Thousands of children are silent today, joining an 11-year-old boy who is on his 41st day of his vow not to speak until world leaders take action on climate change.
"Why should kids go to school and learn a bunch of stuff if there is not going to be a world worth living in?, asks Itzcuauhtli Roske-Martinez. So-called "leaders" are failing us, he says, and we now face a crisis that threatens everyone’s future.
He performs "eco-hip-hop" and is in NYC today for the Climate Justice protest on International Human Rights Day, after co-leading the People’s Climate March in September.
Actor Mark Ruffalo writes, "I am also made heartsick by your despair, little one. Your silence is a symbol of the silence that will come from doing nothing."
The sixth-grader says the US-China climate agreement is not strong enough. Scientists say we must cap carbon in the next year. If we wait another 15 years, which is when China said they’d cap carbon, it’s going to be too late."
His 14-year-old brother, Xiuhtezcatl, is also in NYC today. He heads the youth group Earth Guardians and is co-plaintiff in a youth lawsuit that would force action on climate change. It got all the way to the Supreme Court, which sadly decided not to take it up. Attorneys are filing legal actions in every state. Learn more.
Quite a family! The boys learned to honor the Earth from their father, a member of the Aztec tribe. They live in Boulder, Colorado.
Watch his video, "Silent To Be Heard"
The brothers want world leaders to implement the planetary "prescription" written by climate experts, the same remedies being fought for in the lawsuits:
1. Agree on and implement a Global Climate Recovery Plan to get us back to a safe zone of 350 ppm;
2. Massively reforest the planet to help absorb our excess carbon;
3. Support renewable energy solutions to replace the dirty fossil fuel industry.
"I don’t know where this road will take me, but I hope it inspires parents and adults to rise up to protect us," says Itzcuauhtli, who may remain silent through the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015.
Take a moment to visit the Earth Guardians website and Climate Silence website:
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Hurrah for the kids … and thanks to Sustainable Business for helping put their message out!
We as adults should bow our heads in shame, to leave the future of our planet in the hands of such young people