{"id":33961,"date":"2023-10-10t16:46:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-10t16:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=33961"},"modified":"2023-10-10t16:51:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10t16:51:27","slug":"march-end-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/march-end-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"the power of momentum: a young advocate\u2019s reflection of the nyc march to end fossil fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
“no justice, no sleep\u201d was one of the signature chants sung last week at the march to end all fossil fuels, but this line represents a subtle, yet frustrating, truth about youth-led climate action \u2013 making time for rest and reflection can feel cumbersome when trying to address the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how can you expect to chug along with your work, your relationships, and your hobbies when you see your community suffering? the summer began with new york city looking like a martian wasteland due to forest fires in canada and ended with mass flooding and torrential rainfall. this whiplash is exhausting to experience, especially when you are not seeing tangible steps to meet the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
this emotional whiplash existed long before i called myself a climate activist. for me, gun violence impressed upon me the importance of grassroots mobilization. i remember the lockdown drills going back to when i was just 12 years old after the utterly tragic sandy hook elementary school shooting in newtown, connecticut during the holiday season in 2012. at the time i treated it like a fire drill rather than acknowledge that it was an abdication of responsibility by the adults in positions of power to take a more proactive approach to ending the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
flash forward to the end of high school, this violence did not cease and it reached a boiling point my senior year. one of the first protests i remember attending was the national school walkout on march 14th, 2018. after the stoneman douglas high school shooting in parkland florida a month earlier, thousands of high school students across the country banded together to take the streets demanding congress and the trump administration do more. there are few moments in my life where i saw so much anger and fear blossomed into dignity and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the march to end fossil fuels arrived the same week as both nyc climate week and the united nations general assembly. the convening of global leaders came at the same time as youth climate advocates demanded ocean rights and called for climate justice in the food systems. these takeaways struck a chord with me as climate advocacy must embrace systems-level change to be considered both just and transformational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the nutrition and food studies program at new york university and food tank hosted a series of discussions with industry leaders, youth advocates, former policymakers, artists, un officials, and students. at \u201cfood and agriculture as a solution to climate change,\u201d i learned about the role that sustainable and nutritious food systems must play in climate action moving forward, including technological integration, human rights-centered policy, and political leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n