Week 14- Youth Environmentalism

Week 14- Youth Environmentalism

In class this week, we discussed various methods of climate activism with a special focus on youth empowerment. We spoke about the Sunrise Movement in which groups of children visit their representatives to advocate for their future through climate justice, demanding legislation to be passed.

These readings and conversations, surprisingly, bring me hope. Much of the discourse surrounding climate change is extremely upsetting, but it is equally as important to focus on what we CAN do to battle climate injustice. It’s nice to know there are at least some successful methods of igniting change.

In the reading “Social Media and Social Movements” by Dustin Kidd, the roles of social media in activism are explored. Since technology is a hot topic among climate activists, Kidd seeks to determine how effective or detrimental it is to climate justice. He introduces the concepts of techno-optimism, techno-ambivalence, and techno-pessimism (see vocab for definitions) and believes techno-ambivalence is the most appropriate approach.

In the source “Youth Climate Activism,” Karen O’brian discusses the importance of empowering the youth and amplifying their voices. After all, people are relatively responsive to children, and it is their future which is affected the most. She divides types of dissent into dutiful dissent, disruptive dissent, and dangerous dissent (see vocab).

VOCAB:

Techno-optimism- the belief that technology is a positive mechanism for organizing social justice.

Techno-ambivalence- somewhere between optimism and pessimism. Sees both sides of the story, and is open to trying technologies.

Techno-pessimism: the belief technology is a negative mechanism for organizing social justice.

Dutiful Dissent- youth’s concerns voiced through pre-existing institutions.

Disruptive Dissent-youth seek to modify existing institutions to more effectively voice their concerns.

Dangerous Dissent-generates entirely new systems, generally anti-consumerist philosophy.