Activism & Social Change – Ecosystemic Magazine

22Jan

By Lane WorthingNo Comments

Help Tongass National Forest by Monday!

By Lane Worthing, Sidwell Friends School Tongass National Forest, located in southeast Alaska, is the largest national forest in the US. As seen in the documentary Understory, it is a beautiful old growth forest made up of western hemlock, sitka spruce, and western red cedar trees, many of which have been storing carbon for hundreds of years– and it is in danger. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the Roadless Rule Act prevented logging in 9 million acres of the forest from 2001-2020, but the Trump administration reversed those limits, opening the Tongass up to destruction. Now, however, the Biden administration is trying to undo that decision. The public comment period on restoring the Roadless Rule Act for the Tongass ends on Monday, Jan. 24, so if you want to help preserv...

On Youth Climate Strikes: Battling the Stark Divide Between Politicians and Youth

21Jan

By Ariana ThorntonNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

On Youth Climate Strikes: Battling the Stark Divide Between Politicians and Youth

By Ariana Thornton – Philips Exeter Academy Slogans scrawled on cardboard signs, students in uniform holding multicolored banners, mouths agape, cheers and chants, an undulating crowd: around the world, these scenes of climate protests define recent years. The climate movement and warnings of a warming planet are not new. In 1893, a Swedish physicist predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could substantially alter global surface temperatures. In 1938, English inventor and engineer Guy Callendar linked carbon dioxide increases to global warming. Preserving the balance of the ecosystem has always been a prioritized value for indigenous peoples. However, it took decades for the issue of climate preservation to reach mainstream understanding; the first...

Plastic Pollution Organizations to Get Involved with (Whoever or Wherever You Are)

21Jan

By Isabelle ReineckeNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Activities

Plastic Pollution Organizations to Get Involved with (Whoever or Wherever You Are)

By Isabelle Reinecke, Sidwell Friends School, founder of Youth Against Plastic Pollution The plastic pollution crisis affects us all. An issue of environmental racism and capitalism, the crisis contributes to climate change, litters our communities, and harms our health. As awareness around plastic pollution continues to grow, you may be wondering what you can do to help. You can start by using less plastic and spreading awareness, but if you want tools to help with your efforts or go more in depth, you may choose to get involved with an organization working to defeat this crisis. While this is not a comprehensive list, here are some plastic pollution organizations you can get involved with, whoever or wherever you are. For Younger Activists—Algalita Algalita connects young peopl...

Coping with Eco-anxiety as a Climate Activist

14Dec

By Isabelle ReineckeNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Literature

Coping with Eco-anxiety as a Climate Activist

By Isabelle Reinecke, Sidwell Friends School, founder of Youth Against Plastic Pollution Stress over the Years: Elson Bankoff As a young climate activist, I am often surrounded by messages of doom and gloom. Some days, it feels like everyone in the world is working against me and my future. Don’t get me wrong, I love the work I do; it brings me so much joy and, more often than not, hope. But it can also be incredibly overwhelming to know the realities of the climate crisis and have no idea what the future will actually bring. Is everything my fellow activists and I are doing enough? Will that big bill be passed? Will I and all of the other young people around the world even get to see the future we’ve dreamed about our entire lives? Personally, I have noticed that when I get frustrat...

We Need YOU Attending Fridays for Future Strikes

25Nov

By Tara PrakashNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

We Need YOU Attending Fridays for Future Strikes

Tara Prakash, Sidwell Friends School Inspired by environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s 2018 school strike for climate, Fridays For Future is an international organization focused on organizing and executing climate strikes. During these protests, youth students and activists from around the globe, gather to urge leaders in power to push for change. Believing that non-violent and consistent protest is an effective way to initiate change, the Fridays For Future organization has three main goals: to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, to follow the Paris Climate Accords, to ensure climate justice and equity and to listen to the best-united science currently available. The organization believes strikes a...

The Rise of the Movement Against Plastic Pollution

20Aug

By Isabelle ReineckeNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

The Rise of the Movement Against Plastic Pollution

By Isabelle Reinecke, Sidwell Friends School, Founder of Youth Against Plastic Pollution, Every year, over 8 billion tons of plastic waste are dumped into our oceans. Although this is an issue that affects all nations, a recent National Geographic study shows that the United States generates more plastic waste than any other country. It is estimated that the average American consumes over 1,200 single use plastics each year. Once in the ocean, plastic debris pollutes our seas, harms marine life, and often washes up on the shores of countries that contribute minimally to the problem. These nations are left drowning in the United States’ plastic waste. Plastic pollution contributes significantly to climate change and negatively impacts human health. The production of plastics em...

Indigenous Voices in the Climate Movement

20Jun

By Irene ZNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

Indigenous Voices in the Climate Movement

By Irene Zhao, Sidwell Friends School Long before the beginnings of the modern-day environmentalist movement, Native Americans perfected a lifestyle that allowed their people to flourish in harmony with the Earth. Indigenous peoples continue to practice conservation today, remaining mindful of the limitations of natural resources and cultivating crops that keep the soil fertile for generations to come. As corporations continue to pillage the planet in the name of profit, Indigenous homes and lands are still the first to be plundered, and Indigenous peoples the first to defend their planet. For example, Oak Flat, an Apache Nation sacred site in Arizona, currently faces the threat of destruction. Despite years of Indigenous protest, multinational mining company Resolution Copper ...

Fridays for Future’s “No More Empty Promises”

20Jun

By Grace MNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

Fridays for Future’s “No More Empty Promises”

By Grace Morrison With scorching temperatures, rising sea levels, the loss of animals and their habitats, and constant natural disasters, it is clear that we are in the middle of a climate crisis that threatens life as we know it. Greta Thunberg recognized this when she began to skip school every Friday in an attempt to call for action combating climate change. Thunberg began this campaign in August 2018, quickly gaining support and attention from the media. Eventually, the movement became known as Friday’s For Future (FFF), which has been very active since the successful national climate strike it organized in September 2019 that gained the world’s attention. FFF’s main form of action includes issuing petitions, striking, and demanding action from governments. Their most recent campaig...

Environmentalism and the Patriarchy: How They Intersect

20Jun

By Isabel MNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

Environmentalism and the Patriarchy: How They Intersect

By Isabel Madauss, Sidwell Friends School Patriarchy infiltrates all sectors of life, including social justice movements, such as environmentalism. The case of Rachel Carson, an influential figure in the environmentalist movement during the 1960s, is a prime example of the intersection between patriarchy and environmentalism. Carson is accredited for bringing the American public’s attention to the negative impacts of humans on the environment. More specifically, her renowned book, Silent Spring, describes the misuse of pesticides and their detrimental effects on nature. After Silent Spring’s publication, Carson received extreme backlash for her critique of the chemical industry and the American government’s use of pesticides. Aside from the attacks on Carson’s research and the validity ...