iMatter Movement

MONDAY 12/15/14 4 p.m. PST — HBO iMatter Movement video—“Saving My Tomorrow,” features youth involved in the fight for climate change. Here’s the Trailer.

My May 2012 post on the iMatter Movement shared about kids (and adults), first marching to protest climate change, then relying on the public trust doctrine to sue the federal and states governments. The public trust is “a legal doctrine that imposes a fundamental, fiduciary obligation on all governments to protect our shared natural resources.” The goal of the suits is to force governments to create the recovery plans necessary to turn around or weaken the direction of global climate change.

Government isn’t the only focus. The Movement’s Youth Council, 3 Step “Revolution” for Change asks us all to change the way we Think, Live, and Act. The Movement’s website lets the children tell their stories in video. Stunningly beautiful and moving.

COP 20 Lima, Peru

Opening ceremony COP20
Wikipedia image

“I believe in order to get change we need to have massive mobilization. …governments are not going to move by themselves, they’re not going to choose to place people over profit. They’re not going to choose to align their policies with humanity, unless they are pushed to do so.” Emily Williams, California Student Sustainability Coalition * Interview “What Now for Climate Change? Youth Movements from Lima to Paris”

A broad coalition of California students are challenging public and private university fossil fuel-related investment practices. Radio KGNU interviews Emily Williams, Campaign Director of the California Student Sustainability Coalition about the nature of campaigns for change, particularly divestiture and sustainability. Just this week, California’s Chico State University became the first public university to commit to fully divesting all investments in fossil fuels within four years.

The 2005 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Convention (COP 11 or COP/MOP 1) spawned the concept of an International Youth Climate Movement(Wiki). Every year, the number of youth organizations attending the conference and working for climate change back home grows. Here are a few: Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Indian Youth Climate Network, UK Youth Climate Coalition, Kenya Youth Climate Network, Climate Youth Japan, China Youth Action Network. 

I want to grow in a world where all these young people, and many more like them, are in charge.

If you are an environmental youth group working on climate change, add your website and mission in the comments. And tell us how it’s going.

“Live as if our future matters.”  Alex Loorz, founder iMatter