![]() ![]() ![]() …it’s my firm opinion that the time for deference and patience on the climate crisis is over. I’d felt lonely and isolated even amid the city’s crowds and the climate marchers, and the pressure of keeping to the tiny budget I had in that strange, enormous city by myself weighed on me. I’d hoped to learn firsthand from experienced activists and my climate heroes, instead of seeing them across a conference room or behind barricades. As one of the few African activists at the Youth Climate Summit, I wished I’d had a chance to speak about our continent’s realities. Too many of us listen to those voices inside us, and those that might come from our peer group, that tell us we shouldn’t speak out or stand up for what we believe in. We’re encouraged or expected to cede our voices and authority to boys or men. I’m not immune to the messages many young girls and women receive that we should be quiet and not put ourselves forward as spokespeople or decision-makers. They were also asking fundamental questions about education: If adults weren’t following the facts and not telling the truth about the climate crisis, what was the point of education in the first place? If knowledge didn’t lead to action, and the future that education was meant to prepare you for was being mortgaged by the same people who were telling you to go to school, then why not take to the streets to ensure there was a future rather than sit in a classroom? (37-38) I loved the fact that FFF activists were seeking to take control of their future demanding to be heard. ![]() …as climate activists have made clear, the point of our strikes is not simply to raise awareness among other citizens, it’s to push for ambitious, systemic change in government policies, private sector behavior, and investments. …the World Meteorological Association calculated there was a 20 percent chance that the global temperature would increase by 1.5☌ as soon as 2024 (12) 2 Striking Out Let’s fight toether for what is right what is just. So, join me and some of the many young climate activists in Africa and around the world who are working right now to change that future. | The stakes could not be higher: unless we take dramatic action now, whatever plans any of us have for the future-whether big or small-will fail. ![]() The pandemic has shown that (some) leaders can listen to the science, the international community can act together with a common purpose., no matter how disturbing the present and future may appear, we have neither the time nor the luxury to shut down emotionally, especially those of us who live in countries where the climate crisis is a daily reality. (6)Įven though the climate forecasts are terrifying, I still believe we can have hope. …while governments have been telling us to follow the science on the coronavirus, they have not been following the science on climate change. (2)Īfrica is the least emitter of carbons, but we are the most affected by the climate crisis.Ī planet that’s 2☌ hotter is a death sentence for countries like Uganda. They hadn’t just cropped me out, I realized. Here (in addition to other videos as well) is her speech which is worth watching in full: I first heard of Vanessa through COP26, the United Nations Climate Conference in November, 2021. What “man” has torn asunder, may activists like Vanessa Nakate (et. Our global ecological crisis is not simply one of “environmentalism,” but is one of humanity, and it is the fullness of our humanness that we are attentive to in our efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. To forget this is to be delinquent in our efforts at creating a more just world. The “new African voice” is one of synthesis, highlighting so clearly how racism, sexism, and economic inequality are at the heart of the fight against climate change. Part memoir and part manifesto, A Bigger Picture gives the reader (and especially a Western reader) exactly that, a bigger picture in Nakate’s words (below), a “wider frame” by which we view and understand the climate emergency. This may be one of the first books I’ve read in which I truly felt a sense of honor. A Bigger Picture: My Fight To Bring A New African Voice to the Climate Crisis. ![]()
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