A Wish List From Climate Protesters in Seattle
The protesters were relatively chipper, if subdued, on this Monday morning鈥攁 fitting time of day for a meeting of the Sunrise Movement. This national youth-led effort is pushing the Green New Deal and has been championed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. About 30 participants gathered in Seattle鈥檚 Occidental Square to demand that Washington U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell support the Green New Deal.
Participants rehearsed songs about building a better future and passed lighters鈥攏ot to smoke, but rather to burn their 鈥渙bjects of personal import鈥 (as the protest鈥檚 media advisory described them) for dramatic effect. They singed a few fingers, stomped out the flames on the brick pavers, and stashed the smoldering items in their backpacks. Before the millennial protesters marched to the offices of the state鈥檚 Democratic U.S. Senators, 猫咪社区! asked:
What aspect of the Green New Deal would you like to see prioritized or implemented first?鈥
Mirna Ali, 23, Tacoma
鈥淢ore resources and education for green jobs. I can understand why [people in the coal industry] are scared of changing their way of life that they鈥檝e been doing for generations. But if they know that their same skills can be used in other industries, it makes it not so bleak.鈥 Ali burned a piece of her niece鈥檚 artwork.
Katie Giseburt, 28, Bellevue
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to have kids. It鈥檚 a dream of mine that鈥檚 threatened now. That makes me very angry. Politicians and leaders are not taking me seriously, so I might not be able to have a chance.鈥 Giseburt burned a dress she wore when she and her partner were first dating and thinking about having children.
Chris Connolly, 24, Seattle
鈥淭he Green New Deal isn鈥檛 just legislation; it鈥檚 a framework for legislation for the next 10 years. This is an emergency. We need to act like it.鈥
Sahithya Prakash, 23, Seattle
Prakash moved to Seattle from San Francisco and says she wants to see a solution to a common problem in both places: 鈥淣ot only tackling the climate crisis, but solving the problem of housing inequality.鈥
Paisley Maschmeier, 17, Seattle
鈥淚鈥檓 really scared about the future. That鈥檚 basically it; I鈥檓 terrified. I feel like this is our only chance. I was reading the Green New Deal, and the first couple pages are just talking about all the reasons why we need to make change. 鈥 There are so many reasons and people aren鈥檛 listening or caring. Our senators aren鈥檛 even listening or caring; they haven鈥檛 even responded at all.鈥
Yu-chi Lee, 21, Tacoma
鈥淢itigating the effects of climate change and moving towards a more sustainable economy, versus just churning out a bunch of things to use and discard and then buying new things.鈥
Julia Buck, 37, Seattle
鈥淎n interconnected transportation system for the state for both goods and people, so that we鈥檙e not reliant on personal-use vehicles. I was in a really serious car accident about 5 years ago, and that鈥檚 what really started me thinking that the way in which we transport both goods and ourselves doesn鈥檛 make a whole lot of sense. Over 30,000 people die every year [in the U.S.] because of how we鈥檝e chosen to run our transportation system, and I think that making that a collective good not only makes it more accessible but makes it safer and better for our environment.鈥
Kimaya Mahajan, 15, Bellevue
鈥淥ur senators showing a commitment, not just verbally, but a commitment to take action and us having a way to hold them accountable to what they say they鈥檙e going to do in respect to the Green New Deal.鈥
Zoe Schurman, 14, Seattle
鈥淎s the youth, it鈥檚 our futures that are on the line; it鈥檚 our children鈥檚 futures. I want to be able to graduate and not be afraid that food is going to get so expensive, that water is going to get incredibly expensive. I don鈥檛 want to worry that a home that I鈥檓 buying is going to go underwater or light on fire.鈥 Mahajan and Schurman burned a picture of Mount Rainier and a nearby waterway overlain with images of plastic. 鈥淚t shows that we鈥檙e wrecking it with our pollution and our waste,鈥 Schurman says.
Max Hanson, 24, Seattle
鈥淚t all starts with our economy. I really like the carbon tax and stopping any subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. We鈥檙e just reinforcing the fossil fuel industry when we subsidize them; let鈥檚 stop doing that.鈥 Hanson burned a picture of 鈥渁 live and vibrant coral reef that is the home to many species and without which those species cannot survive.鈥
Hana Abay, 19, Mountlake Terrace
鈥淢ore policies that really focus on having greener technologies. One of the things I鈥檝e really been into鈥攖his is super nerdy鈥攂ut solar panels. The same with transportation; I took the bus here. I personally think that public transportation is a really good move when it comes to reducing our footprint on the planet. Technologies like that, that really focus on reducing more fossil fuel use, I really feel makes such a big difference when it comes to the consequences of climate change.鈥 Abay brought a mirror, saying that it reflects who is going to be affected by the changing climate.
Breanna Draxler
is a senior editor at 猫咪社区!, where she leads coverage of climate and environmental justice, and Native rights. She has nearly a decade of experience editing, reporting, and writing for national magazines including National Geographic聽online and Grist, among others. She collaborated on a climate action guide for聽Audubon Magazine that won a National Magazine Award in 2020. She recently served as a board member for the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Northwest Science Writers Association.聽She has a master鈥檚 degree in environmental journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. Breanna is based out of the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people, but has worked in newsrooms on both coasts and in between. She previously held staff positions at聽bioGraphic, Popular Science, and聽Discover Magazine.
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