We’re All in This Together
The Moral Turmoil of Young Climate Activists
By Hannah Charlson
Young climate activists entering the workforce are facing a moral paradox. We watch with dread as massive corporations grow astronomically at the expense of the natural world. But now, in order to survive, we have to work for the same corporations releasing the carbon, generating the waste, and exploiting the labor that got us here in the first place.
My generation often receives criticism for our disdain towards capitalism, attributing it to laziness. But we’re not lazy – we’re grieving. Entering the destructive cycle of production and consumption that is today’s workforce initially feels like a punch to the gut. We mourn the world that could have been. Yet, we can’t allow these feelings to paralyze us. We need to challenge one of capitalism’s most powerful fuels: individualism.
In conversations about sustainability, individual action dominates. However, individuals are not the top contributor to the climate crisis. A 2017 report from the Carbon Disclosure Project found that 71% of all industrial greenhouse gas emissions produced since 1988 came from just 100 companies. Disarming companies that hold extensive responsibility for the climate crisis will be most influential.
Your biggest impact will not come from recycling every piece of plastic or driving an electric car. While those actions have their place, individual action is not what got us here and individual action will not get us out. Young climate activists prioritize actions like investing in public transportation and taxing carbon. Actions like these require a lot of people to cause a lot of commotion, as proven by Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL). In 2022, CCL mobilized their people power and pushed legislators to pass the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act, a turning point in federal investments in carbon reduction.
The solution requires exerting political and social pressure on those in power. Canvass, shop local, call your senators, ride the bus. Individual action is exhausting and often unaffordable. Collective action sustains us through community and has a greater impact.
We have the solutions…
We have the solutions to the climate crisis – electrification, carbon sinks, and reforestation, to name a few. What we need now is to gather together with our individual sparks and erupt in a blaze of collective action.
Sustainable action only works if the action can truly be sustained. So, take whatever job will pay your bills, drive the car you can afford, and join the collective climate fight.
Hannah Charlson is a 23-year-old climate activist and recent Vassar College graduate, with a BA in psychology and environmental studies. Currently working in third-party greenhouse gas verification, she combines her passion for the planet with a commitment to realistic optimism in the fight against climate change.
