Lessons from a Community Event

By Shane Zurbach

I attended multiple programs of the online event called “Reaching the Turning Point: The Youth Climate Movement and the Election.” These presentations by Ramapo College faculty, alumni, students and guests went over multiple aspects of the climate crisis. The speakers I watched include Daphne Frias, Gabby Heidrich, Ananya Singh, Samantha Difalco and Rachel Lee. Additionally, I watched Professor Shugarman’s student panel on talking about climate change with your parents.

The student panel showed that there will always be people that will ignore the facts. Some people just feel uncomfortable confronting pressing issues. These people may even include some of the most important people in our lives, our parents. Children should not get angry at their parents but attempt to understand their viewpoints and use facts to change their mind. This is because the climate movement cannot leave anyone behind. We need everyone to “hold the rope” to help stop the Earth from becoming unstable for human life.

Daphne Frias talked about her organization called “Box the Vote.” This organization tries to help young voters to register and vote. She went over how difficult the absentee voting system can be. There are many deadlines and steps to complete before you can vote. She highlighted how difficult this can be especially for first time voters.

Sam Difalco, who has previously given a presentation to our class, stated that we must stop new fossil fuel plants/operations from opening. This will only worsen the harmful effects of greenhouse gases. Sam also talked about how although the NJ has a relatively progressive climate plan, more needs to be done. Gabby and Ananya like other speakers talked about getting youth involved in environmental action. The upcoming generations will have to do the most to stop global warming from progressing. If the older generations do not do their part, then we need to step up and show them that we care. Getting involved is the best way to do this.

Rachel Lee, who is a leader in the Zero Hour program, is a prime example of what we need to do. She is a leader of a youth climate program. Among the important things she does, her enthusiasm is likely to spread to other young people. She is one of the best examples of the future. We all have a responsibility to act, to help our planet, live a healthy life, and to secure a future for the next generations.

I learned many important lessons from this event. First, I realized that I need to do more. My family and I already recycle and try to reduce the amount of waster we produce. This is not enough; we can all find things in our lives to help the climate movement. Even though I have already voted, people like Daphne solidified the need and I am happy that I voted. The student panel taught me that I need to have more conversations about climate change with my friends and family. There are many people in my life who are not aware of its dangers. I will do my best to tell them that we all need to help this movement.

As this crisis is the leading danger of the 21st century. I feel like this community event gave me a better understanding of how hard some people in my generation are working towards solutions. Finally, I also learned, especially form Professor Shugarman’s session, that this should not be doom and gloom. If we work together, we can slow down the effects of climate change.