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GoGreenNation News: Youth at the forefront of climate change litigation
GoGreenNation News: Youth at the forefront of climate change litigation

Young climate advocates are challenging the U.S. government in court, demanding accountability for climate change inactions.Ruxandra Guidi reports for High Country News.In short:Young activists, including a notable 23-year-old plaintiff in the Juliana v. United States case, leverage legal battles to hold the U.S. government accountable for climate negligence.These legal challenges, rooted in the Atmospheric Trust Litigation principle, assert the government's failure to protect the constitutional rights of its younger citizens.Historical context shows that youth have always been pivotal in driving significant political movements, emphasizing the enduring power of young voices in societal change.Key quote:“There are simple things you can do in your own homes, like not let the water run, or turn off the lights when you’re not using them. You could teach these things to your children. Every choice we make is for or against our future.”— 6-year-old Xiuhtezcatl MartinezWhy this matters:The impact of youth activism is undeniable. It has reinvigorated older generations of environmentalists, brought climate issues to the forefront of political debates, and even influenced the strategies of nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups. Their call for action is not just about reducing carbon emissions or protecting natural habitats but encompasses a broader vision of social justice, equity, and intergenerational responsibility.Youth environmental activism has moved us forward in many ways—but to maximize this impact we need coalitions that learn from the past in order to prepare for the future.

Cinema Verde Presents: Impossible Town
Cinema Verde Presents: Impossible Town

Past Presentation | After observing exceptionally abnormal rates of cancer in his Minden patients in the mid 1980s, Pakistani-born oncologist Dr. Hassan Amjad became the southern West Virginian town’s greatest champion, advocating fiercely for recognition of the persistent risk to human health caused by carcinogenic PCBs left from the mining industry. Some thirty-five years and three EPA clean-up attempts later, Minden remains largely ignored even as its population has dwindled from over 1200 to just under 250. When Hassan passes from a massive heart attack at the age of 70, his unsuspecting daughter Ayne, also a physician, inherits his decades-long advocacy efforts overnight. Grief-stricken but spurred by her father’s mandate to “help others” at all costs, Ayne hatches an ambitious plan to relocate the entire town to a 97-acre plot of land purchased by her late father as a retirement site. As she mobilizes allies in Minden and beyond, she is surprised to discover that her biggest challenge is an attachment to home that makes the town’s most endangered residents reluctant to leave. When a global pandemic unexpectedly thrusts Ayne into a powerful state government position, she sees an opportunity to move past her stalled relocation efforts and expand her locus of impact well beyond Minden. Ironically, the more Ayne pours herself into this new role, the more distance she creates from her closest allies – the Minden activists that have been involved since her father’s work began some four decades earlier. What’s more, her new work requires that she abandon her private practice and her hopes for a family of her own, subsuming her identity almost completely. As pressures mount on all sides – the creeping sickness of Minden’s aging residents, the growing sense of futility around achieving meaningful change in the cancer-stricken town, and the never ending political stresses associated with working at the state level – Ayne enlists the help of her personal lawyer to build a class-action lawsuit against the EPA in a last-ditch effort to help. Minden’s activist residents bristle at the new attorney’s aggressive approach, and this partnership implodes in dramatic fashion when small town gossip leads to accusations of fraud. Left with few options, Ayne feels stuck between a deeply ingrained mandate to “help others” that is the legacy of her late father and the increasing realization that she is sacrificing her own life in an attempt to do so. With the cathartic acknowledgment that her father’s death continues to haunt her, she must choose between her sense of duty and her own happiness. IMPOSSIBLE TOWN shows us tireless social and environmental struggle through the eyes of a cast of characters that complicate common rural Appalachian stereotypes. Dr. Ayne Amjad alone is a study in contrasts: a devout Republican with a strong activist bent, a daughter of immigrants who is a pillar of her largely white community, and a wealthy physician-turned-public-servant who spends her time advocating for her disenfranchised and low-income neighbors. With Ayne and the rest of our cast, nothing is as it seems. In addition to adding to the breadth of stories about how environmental catastrophes disproportionately affect the poor, IMPOSSIBLE TOWN has much to say about our complex relationships with home – the connections we form with the places we’re from, and the difficulty we have in letting go of those places, even when they’re killing us. Through the ambitions of Ayne and other Minden activists, the film explores the persistent modern American fantasy that complex issues are best solved through singular heroes and miracle solutions rather than the decidedly grittier work of slow and patient social, political, and legal exercises. Most poignantly, IMPOSSIBLE TOWN is an ode to the way we commune with our parents long after they’ve left this plane, their aspirations and legacies lighting our paths to unanticipated destinations, their absence leaving a painful void in our lives that never fully heals.

Cinema Verde Presents: The Great Divide
Cinema Verde Presents: The Great Divide

Now Playing | Twenty minutes outside of Visalia, amidst the seemingly endless rows of citrus trees, Yolanda Cuevas packs enchiladas with shredded chicken for her husband Benjamin, their adult daughters and two teenaged grandchildren in her modest single-story home. Their house is the first one off the main drag, one of 83 lining the two crumbling roads that comprise the tiny town of Tooleville. Yolanda must wash the tomatoes for the salsa first in the sink and then again with a splash of clean water from a 5-gallon jug. The process is arduous, and though she’s resigned to do it, she’s not happy about it. Along with Tooleville’s several hundred other residents, Yolanda’s family has survived on bi-weekly delivery of water to their homes for the past 12 years. It’s an annoyance for the family, and it’s expensive for the State of California, which has been paying for the replacement water since the discovery of Chromium-6 (the same chemical featured in Erin Brokovich) in the water. The simpler solution would be to consolidate the town’s water system with that of its larger, affluent neighbor to the west, Exeter. And for this purpose, Yolanda has become a reluctant activist, attending community meetings in Tooleville and lobbying for consolidation at Exeter’s city council meetings under the expert guidance of Pedro Hernandez, an organizer with the Leadership Counsel. While Exeter has resisted the consolidation since it was first proposed, organizers like Pedro feel that this could be the year Exeter finally succumbs to the growing community pressure and brings Tooleville into the fold. The decision will echo around the Central Valley and across the state, as hundreds of similar community water systems find themselves in a nearly identical predicament.

GoGreenNation News: Jane Goodall reflects on hope and youth's role in environmental activism
GoGreenNation News: Jane Goodall reflects on hope and youth's role in environmental activism

On her 90th birthday, Jane Goodall shares insights on environmental conservation, emphasizing the critical role of hope and youth activism in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.Rhett A. Butler reports for Mongabay.In short:Goodall discusses the significance of fostering hope amidst environmental challenges, using the metaphor of navigating towards a shining star of hope.She underscores the impact of youth engagement in environmental activism, advocating for their influence on elections and policy changes.Goodall highlights her journey and contributions to primatology and conservation, stressing the importance of empathy and understanding in our relationship with the natural world.Key quote:"I’ve come to think of humanity as being at the mouth of a very long very dark tunnel and right at the end there’s a little star shining. And that’s hope."— Jane Goodall, primatologist and environmental advocateWhy this matters:Jane Goodall's legacy is vast and profoundly influential, not just within the realms of primatology and environmental conservation, but also in shaping public perceptions about our relationship with the natural world. Beyond her scientific achievements, Goodall is renowned for her unwavering optimism and belief in the power of young people to effect change.Our global systems, which are designed for perpetual growth, need to be fundamentally restructured to avoid the worst-case outcome.

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