This weekend, I watched young people mobilize around the world for climate action, and I felt a lot of things -- hope, pride, admiration, and even a bit of anger that we had to fight this battle in the first place. More than anything, I felt deeply in awe of the power of our generation.
It started with a single person, when Greta Thunberg held her first school strike. A year later, she and millions of others made global history with the largest climate protest ever. (Some of y’all even made it out -- read more on that at the bottom!)
It doesn’t end here. Today is National Voter Registration Day. Register to vote, make your voice heard, and encourage others to do the same. I don’t know if Greta knew what she was setting into motion that day in 2018, but what I do know is that it only takes one person to start a revolution. Let’s Do This.
- Jackie, DoSomething
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Days After Global Climate Strikes, UN Summit Brings Some Action, But Is It Enough?
2,500+ events. 153 countries. All seven continents. An estimated 4 million people showed up for the Global Climate Strikes, making it the largest climate protest in world history. The message to lawmakers was loud and clear: something needs to be done about the climate crisis now.
In response to youth voices, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on leaders to bring plans, not speeches to the UN Climate Action Summit on Monday. Some countries did promise steps to reduce their carbon footprints and employ clean energy, but most were small countries with relatively low emissions to begin with. The US, India, and China are the world’s largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions, and none of them announced plans to curb their impact.
There were a few wins. Groups of investors promised to divest from fossil fuels, and other businesses pledged to follow the environmental targets of the Paris Agreement. A few countries doubled their pledges to a fund that helps developing nations with climate efforts. In total, 70 countries said they would come up with tougher goals to reduce carbon emissions by 2020.
Take Action: It doesn’t stop here. Sign up for updates on what you can do to continue fighting for the future.
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This Year’s Emmys Brought Some Incredible “Queer Energy”
From the awards to the speeches to the outfits, there was some powerful LGBTQ+ representation at the 2019 Emmy Awards.
History was made when Pose’s Billy Porter became the first openly gay Black man to win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. As Patricia Arquette accepted her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, she honored her late sister Alexis and implored the audience to advocate for trans people and their rights.
Off the stage, Laverne Cox’s plus-one was ACLU staffer Chase Strangio, and the pair drew attention to October 8th -- the day the Supreme Court decides whether people can legally be fired for being LGBTQ+.
(Read the full list of Emmy winners here.)
Take Action: Learn how to be a better ally to LGBTQ+ folks by reading and sharing our crowdsourced ally guide.
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Merriam-Webster Adds Non-Binary “They” Pronoun to Their Dictionary
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary just added a defintion of “they” as a pronoun referring to non-binary people (who don’t identify as either male or female). Pronouns are words used to replace a noun when referring to someone, like she/her or he/him.
The reality is that non-binary people exist (and have always existed). Using the correct pronouns helps people feel accepted and understood. Celebs like Sam Smith and Amandla Stenberg use they/them pronouns, as do plenty of other folks -- hear more about it in their own words.
Merriam-Webster isn’t the first to recognize non-binary pronouns and identities. The Associated Press has already added the singular “they” to their AP Stylebook, and several states have approved non-binary gender markers for IDs, getting us that much closer to gender equality.
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Why aren’t more people talking about… how this 6-year-old was handcuffed and arrested for throwing a tantrum?
- *Totally* not jealous... that New Mexico is planning to offer its residents free college tuition.
- Meanwhile, in India… the government joined 27 other countries in banning the sale of e-cigs.
- And meanwhile in Seattle… city council leaders approved a plan to improve data collection and tribal collaboration related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
- My hero today is… Breakdown reader Niasia, 16, who was on the planning committee for a Youth R.I.S.E rally for gun violence prevention. (I used to live in Boston, and it’s SO cool to see the work you’re doing there!)
- Today in viral cuteness… this dog picking and eating a tomato from the garden.
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I’m obsessed with… Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Puffs. I’ve known for a while that the original Flamin’ Hot Cheetos slap, but I recently discovered that they also come in puff form, and it’s really revolutionized my snacking.
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We put out the call last week, and here’s what a few of you did for the Global Climate Strikes:
“I was the organizer of our school's very own climate strike and it became a sort of proactive discussion-circle in which all of the attendees participated. We had several speeches, then discussed the biggest problems facing our planet and came to a consensus on feasible solutions and how we could implement them at our own school, BASIS Ahwatukee. (I'm the one with the green hair!)” (Lydia, Arizona)
“I wasn't at a strike today but on Monday my youth group is scheduling one, I can't wait to see what we can do and all the changes we can make!” (Abbey)
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