Skye Curren, Editor-in-Chief
@esccourant
I have been lucky enough to have some incredible teachers during my time at New Canaan High School- teachers who are smart and creative and teach me to be all of those things. I love learning, I love going to class, I love learning new things.
But here’s the thing; I won’t be in class this afternoon. This is not because I don’t want to learn. This is not because I don’t respect the incredible privilege of getting an education. And this is not because I don’t care about school. I won’t be in school tomorrow because I do not see the validity of going to school to prepare for a future I won’t have. Instead, I will be going into New York City to join Greta Thunberg in the Global Climate Strike, fighting for the off-chance that transformative legislation and systemic change might grant me a chance of a future.
Some people may be questioning the validity of this plan. I understand this skepticism, but there is no denying the magnitude of change Greta Thunberg has been able to incite. Showing students continued investment in climate action, disrupting the system, forcing the government to listen to us; these are the ways to get real action on climate change.
Greta Thunberg is, for those who don’t know, one of the most impactful voices on climate change right now. In this month alone, after arriving via sailboat in the US (she’s sworn off flying because of the high carbon emissions), she’s led two strikes (one in New York and one in DC), spoken on multiple talk shows, and testified in front of congress.
What makes her even more remarkable is that she is 16, has Asperger’s Syndrome, and is selectively mute, which means she only talks when she thinks it’s important. And there is nothing more important, in her mind and in mine, than the total, global ecological crisis that’s upon us.
If you are reading this as someone who doesn’t believe in climate change, this editorial isn’t for you. I have written extensively about the realities of climate change, and this piece does not aim to change your minds. This piece aims to show students who want to get involved with climate change that they have a voice.
So why will I not be in school tomorrow? I am doing this because I want a future with all my wanting. I want to have a life, and I want my life to include insects and fresh air and drinkable water. I do not think that this is a lot to ask. I do not think that this should be controversial or political or something that I have to fight for.
I fear a future if it doesn’t include things that make Earth vibrant and wonderful. I am afraid- so afraid- of being left without towering rainforests with tree canopies that build around each other and coral reefs eeking with life in the most lifeless part of the ocean and grasslands filled with thousands of wildflowers and dense masses of herd animals, all of which are disappearing at an alarming rate. Deforestation and ocean acidification and desertification are all symptoms of the same problem; climate change.
We’ve already destroyed so much of our Earth already- we’ve chopped down 64% of the vats forests that originally covered the Earth, we’ve dried up our water supply and ruined it’s land, and we have caused Earth to have an extinction rate 1,000x the natural background rate.
One thing I’ve noticed while talking to members of my generation is the feeling of separateness, insanity that comes with climate change. Most of my friends agree that we’re not planning on having children because of it. We talk in casual terms about how future wars will be fought over water, and we are resigned to our fate of a dead Earth.
I think this resignation to our fate is one of the worst parts of climate change. We cannot sit idly by and lose the last of our time to fix this. We need action now, and as soon as possible. Without it, not only will I lose my future, but it also means you, your children, and their children will grow up in a world that is vastly different than the one we currently inhabit- one where extreme hurricanes, temperatures, and wildfires become even more the norm. An Earth without tigers and rhinos and insects, without old-growth forests and fresh mountain air and deep sea coral reefs.
This is why I feel as if I must fight back. I cannot sit idly back while Earth continues it’s grave deterioration. I do not see the point of studying for a future I will not have. I do not have a lot of hope left for this planet and its inhabitants, but all of that hope I do have is because of Greta.
