If we want our children and grandchildren to have a safe planet to call home, we have to work together.

My name is Lydia Pesek and I’m a 15 year old from Ankeny, Iowa.

In February of 2019, I founded Iowa Climate Strike after researching the effects of climate change and wanting to take action. Everyday since then I’ve organized and fought for a clean, safe future for myself and others. I’ve grown Iowa Climate Strike and organized 5 strikes with other passionate young people.

We don’t do this organizing for nothing. Iowa Climate Strike hopes to push Iowa into a just transition to a sustainable future. If everyone doesn’t act on this crisis now then it will be too late. I have dreams for my future: places I want to go, things I want to do. But as politicians continue to ignore the science, my dreams slip further and further from my grasp every day. I dream of traveling the world, learning new things, and creating positive change. Not of limited food supply, natural disasters, and a fear of the future.

That’s why I urge everyone to make changes in their everyday lives and push their legislators to support comprehensive climate action. If we want our children and grandchildren to have a safe planet to call home, we have to work together. Whether that’s picking up litter, reducing meat consumption or emailing politicians about climate action, everyone can do something.

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