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The Climate Change Collective

Abby Matson
Oct 21, 2019
4 min read

In recent years, climate change has made its way to the forefront of the American public’s priorities. In a September 12th poll from the Washington Post, it was found that 4 in 10 Americans now consider climate change a “crisis,” more than double the number from five years ago. The world is heating up, and more and more adults, kids, and teens have something to say about it. One popular form of advocacy for students in the D.C. metro area is protesting at the Capital, and the most recent Climate March took place on September 20, 2019. Our team at MoCo Connect reached out to students from across the county who attended the march to record all different views, opinions, and ideas on the march, what people experienced, and how it affected them.

When communities can come together over an issue they care about, the outcome is always powerful, and with an issue as important as this one, there is no other word to describe it. It would be impossible to not notice all the different kinds of people at the march. The initiative to take action around climate change is not limited to any age group, race, or location, and this much was made clear. Seeing everyone fighting an issue that they care about was inspiring. The march and all those who support the movement should stand as a reminder: the fight is always worth fighting for.

- Arvin Kim, 9th Grade, Walt Whitman High School

Hope. Hope filled the entire day of the climate march to the brim. Sure, there were other emotions present- anger at an administration that is failing us, sorrow for our dying earth, fear that this may all be too late- but hope rose above all. It followed our small group of students from the meeting point at BCC. Hope was present as we hustled onto the metro. And it was there as we joined the throngs of people in the park. It was written on their signs and trailed behind us as we marched towards the capital. Hope grew with every inspiring young person that took the podium, and with every adult that joined our shouting. Hope may seem like an unlikely thing to be found at an event dedicated to the fact that our earth is being torn apart, but it was there. We walked out because we had hope that we could change something. It mingled with anger and fear, forming something that could change everything.

- Kelsea Peterson, 11th grade, Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School

The climate strike was historic. People from all over the world showed out to demand action on a crisis that will irrevocably change our lives for the worse. Protests like these are critical to getting the attention of elected officials who are too old and detached from the present day to sit up and pay attention to the demands of those who will displace them. We need climate action, now!

- Zoe Tishaev, 12th grade, Clarksburg High School

The Climate March is definitely an event I’ll never forget. It’s so important to advocate for what you believe in, especially when it means life and death. It was exactly what I expected, I’ve been to similar things before but it was still special. My favorite part was seeing little kids with their parents. They probably were a little too young to totally comprehend what we were advocating for, but they’ll be thankful later. Overall, I’d say it was fun and rewarding and I recommend everyone go next time.

- Gretchen Gilmore, 8th Grade, Tilden Middle School

The climate strike on the 20th was the third climate strike I reported on. In reporting on the movement for the Springbrook Blueprint, I was struck by some of the proposals and the delicate balance of partisanship and politics. The activists I talked to made an interesting distinction between the two: Obviously, politics plays a big role in the process, but the activists say they aren't partisan. When I pointed out to Madeline Graham, one of the organizers, that the crowd chanted "Trump is a liar, the planet is on fire," she said that wasn't partisan because it's aimed at one politician, not a political party. At the same time, she criticized the Democratic National Committee for not holding a climate debate with presidential candidates. I should also mention that a central part of their platform is to demand the Green New Deal, mostly pushed by self-declared progressives in the House. I was struck by the intersectionality of the movement, or at least its attempt to be.

- Joel Lev-Tov, 12th Grade, Springbrook

As a cofounder of MoCo Students on the Climate, it was a tedious process to get huge events organized while coordinating with local organizations as well as an international group. Both the rally in DC as well as the demonstration in front of the Montgomery County Board of Education not only had an amazing turnout rates, they both had immense diversity amongst the participants as well. I am proud to have been a helping hand in these two events, and will continue to fight for this movement until actions are taken by the government and the industries to fix this perilous problem. Adults who tell us that we teenagers and student activists are the future; I argue that we are NOW for not only this issue, but every issue that will continue to affect this planet long after we are gone.

- James Mu, 10th grade, Thomas S. Wootton High School

Correction: Joel Lev-Tov was misspelled as Joel Lev-To, revised 10/21/19 at 6:25pm