s and women’s rowing teams, totaling more than 70 student athletes, spend their winter months training on indoor rowing machines in the auxiliary gym of the smith center. there is one particular water fountain outside this auxiliary gym that receives an incredibly high amount of use, especially during the early mornings. until recently, this water fountain was considered a “normal” water fountain. puddles would quickly form under the fountain, and long lines would form behind it, a detriment during time-sensitive situations that are training sessions.

the spring 2019 semester brought about change to the smith center, with the installation of two elkay water bottle filler fountains, one in the lobby of the smith center and another in the aforementioned “rowing corner” by the auxiliary gym. these fountains are designed to create as little water waste as possible and displays an active count for the amount of plastic water bottles saved by using a reusable bottle. since their installation in january 2019, the lobby and rowing water fountains have saved 10,109 and 7,011 bottles, respectively.

i presented the idea of the water bottle fountains during my april 2018 interview to represent my team on the student athlete advisory committee (saac). i was certainly not the first person in the athletics department to bring forward the idea, but as someone in a position to enact change, i took the chance to call attention to the issue. not only would these fountains allow athletes to fill their bottles more swiftly, but less water would spill, and the use of reusable bottles would be encouraged. through persistent and healthy dialogue between student-athletes, their saac representatives, administration, and facilities staff, we were able to bring about change and install the new and improved water bottle fountains.

another way that the men’s and women’s rowing teams have prioritized sustainability is through a simple habit adjustment, transitioning from paper towels to reusable cloth towels. after every training session on the indoor rowing machines, we sanitize the machine’s handle, seat, and track, as well as any sweat that has accumulated on the ground. until this school year, we would use paper towels to sanitize, since they were readily available. however, in fall 2018, one rower proposed the idea to switch to cloth towels. that night, our assistant coach purchased a package of these cloth towels, and we started using them the next day. assuming that each of the 70 rowers had been using one paper towel sheet after six morning training sessions per week, we can confidently state that the implementation of cloth towels has saved (at least) 420 paper towel sheets every week.

at a division 1 athletics facility, something as simple as water is crucial to athletic performance. in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of a student-athlete and supporting cast, it can become easy to overlook the need to find solutions for issues that are right in front of our very eyes. all it took in this case was the collaboration of well-intentioned individuals. in addition, the implementation of towels to clean the rowing machines was nothing more than a vocalized suggestion and a one-time purchase to create long-lasting effects for the earth.

it was an unseasonably warm and sunny friday, feb. 15 – good weather for youth climate strikes across the united kingdom. before the main gathering strengthened in bonn square, the main site of oxford’s strike, a banner for the youth climate strike was unfurled off of the bridge of sighs, one of oxford’s most iconic landmarks.

by the time i arrived in the late morning, the plaza was filled with protestors of all ages, mostly school children who were skipping school to participate in the demonstration but also university of oxford students, parents, and more elderly community members.

most protestors held pickets and posters with handwritten slogans following the theme of the protest movement that the older generations have left the younger generation with a climate crisis they must fix. the subject matter of the signs overall covered an impressively broad range of climate change topics, including, “our planet is not like your actions, it’s not rubbish”; “stop climate changing before it changes the world”; “if the earth were a bank, it’d be bailed out”; and “there is no planet b.” there was also “no pollution is the only solution”; “i’d rather miss a day of school than see my planet die”; and even “harry potter and the deadly climate change” (it was oxford, after all).

the protesters’ emphasis on clever and often humorous signs contributed to the overall upbeat (or positive) atmosphere of the event.

the size of the constantly growing crowd was so great that people repeated different chants at opposite ends of the plaza. one of the more popular ones was the call and response chant of “what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now!”

after striking in bonn square for a while, the majority of the protestors left and made a procession through oxford city centre and back around to bonn square, a trip they repeated several times over the course of the day. in addition to the convening and march, the event organizer brought in a number of speakers, including an environmental journalist and a student who did spoken word poetry. the strike as a whole was executed as a very peaceful and minimally disruptive protest without any outside intervention.

i was curious about the environmental interests of the participants, so i posed a few questions of martin parker, a student from leeds, u.k., studying math in st. catherine’s college at the university of oxford. when i asked him why he attended the strike, martin said, “i find it inspiring watching the youth strikes….and seeing it on the news. i think it’s a very exciting movement. i’m inspired by the global aspect as well. i think it’s really motivating that people are getting together across the country and across the world.”

although the interview was challenging because the crowds’ chanting was deafening, i asked martin how long he has been interested in environmentalism.

“all my life i’ve been aware and conscious of the issues facing the planet. i’ve never been involved in activism until recently,” he said. “i think it’s the same case for a lot of people, that they’ve seen movements like this coming up a lot recently and are just getting involved now.”

as a planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 and student of environmental journalism, i was interested in what the participants of the strike thought about the importance of sharing climate stories through public communication. surveying the scene, i spotted a woman wearing a name badge, which upon closer inspection was a card which read “ask me anything, i’m a climate researcher.” she was dr. michelle cain, a science and policy research associate at the university of oxford environmental change institute. i asked her about what impact she thinks environmental storytelling has on people’s understanding and interest in the current climate situation.

“i think storytelling is very powerful and everyone can…engage with a good story,” she responded. “there are only so many articles you can read, but the ones that really grab you are the ones that are telling a good story.” covering climate events and people’s personal perspectives and experiences can encourage increased focus on and participation in global efforts to facilitate change.

today’s young people will need to contend with the implications of climate change exponentially more so than older generations, and i am proud to have witnessed youth standing in such unity for justice against what will be the greatest challenge during their lifetimes.

young sustainable impact is an oslo-based youth innovation program with a mission to empower youths to solve the sustainability challenges by creating measurable impact. norway itself is the cradle of sustainable policy-making, ranking number one in the world for initiatives like tax-free electric vehicles.

but even here the young are sick of greenwashing. “we’ve heard a lot of talking from businessmen and politicians—but where’s the action?” asks marcus bruns, 26, chief executive officer of ysi. and thus, ysi was born with a simple phrase: makers gonna make.

“our starting point was to see what would happen if you brought together the smartest young minds of our time to tackle the sustainability challenges,” says bruns.

when a friend told me that ysi was “run by a bunch of 20-year-olds in norway,” i was sold.

i joined 20 other talented youth in ysi’s third batch. in teams of three, we worked together in a five-month online innovation program culminating with a two-week conference in oslo in august 2018 to pitch our start-ups. some of the innovations included smart toilet sensors, vegan kombucha leather, and even an uber-like trash pickup service.

4 things to learn from 20-year olds

after being part of the third cohort and witnessing how ysi is reinventing innovation for the future, i have four main takeaways for how we can innovate and reclaim the reigns of sustainability:

1. crack ageism in entrepreneurship

according to ysi innovation director didrik strohm: “statistically, the best and most successful start-up founders are between the ages of 45 and 47.”

that’s why we need experienced entrepreneurs to collaborate with youths and share their experiences to reduce a dismal nine out of 10 startup failure rate. but in my experience, a mentor or founder will usually ask a young person questions about their start-up as a lead-in to a pre-packaged lecture, not to construct a dialogue.

since the younger generation gets branded as naïve and idealistic by seasoned experts in an industry, ysi advocates for an equal setting for all ages to work together. a mentor might walk into a meeting expecting to give advice for digital marketing, and leave having learned about a simple but elegant billboard bed campaign in pakistan from a participant.

strohm adds: “they [experts] know everything inside that field, but more often than not, those people don’t change systems. they keep grinding along the same path, which is why we need both old and young together.”

2. capitalise on collaboration, not competition

rather than emulating the cutthroat environment of silicon valley, where intellectual property must be guarded under legal writ, ysi is capitalising on collaboration.

the sustainability issues that each team is working on has little risk of being crowded out. two waste management projects will find more than enough trash to go around in the developing world. and it may take more than one start-up to disrupt the $100 billion leather industry. when team 7 unexpectedly sold 4,000 t-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles in less than a week, fintech expert louis wouters from team 1 was more than happy to sit with them and help write up their financials.

participant usama tauqeer from pakistan affirms: “there are start-ups that go in to win competitions, and there are start-ups that go on for the long-term and then monetise. i prefer to be the latter.”

our task as the last generation with a shrinking window for action on climate change is not to save the world, but to build the things we really need for a thriving, sustainable planet.

3. flip power asymmetries

the majority of ysi participants have never pitched in front of high-level investors to acquire seed funding. getting people twice your age to buy into somewhat crazy, futuristic concepts is a daunting task. and without investor money, it can seem like those dreams will never take off.

but what strohm advises is to flip the power asymmetry if need be. we approached investors not as streams of cash flow, but as partners taking equity in our companies. start-ups could frame the ask to an investor as:

“this is something i’m going to do anyway, and we need to find out; are we the right fit for each other?”

by doing that, the 20-year old participant is protecting his or her status and the importance of the proposition, and should also be ready to walk out of the room if that goes south.

but start-ups needs to know their audience to play hardball. a tactic like this, which might work in norway or the us, might not work in japan.

4. the market may be your best teacher

despite the science of innovation that we may read dozens of books on, or hear countless ted talks about, the market is ultimately the best teacher for what solutions work. ysi advocates breakthrough innovation, and yet the least innovative start-up this year got the most traction. a team making mixed fiber and plastic t-shirts broke us$60,000 in revenue during the two weeks in oslo. companies like patagonia have been making such products since 1993, and the team still faces criticism that they are contributing to one of the most polluting industries in the world—fashion.

the most successful product is the most easily understood. t-shirts are simple to wear, sell, and advertise. rolling out a brand-new platform or patenting an invention may take more time to gain traction. finding this this sweet spot for innovation means combining simplicity with market need.

systemic changes are difficult to build a product out of, and harder still to sell. a practical lesson is breaking away from the idealism we strive for in silver-bullet solutions, and making impactful products people will use.

our task as the last generation with a shrinking window for action on climate change is not to save the world, but to build the things we really need for a thriving, sustainable planet.

visit the ysi global website and follow these teams’ development into full-fledged start-ups in the months to come. 

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this story was originally published on eco-business and reproduced with permission.