It’s a sad day when we can’t look beyond our own narrow horizons. Perhaps that’s why a few older politicians are steering their countries down blind alleys. Today’s youth stand to become climate victims before they turn 60 at the current rate of warming. Therefore we support young people like Alexandria Villasenor challenging denialists head on.
The Persistent Face of Alexandria Villasenor and Her Friends
Every Friday afternoon since December 2018 Alexandria Villasenor has cut a lonely figure on a frigid bench, says Oliver Milman. Writing in The Guardian he reports she “looks a slightly incongruous figure” to make a silent statement about catastrophic warming outside UN HQ.
Most passers-by he laments, exclude her from their thoughts as they do New York hustlers. A few lift their eyes to greet and perhaps mutter a word of support. An odd passing motorist may even lower their window to exchange thumbs ups. On a recent stint in late February 2019, she stayed on longer than usual for an interview. “I lost circulation in my toes for the first time,” she said afterwards.
A High School Strike Planned for 15 March 2019
Alexandria Villasenor has inspired other young people including Isra Hirsi and Haven Coleman to join her protest. We’ve heard as many as 100,000 scholars plan to skip school on 15 March 2009, and add their voices to the clamor. They want ‘radical cuts to greenhouse gases’. They want a greener future which sounds reasonable to us.
Alexandria was raised in California. The family moved to New York after the Paradise fire 100 miles away triggered a massive asthma attack. “I couldn’t leave my house at all,” she told Oliver Milman. “Just walking to the car would make my eyes sting. We rolled up towels and put them under the windows.” This experience turned Alexandria Villasenor into an activist overnight.
“My generation knows that climate change will be the biggest problem we’ll have to face,” she says. “It’s upsetting that my generation has to push our leaders to take action. We aren’t going to stop striking until some more laws are passed.”
Related
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Australia Fails To Meet Emission Targets
Preview Image: Alexandria Villasenor On Lonely Vigil
