“A Clean Energy Economy Forum hosted by the White House would have been unthinkable four years ago, so it was remarkable to watch the administration itself address youth on climate change yesterday. Young people have historically been absent from the political process, so I am honored to be alive during such an important time. It was amazing to watch Washington higher-ups yielding not to our wishes, but to our “demands”. I am currently working in Florida with students and youth leaders to pass a renewable energy investment fund at the University of Florida. We are excited to build off the momentum created by this historic forum, and we are thrilled to be part of the movement for sustainability on our campuses, in our communities, and in the world.”

Chris Cano, Outreach Coordinator for Gators for a Sustainable Campus at the University of Florida, hosted a live screening of the forum from his campus.

Yesterday the White House opened its doors to over 150 young people eager to share their views about the climate crisis and concerns about the administration’s lack of public advocacy on the matter.  Never before has the executive branch in our government expressed so much willingness to listen to and work with young people, especially on the monumental issue of ending the climate crisis.

This forum was the culmination of years of hard work by youth climate activists nationwide. Morgan Goodwin, a fellow of the Avaaz Action Factory in Washington D.C. and a seasoned climate activist himself, wrote a fantastic post that is well worth a read to get the picture of how incredibly successful the youth climate movement has been at building and exercising power, and how it finally culminated with the White House forum. Excitement about this meeting was profound, leading to restless sleep in some of the participants who capitalized on their restlessness by writing a hard hitting letter to President Obama urging immediate and bold action. (more…)