Greta Thunberg isn’t the only youngster who’s trying to help make the world a better place, but the 17-year-old Jamie Margolin from Seattle too.
The young, but already passionate and dedicated teenager claims that climate anxiety has been a part of her life as long as she can remember.
She said that she recalls panicking about climate change while in second grade and running around the school and talking to students about it.
She even printed out ‘save the earth’ buttons and handed them out.
Then, she was like, ‘what do we do now?’ Unfortunately, she said that no one ever teaches youngsters how to take action. But, luckily, this girl figured out things on her own.
Now, she’s standing alongside Thunberg and other important young people who’re trying to fight off climate change.
Who Is Jamie Margolin & Why Is She Important?
At the age of 15, Margolin who resides in Seattle co-founded Zero Hour, an organization consisted of young climate change activists.
She propelled to action after she saw the destruction of Puerto Rico by the Hurricane Maria- a country that she cherishes a lot. This was the first Latin American country she visited and because of her Spanish heritage.
Around the same period, the smoke from wildfires in Canada was blowing towards Seattle and the city was suffocating in thick and dangerous smog. Unfortunately, some of her friends were sent to the ER because of respiratory issues.
The idea for the formation of the organization came after other young activists throughout the country, mostly high schoolers who talked via social media and video calls wanted to relay the urgency they felt.
Young People Are Trying to Wake Us Up
In 2018, the organization held climate marches in cities worldwide, including NY, London, and Washington.
They also met with lawmakers to talk about their platform and set out a list of demands of the needs for a livable future, as well as methods to lower energy consumption and ensure people worldwide have access to food, water, and housing.
Margolin Testifies in Front of Congress
In September, prior to lawmakers meeting in NY for the UN Climate Summit, Margolin gave her testimony in front of the congress alongside other peer climate change activists, including Thunberg.
She said to politicians during her statement that she’s missing a lot from school to be there.
It’s her senior year of high school and applications for college are looming. However, she barely started doing them as she’s quite busy making sure she’s actually going to have a future to study for.
According to a report from last year of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions need to be reduced by almost 50 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 to avert 2.7 degrees of warming.
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