The Power is in You
By KCI Ambassador Amelie Panaccione
Climate change is an immediate reality that has become present in our daily lives. Headlines in the media instill urgency and fear, painting climate change as a problem that needs a vast amount of effort to fix. While there is truth to this, small changes and proactive conversations can also offer helpful solutions to this urgent problem.
Yes, our home is heating up and it is a pressing matter! However, stepping back to take the time to have a conversation with people and focusing on a bipartisan approach can help foster success to slowing the rise of climate change related factors.
Most are fearful of climate change and others may not even believe in it. The media can make it seem as though the only options for change are electing the correct policymakers and protesting. I strongly disagree – small changes DO make a difference! Riding your bike instead of driving a car is one way to help reduce your carbon footprint. Helping your local community clean up open spaces and spreading awareness through education are also achievable steps and actions that we can all individually take.
We as youth have the power to mold other people’s viewpoints, especially our parents! According to Nature Climate Change, “Children may provide a communication pathway that is resilient to longstanding socio-ideological barriers to learning about, caring about, and ultimately acting to address climate change.”2 We can use this to our advantage and express our concern for the environment to inspire adults to take steps in the household to limit its carbon footprint.
I have frequent conversations with my parents about climate change and it goes both ways. My dad inspired me to be more conscious of how wasteful I can be with food. He is also a strong believer in leftovers. If we go out to dinner and I don’t eat all my food I am definitely eating the leftovers the next day. The other day I talked to my mom about the ridiculous amount of paper towel usage in our household; at the end of the conversation, she agreed that using reusable rags and only paper towels when absolutely necessary is a better idea.
As the youth, we are the future; if we can start impacting others in our teens and early twenties then think about what we can do when we are in our thirties, forties, and so on.
The power is in you.
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