The Voice of the Future: Are We Listening?

The following video was produced by Greenpeace and released in conjunction with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report in February (see previous posts here and here). That report found that the occurrence of global warming is "unequivocal" and concluded with greater than 90% certainty that human activity is to blame for rising temperatures.

Watch this video (click on the image below to follow the link) and listen to the voice of today's youth and of those generations yet to come.

While this child's apparent anger is justified in my opinion, it may not make for the most effective call to arms. Still, listen to his words, recognize the intensity with which they are spoken, and realize the truth in his message: climate change doesn't just put "the future" at risk - it puts our future at risk, the future that today's young people will inherit, live our lives in, raise our children in.

For today's youth - and for those yet unborn, if only they could speak - the climate crisis is real, it is urgent, and it is of the highest priority: our very future hangs in the balance.

And yet we cannot solve it without the assistance of today's adults - those who hold positions of power, wealth and responsibility.

Unless we begin today to make the necessary investments and set the public policies that change course towards a sustainable future, today's youth will be left without the tools we'll need to rise to our greatest challenge: de-carbonizing the planet and building a sustainable energy future.

We're your children and grandchildren, your neighbors, friends, and as some of us enter the workforce, your co-workers.

Who's side are you on?

Will you help us? Or will you condemn us to clean up your mess in a darker future?

We are ready to rise to the challenge - but we can't do it alone!

Will you join us?