Conversations With Two Bay Area Youth Climate Activists
Oona Clark, who came to Bay Area Youth Climate Summit after working with Sunrise Movement and providing voter education on the Green New Deal, knows how inaccessible activism can feel. “I didn’t know where to start, and I think that’s one of the biggest obstacles for youth activists,” says the 17-year-old. She encourages budding activists to look inwards. “Find your niche. Figure out what you’re good at, what you want to do. There’s going to be a way you can apply it.”
Through the Summit, Clark is working to break down the barriers that keep youth from joining the movement. “Not everybody has to be Greta Thunberg. If you can only devote one hour a week that’s fine. There’s so many people behind each power activist—and you can be one of those people,” she says.
For Clark, the importance of intersectionality in the climate movement is always top of mind. “I view the climate crisis as very important and that’s what I want to be directly involved in. But all these systemic issues like racism and sexism are connected, so wherever you are, whatever your passion is, it’s all important right now.”
After originally discovering the event on Instagram, Natalie Tam helped plan last year’s youth climate summit. While she may have connected online, Tam’s motivation to fight for the planet comes from her offline experiences. “I love to go to Ocean Beach and look at the water and the Marin Headlands, and think about how beautiful our planet is, and the fact that we only have one home.”
As a youth activist, Tam feels heard and supported within her school by teachers and administrators, but has observed that many adults resist change because they find it uncomfortable.
She has learned that the best way to encourage people to adopt more sustainable lifestyles is to make alternatives approachable. “A lot of people think it’s out of their control, like I’m just one person and I don’t matter. But really there is so much power in individual change, and you can use your actions—from what companies you support and what food you buy—to create another world.”
First published in RARA Review, April 2021.
Other Recent Posts
Regional Housing Agency Invests in Affordability
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority is launching a loan program to support the construction of mixed-income rental properties.
The End is Coming for California’s Untouchable Grass
The law, which applies to grass that isn’t used for recreational purposes, could cut urban water use across California by more than 20% says Oakland thinktank.
Sonoma Vineyard Workers Burn toward a Better Future
A group of immigrant farmworkers are forming a worker-owned cooperative to bring back Indigenous burning practices that used to revitalize the soil.
Los trabajadores de los viñedos de Sonoma queman por un futuro mejor
Un grupo de trabajadores agrícolas inmigrantes está formando una cooperativa de propiedad de los trabajadores para recuperar las prácticas indígenas de quema que solían revitalizar el suelo año tras año.
New Voices Shape Design of Berkeley’s North Basin Strip
Twenty acres of parkland between the highway and the Berkeley shore are slated for a coast-resilient makeover, with input from locals and stakeholders.
It’s Always Sunny In North Fair Oaks
Residents of the unincorporated community launched their second campaign in two years to get the county to care for dying street trees.
Siempre está soleado en North Fair Oaks
Los residentes de la comunidad no incorporada lanzaron su segunda campaña en dos años para lograr que el condado se ocupe de los árboles de la calle que se están muriendo.
Can Nature Help California’s Coast Fight Fire and Floods?
Local and state leaders gather for September summit on how to mainstream nature-based infrastructure.
