OneWorld.net (U.S.)

As I was packing for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, my mother took me aside. She looked at me with a stern face and told me, “I don’t care what you do when you are running around in South Africa trying to save the world. Just don’t get arrested.” A few weeks later, those words popped into my head as I stood with a dozen other U.S. youth surrounded by over 30 South African police officers! We were there to make a “U.S. Youth Statement on Clean Energy” in which dozens of U.S. youth delegates committed to ensuring that his or her campus or community was using 20% renewable energy by 2020.

In the end, a senior manager with the Summit informed the police that he had given us permission to be there and the crisis was averted—and I avoided my mother’s chastisement! The police did, however, provide an excellent prop in the story for the fight for climate justice, a metaphor for the intimidating battle we face. However, youth are up for the fight, working hard to lead the way towards concrete solutions to climate change—even as our national government flounders in the face of this global challenge.

Since the World Summit, the student climate movement has grown substantially. In California, with the aid of Greenpeace, students successfully pressured the University of California system to purchase 20% renewable energy by 2017. Students in Colorado turned out in record numbers in 2004 to cast winning votes for a proposition that requires a large increase in the state’s use of renewable energy. Energy Action, the new umbrella organization for two dozen student climate groups, organized students at over 100 campuses on “Fossil Fools Day” (April 1st) to raise awareness about the U.S. government’s unsustainable energy policies.

Although I am presently employed as the Grassroots Coordinator for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, I remain particularly proud of my volunteer work with SustainUS, the U.S. youth network for Sustainable Development.

I joined the new organization in 2000 for the “Bet” campaign, in which we challenged U.S. youth to beat the Kyoto Protocol targets through simple lifestyle choices. Despite lack of funding, SustainUS has since become the lead spokesperson for U.S. youth on the critical issues of water and sanitation, human settlements, energy, food, and climate. We have helped facilitate a U.S. youth presence at the World Summit, the UN Commission on Social Development, and the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Additionally, we have formed five local chapters that help bridge the gap between local action and international vision.

At times the challenge of climate change seems overwhelming, but as the movement grows through the work of great organizations like Energy Action and SustainUS, victory is the only outcome I can foresee. As young people, we will lead the way, with our message clear, simple, and united. For the future of this earth, for our children, and for ourselves, we demand Clean Energy Now...and we won’t rest until we make it happen.

Joshua Tulkin Steering Committee, SustainUS U.S. Government Liaison