The fight against climate change isn’t one I necessarily chose for myself but rather inherited. As an educated individual, I cannot deny the science, and I cannot accept that my world is condemned by the humans that inhabit it, and so I must fight. The IPCC has now given us a countdown. We have been gifted a timeline where we still have the chance to act, to change your habits and create a future for ourselves and for all young people. 

 

I feel I have been put in a position where not only can I make a difference, but I must. This feeling led me to join Fridays for Future and start the Cedar Rapids Climate Strikers. I started striking for four hours every Friday outside Cedar Rapids City Hall, pressuring city council to pass a climate resolution. I joined The Sunrise Movement Cedar Rapids hub, the members of which worked with city council to develop this resolution, and offered me support, hope and direction in my strikes. This February Cedar Rapids city council voted unanimously to pass a climate resolution that met the standards set by the IPCC, the Sunrise Movement, and the Climate Strikers. This gave me, and many others, a glimmer of hope for our futures.

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