http://www.vox.com/2015/4/29/8512853/fossil-fuel-divestment
Hey! High school students too! I think this article explains how the way people are working towards slowing climate change has changed. We are making it a moral issue, instead of a technological one.
http://www.vox.com/2015/4/29/8512853/fossil-fuel-divestment
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I found a blog post that mentioned me and the work I have been doing, amongst a list of impressive young people.
The summer between my junior and senior year, I was part of a group of teenagers who founded an organization called Student Organized Climate Action Network (SOCAN). We were all frustrated- we understood the urgency of the climate crisis and wanted to do more than recycle and drive less. We recognized there needed to be more done. Over the past year, SOCAN became by pet project. When I started my internship, part of my job was to grow this network and to get it to a point where it didn't need me. As I approach the end of my internship, the pieces of SOCAN are starting to fall into place. It has a core team of dedicated leaders who meet regularly, each responsible for a crucial aspect of running the organization. And I am no longer one of them. Don't get me wrong, I go to all the meetings. And I act as a support for any of the core team members, teaching and learning from each other. But the decision making is no longer in my hands, and I find that scary. I know that for SOCAN to succeed I need to let other people be in charge of it- I'm graduating and leaving soon.
I think that is the hardest part of the work I want to do in my life. It involves spending a lot of time with people, training and coaching and bonding, and then letting them go and hoping they continue working for climate justice, in some form. I was talking with a friend the other day, and we both agreed that our main goal in life was to help people, and to make the world at least a little bit better. My friend said he wanted to be a doctor, that the physical act of healing people was what he wanted. And I understand that desire to witness the change you are making, but I think I want to do it a little differently. I think the way I want to change the world involves a lot of trust in people, and many leaps of faith. I want to build a movement of people who care about climate change very deeply, and I can act as a tool for them to do so, but the energy to do so must come from them. And I trust that many will be able to.
As I mentioned before, I was given the opportunity to speak at Harvard Heat Week. You can watch my speech here.
Starting Sunday evening, student activists at Harvard began a week long event called Harvard Heat Week. Following an almost three year campaign, the purpose of this week was to push university president Drew Faust to engage in a public conversation around divestment. All conversations with Faust thus far have been behind closed doors, where she refuses to consider the possibility of divesting from fossil fuels. Over one hundred Harvard students shut down the campus this week, blockading the doors to all administrative buildings. Faust and other administrates had to find other places to work. To some, it may seem overly aggressive, but the campaign has slowly escalated from where it was three years ago, starting with a student referendum where 72% of students voted to divest, to rallies, to a similar but much smaller blockade last year.
The part of Heat Week that was the most powerful to me was the High School Student Rally on Thursday night. Along with the Alliance for Climate Education, I helped organize a rally where high school students addressed Harvard's inaction. My friends spoke about climate justice, tying in social issues like racism and class to climate change. Their speeches were some of the most powerful of the entire week. I was also given the opportunity to speak at their student rally on Thursday morning, alongside Harvard students, including an incredibly powerful speech from a young woman whose small island home was being obliterated by both climate change and a massive oil plant. I took the opportunity to speak about what we should expect from universities in our society, a topic that has weighed heavily upon my mind these past few months. Should our universities be apolitical centers of education only, where we study writing and science, and apply it to the world we live after we graduate? Or do universities owe something more to this world? Should they be the pillars of our society that lead us forward with their own actions? Faust belongs to the school of thought that Harvard should keep itself and its money neutral. In a statement about divestment, she told the Harvard community that Harvard exists to"serve an academic mission — to carry out the best possible programs of education and research. The endowment is a resource, not an instrument to impel social or political change." (One important fact to know here is that Harvard has used it's endowment before- it divested from the tobacco industry and partially from South African apartheid). I disagree with Harvard's president. I see universities as places that are more meaningful than simply academic. Especially in schools like Harvard, they are places where our brightest and most passionate people gather. When I imagine who can lead us on moral and ethical issues, I know it can't be our government. Our government has always followed the people, and we must once again lead on this issue. I can think of no better leader than universities and colleges, if only they listen to their students. I arrive at the office around midday. The air in the room is warm and heavy, and the only spot left is the standing desk in the corner next to the heater. The four other employees are chattering cheerfully as I open my computer and begin to type. The wood paneled walls are plastered with whiteboards with notes about various campaigns scrawled all over them. Aggressive music wafts from the downstairs concert room, as a band warms up for their show later that night. I work for a few hours with headphones on to drown out the chatter of phone call and conversations. Then we get ready to go to a rally at a nearby college. There's a flurry of activity as belongings are gathered and coats are put on. We walk through Harvard Square, pushing through throngs of tourists taking pictures of the college. The air is cold and biting on my bare skin, as I hurry to keep pace with my fast footed colleagues. We are greeted at the rally by out of tune guitars strumming, gathering stares from passers-by.
Later that evening, after a long day outside, I'm back at the office preparing to go on a conference call with several high school students. The room is quiet, as my colleagues have all left for the day. The only sound is the faint chords of music floating up from the floor below. A beep comes from my computer as a smiling face pops onto my screen, and I plug my headphones in to greet my friend. The organization I work for states that their goal is to create a world "free of fossil fuels," meaning a world in which we have eradicated the use/burning of fossil fuels. That's a pretty lofty goal; considering everything in our society uses energy, which we derive primarily from fossil fuels. Even as I write this post, I sit in my heated home, using my computer under an electrically lit lamp. I would argue that BFP has a more focused goal than many climate organizations, which work towards the broader goal of "climate justice", which can range from economic justice to social justice to racial justice to environmentalism and more. To be honest, I am not sure which is better. On one hand, I think all of those justice issues are important to work on. But on the other hand, I think that sometimes focusing more specifically can be more productive. I also don't mean to imply that BFP doesn't care about these justice issues. The reason the organization has chosen to work for a world free of fossil fuels is because using fossil fuels is an injustice in and of itself. They're choosing to prioritize climate because climate change exacerbates all of those issues. Climate change can worsen situations that are already not fair, and that's why working to slow climate change is a justice issue.
Climate activism has been a big part of my life for the past few years, and I firmly believe that the thing that has kept me so committed has been the people I work with. Fighting climate change is hard, and it's not a 9-5 job. You don't get to switch on and off when you're worrying about climate and when you're not. As a student organizer, much of my work is done in hours outside of "regular work hours", which can also be difficult. Many of the people I work with are in similar situations. The dedication, commitment, and passion with which my friends approach their work is evident in everything they do, from emailing to meeting with volunteers to organizing events. It reflects in the way we treat each other too- it feels uncomfortable to refer to these people as my coworkers because they are so much more. They are the support when I frustrated by not being taken seriously because of my age, the encouragement when I feel as though this fight is too impossible to even start. If any friction appears in a relationship, it is dealt with from the root. They care too deeply about creating a better world to allow differences to block the way. I use the people around me as fuel to do the work I want to do. Sometimes, I am tempted to blow off an evening meeting to go be with my friends, or relax at home, but I try to think of what a friend I admire would do. I worked with many of these people last summer, and now this spring, and they are some of my most influential role models and closest friends.
I have been thinking recently about how difficult situations often bring people together. Taking the T the past few months has been hellish, but I've bonded with more strangers on my buses and trains than ever before. Some studies have suggested that trauma in any sense- be it a bus that should have arrived an hour and a half ago, or a severe natural disaster- makes humans kinder, more social, and more sensitive. It could even have contributed to our survival as a species; we are, after all, stronger together. I think climate activism reflects that. Difficult, upsetting, and sometimes painfully slow work can be it's own form of trauma, and the people I work with reflect that in their kindness, understanding, and supportive ways. This Tuesday I started officially working for Cambridge-based Better Future Project, a non-profit working to build a grassroots movement to confront the climate crisis. Having worked with the organization regularly on a volunteer basis, I had a solid idea what to expect. This week was mostly very transitional, moving from the schedule I had before this to the one I have now, and figuring out how to do that efficiently. I struggle a little with commuting, as the office can take a while to get to on public transit, and some of my work is outside of the office, meaning I spend a fair amount of time traveling. Luckily I am quickly picking up the best times and routes to travel.
I feel excited by the level of autonomy I feel my internship provides me with. I spent time Thursday night leading a conversation with a group of high schoolers from around Massachusetts, thinking of ways they wanted to bring divestment campaigns to their schools. I felt we could go anywhere with the ideas we had. There was a lot of knowledge and excitement in that room, and knowing I could support that through my work was refreshing. I also spent a few hours this week planning with a coordinator who has been working on the State Divestment Campaign, a project I helped with over the summer. We talked about ways we could give young people more visibility and power in this campaign, which tied in with the group I had talked with on Thursday. We also thought about the idea of creating a video of young people telling their stories and why climate action was important to them. Overall, I'm leaving this week feeling really excited about the next few months. I've also spent some time reflecting on the autonomy high schoolers are given over themselves and the things they want to do. When teenagers want to do something, adults, especially adults interested or passionate about the topic, are quick to provide help. But I think sometimes that help can turn into the opposite- it allows teenagers to rely on adult influence and ideas, instead of forcing them to step up to do incredible things. I think teenagers have a lot more potential than they are given credit for, and I wonder if adults involved in their interests took an intentional step back, what would happen? I think it's especially relevant in issues of climate change. This is an issue that has been unresolved for quite some time, and I think youth can provide a fresh perspective- if they are given the space to work on it. Just thoughts, Kerry |
Kerry BrockHaving been given the opportunity to participate in NNHS Capstone, I will be spending my spring interning for Cambridge-based Better Future Project, supporting high school activism around climate justice. Archives
April 2015
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