Young adults active in climate change battle
Washington & Jefferson College students Erin Herock, left, and Marcy Saldivar are leaders in Washington & Jefferson College’s fight against climate change.
Washington & Jefferson College students Erin Herock, left, and Marcy Saldivar are members of the college’s Sustainability Committee, which promotes environmental responsibility.
Selena Easley, a senior at Washington & Jefferson College, spearheaded the college’s Sustainability Summit as part of an Earth Week celebration.
Washington & Jefferson College student Rachel Karman has been instrumental in the sustainability efforts at the college.
For 22-year-old Erin Herock, fighting climate change isn’t an option.
“Climate change is one of, if not the biggest issue, that my generation faces,” said Herock, a senior environmental science and public policy major at Washington & Jefferson College. “It’s pretty anxiety-inducing at times. We don’t know how things are going to turn out.”
Herock has turned her apprehension into action at W&J.
In 2019, Herock, who is heading to the University of Virginia to study urban and environmental planning, traveled to Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark to study sustainability in the capital cities.
She also is a member of W&J Sustainability Committee, an organization comprised of students, faculty, and staff that pursues sustainable solutions to environmental problems.
And Herock, along with students including Rachel Karman, Selena Easley and Marcy Saldivar, launched a website (www.wjsustainability.org) that showcases W&J’s efforts toward conservation and environmental justice.
In recognition of the 51st annual Earth Day, the Sustainability Committee is holding a virtual Earth Week, and concluded its first sustainability summit.
Herock belongs to Generation Z, people born after 1996. A majority of Gen Z worry about the uncertain future they face as the world gets warmer because of human activity.
Karman, a W&J sophomore biology major, anticipates a hotter, wetter world with more natural disasters. Drawn to the connection between the environment and human health – especially the link between environmental pollution and cancer and respiratory diseases – she plans to attend medical school and become a pediatric oncologist.
“I’m very concerned about climate change, but I do find a lot of hope looking at what people my age are doing,” said Karman. “I think we are headed down a very bad path, but our generation wants to do something about it to lessen the impact. I see what other countries like Germany are doing to address it, and I hope the United States (the second largest carbon emitter, behind China) follows suit.”
Because Gen Z – along with Millennials – will see the most serious impacts of climate change, it’s affecting many of their decisions, including career choices, travel plans, and family plans.
Karman said she and her peers talk about whether or not they want to bring children into a world where a growing population is impacting resources such as food, water, and land.
Gen Z’s climate activism gained recognition and momentum when Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teen, led Friday school walkouts in 2018.
Since then, there has been a growing sense of urgency among young adults, as wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters worsen.
Karman participated in a walkout during her freshman year at W&J, and since then, she has incorporated sustainability into her life.
“I always try to reuse everything I can, I borrow instead of buying, I walk instead of driving, I don’t buy things unless I’m in dire need, including clothes,” said Karman.
Today’s young climate activists acknowledge the importance of individual accountability, but they also are pushing for social and political action before the climate reaches a tipping point.
Said Justina Arena, a sophomore meteorology and climate studies major at California University of Pennsylvania, “We can all eat less meat and stop buying so much stuff, but I think a lot of people get frustrated because bigger corporations are responsible for a majority of (greenhouse gas) emissions, and they’re not going to address it until the government holds them accountable.”
Arena, 36, who grew up in poverty and is the parent of a 9-year-old Gen Z daughter, spends much of her time contemplating the social inequality climate change causes – people in poverty suffer disproportionately more than the rich – and the loss of biodiversity, as studies show that one-third of all animal and plant species on the planet could face extinction by 2070.
“Political activism and policy change is really important,” said Arena. “There are ethical concerns, too. Not everyone can afford electric cars and things, so lower socio-economic groups are going to get left behind. Or, people want to buy a new TV or cellphone, and they don’t think about the number of electronics that include parts that are mined in third-world countries by low-income workers. And it’s scary to think about what species won’t even be around anymore in 20 years. I really want to make people more conscientious about what they purchase and the impact it has on climate and environmental issues.”
According to a NextGen Climate Survey conducted last month, 8 out of 10 Gen Z youth are concerned about the health of the planet. Nearly 70% of respondents said their environment affects their physical health, and 75% said it affects their mental health. And more than half said they are very concerned about the planet running out of resources.
W&J’s Saldivar, 21, a senior neuroscience and gender and women’s studies major, plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh’s public health masters degree program.
“I want to focus on health equity. For me, that encompasses people’s physical health, but also it includes how the environment is hurting people’s health as climate change impacts air quality and water quality,” said Saldivar.
Saldivar, who grew up in Beaver County, where her family lives near Shell Chemical’s ethane cracker plant, said she has always been aware of the challenges posed by climate change, “but I didn’t know how to make a difference.”
“The Sustainability Committee and the Green Club give me a platform to do something meaningful and impactful,” she said. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Don’t be quiet for someone else’s comfort.’ If we don’t do something about climate change, everyone is going to suffer the consequences.”
Among the sustainability projects she most enjoyed participating in was a recycling competition between dorms.
Easley, an environmental studies, international studies and Spanish major at W&J, founded a coalition, Youth for Appalachian Climate Justice for young adults concerned with the growing petrochemical industry in Appalachia.
She is an intern at Post-Landfill Action Network as a campus organizer for students who are fighting petrochemical companies in the Ohio River Valley Region, and was one of the organizers of the Sustainability Summit.
“Students like us are essential in perpetuating and creating meaningful change toward environmental justice movements,” Easley, who spearheaded W&J’s Sustainability Summit and believes Gen Z can become leaders and change-makers in the fight against toxic industries, recently wrote in a blog.
Dr. Rebecca McDonald, associate professor of psychology and co-chair of the Sustainability Committee, is heartened by Gen Z’s willingness to take action in the face of the challenges climate change presents.
“Their efforts are living proof that this upcoming generation is going to make things better in a way that previous generations have been unable to do. They talk the talk and walk the walk,” said McDonald.
Gen Z is the first generation more likely to be poorer than their parents and to live shorter lives than their parents.
“But I don’t feel they are motivated by anxiety or fear; I think their motivation comes from optimism. They’re more empowered and self-confident, and they’re more well-informed, largely because they’re able to access information and they’re better connected,” said McDonald. “They have a belief that they’re part of something bigger, which gives them a sense of empowerment that they can come together to make real change. I have a lot of faith in them.”
Saldivar and her peers say that they are not afraid to be leaders of change because they believe human actions can change the environment – and pointed out how reduced travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, has reduced emissions.
“It is not too late. It takes an individual and collective effort, and a willingness to be open-minded and a willingness to learn about how we can live more sustainably,” said Saldivar. “I’m not giving up on the future.”