In a few months, I’m going to be graduating from high school. As a freshman, 3 years ago, you would be hard-pressed to find me as an outspoken advocate. That change has single-handedly come from my involvement in environmental activism with the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition.
It’s Earth Month. I’m hoping I don’t need to explain to you what climate change is, or global warming, or the climate crisis. But, in case you’ve been neglecting leading scientists’ projections, climate change is coming; it’s “here” already. I hate to be so doom and gloom, but it’s true. Importantly, researchers have consistently found that climate change is not “gender neutral.”
It’s disproportionately impacting women and young girls, amplifying existing gender inequities. This is especially true in agricultural regions in low-income countries where women often carry the burden of securing increasingly elusive natural resources. In that way, environmentalism naturally intersects with feminism.
It also intersects in another way. Research has shown (as well as my own experiences) that many environmental activism spaces are filled with a majority of female-identifying members. Today, many well-known environmental leaders are women, including Greta Thunberg and A.O.C. Researchers have been trying to get to the bottom of this issue, with a number of hypotheses. Some say women are still seen as the natural “caregivers” and that caring for our planet is an extension of that domestic role. Some may argue that these differences in sustainability practices stem from behavioral differences across genders, or maybe that eco-friendly practices are still not perceived as traditionally masculine. Whatever the cause, the environmental movement is the perfect place to pair together female empowerment and positive social change.
So, as I mentioned, the elephant in the room: climate change. What can we do to mitigate the defining issue of our time? Well, environmental activism, from my experiences, is both purposeful and, simultaneously, incredibly empowering. As a 5-foot-tall, female teenager, there’s much others think you can’t achieve, but even worse, there’s so much you don’t believe you can achieve yourself. That freshman who was afraid to speak louder? She got involved in environmental activism with the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition. And as corny as it seems, this organization has changed my life.
From the strong peer mentorship and sense of community, for the first time, I felt like I was moving towards my real purpose, that I was actually accomplishing something.
At age 16, I co-founded our coalition’s Green Amendment Campaign, fighting for an amendment to secure the basic rights to clean air and water in our state’s constitution. Guess what? This involved a lot of lobbying state legislators, pushing me way out of my comfort zone.
However, my proudest moment was my first time lobbying in Trenton when I overcame that fear for the first time, running after legislators and finding the voice I had not yet found. Since then, our campaign has expanded, yet I still firmly believe in the power of activism and civic engagement, and the immense impact it can have on one’s life. I think this is especially important in the female-dominated sphere of environmental organizing.
In a few months, I’m going to be graduating from high school. As a freshman, 3 years ago, you would be hard-pressed to find me involved in student activism. But now I know my voice has power. We each have the power to use our voices to evoke change, within our town, community, and even across the globe. And we must use these voices, because neither can women’s rights nor the planet will wait as we remain silent.
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