As a youth climate activist, I put in a lot of work to bring the various parts of the climate change fight to the forefront, to demand justice and democratic change. I'm almost always working with other young people, at least off-line. (Thanks to all who write, research and advocate online and from behind desks - we need you too.)
I'm intrigued and impressed by the march in West Virginia, starting this Thursday. Roland Micklem, age 81, is inviting all citizens age 50 and older to join him on a 25 mile march from the WV state house to the Massey-owned Mammoth MTR site in Kanawha County.
Roland's call to action against MTR coal mining in his post on the Climate Ground Zero blog:
...mountaintop removal is arguably the single most egregious environmental crime in the history of civilization, and it is continuing to happen without effective intervention by government agencies charged with its’ regulation. Throughout Appalachia, an area the size of Delaware has been totally denuded, and only token efforts have been made to reclaim a few of the sites. These and other abuses have been thoroughly documented, and there’s no need here for further discussion.
Read: its time for action.
A little bit about Roland: He spent most of his life as an environmental writer, but since retiring has moved to West Virgina to take part in the growing action campaign against MTR. During an road blockade in August, Roland was arrested for the first time in his life.
He'd like to tell you about that experience in a radio interview here: Audio (4:24)
In case you haven't notice, I'm really inspired by Roland's organizing.
Maybe I just like this story because it is a big departure from the usual. We can only read (or write) so many stories about young activists putting themselves and their future on the line for a cause they believe in. A new messenger makes the issue fresh.
Or maybe I've gotten so used to my parents generation telling me that this is young people's fight, that they've messed up the world and its our time to fix it, that they're counting on us... maybe I've internalized that a little. But that's wrong. We're counting on you, oh wise ones over the age of 30. We're looking to you for your time and experience, resources and numbers. The world didn't end up like this because of anything anyone in my generation did, no matter where they happened to be born. Are we responsible for helping to dig everyone out of the carbon hole? Absolutely, but we get really tired when this big climate fight, at this critical lead-up to Copenhagen, is shrugged off as just another issue.
Here's Roland on why his generation needs to take to the streets:
As the instigator and one of the organizers of the march, I have been part of the Climate Ground Zero campaign against MTR since late June, and have seen that most of the direct action, which has resulted in arrests and court trials for the participants, has involved young people who have yet to celebrate their 30th birthday. They have risked their careers and their rights as citizens over a clear cut issue of right vs. wrong that has defied all legal and conventional means to rectify. Unlike many of their elders, they have had the vision to take in the larger picture; and to make the chain of connections at play here that jeopardize our future. The burning of coal and deforestation, both the results of MTR, are major causes of climate change, and the youths here at CGZ are justifiably impatient with the sluggish response of the power structure to a problem with such negative and ramifying consequences.
At age 80, I have concluded that it’s time for the senior generations to assume some of this rather weighty responsibility, hence the plans for the march. We invite all citizens, age 50 or older, to join us in making this statement with our walking shoes: that our young people are not alone in their defense of our planet, and that we will continue to enjoin their efforts to promote justice and ecological sanity.
See you on the road...............
Roland Micklem
If you can, consider spending time in West Virginia. I haven't spent much, but I'm going for fall break in 2 weeks, and I'm scheming about how to spend a month there this winter.
If not, make sure you find a local 350 event in your area and contact them to help them make it big, help publicize it, use your blogging skills to get the story out there.
GreenRoots is a new environmental series created by Meteor Blades and Patriot Daily for Daily Kos. This series provides a forum for the discussion of all environmental issues, including the need for sustainability and the interrelationship between environment and salient issues of our lives, including health care, family, food, economy, jobs, labor, poverty, equal justice, human rights, political stability, national security and war.