By Kieran Dowd
Climate change is the single most important issue humanity faces, and it is connected to every other social, political, and economic issue there is. This all-encompassing nature makes it feel very overwhelming at times, but it also has a good side—by taking steps to address the climate crisis, society will also be addressing these other issues. This is the goal of the Green New Deal (GND), a wave of climate legislation proposed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts’ own Senator Ed Markey, and winning the GND in 2020 is the goal of grassroots youth organization the Sunrise Movement.
On Wednesday, January 29, FRS junior Kieran Dowd hosted one of over 2500 GND launch parties across the country, meant to introduce people to the GND and lay down the Sunrise Movement’s plans for 2020. As shown by the two mini-documentaries watched during the event, this plan doesn’t just call for a single action such as a launch party, but for consistent dedication.Moving forward, Kieran and the school’s environmental club will be enacting the next step of the plan to win the GND, hosting a strike circle. This is a group of 5-15 dedicated students who will meet once every week for the next six weeks to plan a local climate action such as a petition or small strike, simultaneously learning the tools they need to muster a much larger strike on Earth Day. Recruitment for strike circle participants, who would be committed until Earth Day and devoting a few hours per week to the movement, is open for the entire first week of February. Anyone interested in climate justice can learn more by coming to the environmental club’s meeting in room A204 on Tuesday, February 4th, or by emailing sunrisefrsu38@gmail.com. More information is also available at sunrisemovement.org.