Speeches
9/24/2019 climate strike
Speech 1, Cora Dow
Everyone in this parking lot has directly felt the impacts of climate change. Here in the middle of the largest national forest in the United States (which accounts for 8 percent of annual carbon emission sequestration in the US), we are at the forefront of our changing global ecosystem. We are feeling the impacts of climate change more than almost anywhere else on the planet. And most of us, as youth, will continue to feel the effects for the rest of our lifetimes. Because of our unique position in this place, at this time, we have an imperative to act.
We feel the direct day to day impacts of rising land and sea temperatures. Our lives and livelihoods are suffering because of global warming. Over the past sixty years, Alaska has warmed at more than twice the rate as the rest of the United States. There have been increases of invasive species and disease-causing pathogens. In Sitka we saw our waters turn green as a result of warm water algal blooms. Fish populations are decreasing and, as a result, fisheries are ending earlier or closing all together, like our herring fishery this past spring. This year the fire season in Alaska was much longer than normal and we saw the haze resulting from it polluting our horizons. If we want to extend any hint of normalcy, we have to act immediately.
As well as being Alaskans, we are youth who are going to live the rest of our lives with the effects of climate change. We will have to raise children and build lives on a planet that, if we fail to act, will no longer be habitable. We are being forced to plan for a future that we can’t (and really don’t want to) imagine. National Geographic found that nearly 143 million people will soon be displaced by climate related disasters. NOAA says that conifer forests may soon replace polar tundra. These predictions don’t even begin to give a full picture of the struggles our generation will face when we’re adults. Youth are often bombarded with this information and told that we are the last hope to save the planet. And adults wonder why we seem stressed all the time.
Although both of these identities can be really overwhelming, it means that we, as Alaskan youth, also have a unique voice to add to discussions worldwide. As youth, we possess a viewpoint unspoiled by constructs of what is impossible. As Alaskans, we know what needs to change to save our state and its people. With these tools, I’d say it is not only possible to change the world, it is necessary.
Many people question the effectiveness of demonstrating. They say that standing up and yelling doesn’t do anything. However, look what’s happening right now. We’re here because we all believe that climate change is an issue. We’re actively showing that we care. Politicians may not look at Facebook posts, but they do pay attention to the news.
Even if we fail to change the minds of our representatives, we can still educate and inspire our community. Greta Thunberg said that the one thing she wanted everyone to do was go out and learn as much as possible about issues they care about. The Sitka Conservation Society is here with resources, and we have more links on our Facebook page. After we’re done speaking, I encourage all of you to read, ask questions, and learn more about how climate change is impacting us.
The other thing we would like to accomplish with this strike is activation. We have sample letters to legislators and sheets with their addresses. Please take the time to fill them out with your ideas, opinions, and experiences. Additionally, November is just around the corner. Although most of us high schoolers can’t vote, we can still volunteer for campaigns and encourage adults in our lives to make it to the ballot box.
Our democracy is the most powerful tool at our disposal. We have a voice and now is the time to use it.
Speech 2, Max Johnson
Think about Sitka for a second. Most of you probably work in one of two industries during the summer: fishing and tourism. These two industries drive Sitka’s economy, and that of coastal regions around the state. Both are threatened by climate change. Based on the evidence, it is becoming obvious that the more the ocean warms, the less salmon will survive to adulthood and make it into the nets of the fishermen. Another fact people may not be aware of is that our oceans are becoming more acidic due to carbon dioxide being absorbed into the water. This means animals that salmon feed on such as zooplankton are literally dissolving in their own environment. All of these factors and others will continue to batter one of our communities most prevalent industries: the fisheries. Maybe you don’t care about Murres starving to death or salmon dying, their bodies still full of eggs, because the water temperature in their streams has exceeded 80 degrees. But you may care in future years as it comes out of your paycheck. Heat related salmon die-offs were predicted decades ago, but I bet you didn’t know that. Long story short, if you think you’re going to be a fisherman when you graduate, you might want to pay attention to your planet now, so your job will still be a viable way to make a living in ten years. The other thing we need to really think about in Sitka is our reliance on the tourist industry. We all know what downtown Sitka looks like in the winter, many of the shops are closed and others barely open. People don’t come to Sitka to see buildings or shows like in other towns. They come here to see rainforests and oceans teeming with wildlife. If we continue to allow our world to heat up, we may soon find Sitka to be a very different place than it is today. Im sure youve seen areas of forest where many of the trees are dead or dying. This is the work of the spruce bark beetle, an insect that didn't used to live here because it was cold enough in the winter to kill them. Now, in the last couple decades, they have begun to kill off forests which have stood for thousands of years. Alaska is one of the first places to feel the effects and consequences of climate change. The Paris Climate accord set a goal of keeping global warming to less than 2 degrees celsius. At that point, we will start seeing irreversible, destabilizing damage to our planet's fragile ecosystem. Alaska has already passed that milestone. Climate change is no longer a future problem. It is happening right here, right now. With your help, solutions can start here too.
Speech 3, Darby Osborne
First of all, I just want to say thank you all so much for participating in this movement. Simply by walking out of that school, you have joined millions of students in the fight to demand climate action. At the moment, statistics show that 7 in 10 Americans believe that climate change is happening, however roughly two thirds of america rarely, if ever, talk about climate change. That is precisely why what we are doing here today is so important. One of the main reasons people don’t feel the need to discuss an issue as large and urgent as climate change is because they feel as if they can’t make a difference. If you find yourself agreeing with that statement, you agree with the majority of Americans, but hopefully I can convince you otherwise. Yes, putting pressure solely on consumers to fix climate change won’t have much impact, and we all know we can't single handedly save the earth by using metal straws, however the main way you can make an impact is by doing what you're doing right now. That's the wonderful thing about our government system, the power lies within the people. Though we may not be a perfect example of democracy, we, as citizens of the United States, have the right to walk out of our schools, workplaces, homes, and protest what we see as unjust, and demand a change. Hopefully most of you agree that climate change is an issue that we can’t just put to the side and ignore, however in order to bring it to the forefront of political discussions and have actual results occur, we need to show our nation and the rest of the world that this is something we care greatly about. We've learned that if we don’t start acting for our future, nobody else will make the first move. Politicians and fossil fuel companies have known about climate change for decades, and yet that has not stopped them from drilling beneath our soils and burning away our futures for a profit. We are the first generation to see the major effects of climate change, and we will be the last with the opportunity to stop it. This is our future we’re fighting for, and the fate of our planet relies on the action taken now, before it’s too late. So please, share what we did here today. Talk openly about this issue. Educate yourself and others about the issues we’re facing with climate change and how to solve them. The only way we’re going to solve this problem, is with strength and unity. And I believe that together, we can fight for our futures. Thank you