Building a greener future
Writer Mary Hiatt is a Senior at Columbus Signature Academy New Tech, in Columbus, Indiana. This story, published here on Sept. 29, was republished by Indiana Environmental Reporter on Oct. 27.
On September 16, 2022, Confront the Climate Crisis (CTCC), in partnership with Earth Charter Indiana (ECI), hosted a climate policy conference at the Indiana Interchurch Center in Indianapolis. CTCC is a student-led campaign taking on climate justice, changing the world around us, and so much more. There were speeches, presentations, and break-out sessions. Approximately 120 attended, nearly half of whom were high school students. [Disclosure: conference co-host ECI is also the program sponsor for Youth Environmental Press Team.]
Numerous presenters shared insights, including Guidon Design, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), Citizens Action Coalition, Indiana Forest Alliance, and many more. They tackled topics such as recycling architectural materials, reduction of fossil fuel use in big manufacturing companies, sustainability within businesses, and reducing energy use in their buildings.
The initial speaker and host, Rahul Durai, a high school Junior and co-founder and co-executive director for CTCC, described what that organization is about. This group has students from dozens of schools across Indiana to address the climate emergency, and a main focus of the organization is to inform and teach the Indiana state legislature about climate issues.
These young advocates are aware that this worldwide issue of climate change will not get better unless people are actively working to fix it. This includes addressing the causes of climate change, such as reducing carbon emissions from transportation, energy, and buildings. By working with stakeholders in Indiana, CTCC demonstrates a great hope to make a real difference.
Breylin Stewart, a Junior at CSA New Tech who attended the conference, said, “There are so many solutions to reduce the amount of pollution going into our ecosystem that I could think of right now. This is just one of those things that the world around us likes to avoid.”
Questions arise. What can be done? How much time left is there before things drastically get worse? When will people realize that they cannot run from this anymore?
Ben Inskeep with CAC spoke at the conference about the benefits of solar power at schools. Photo by Chenyao Liu.
A conference to change the world
Sarah Mincey, Managing Director for IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute, spoke over Zoom about ERI’s work in Indiana on climate. Mincey said that the extent of damage in our environment Is impossible to take back, but some of the damage can be undone.
“Indiana is getting warmer and wetter,” Mincey stated. “The temperatures are rising and the amount of rainfall is increasing. Creating a multitude of problems …The decline of winter seasons are in store for us if we continue on every day with ignorance.”
Mincey emphasized that lower income communities do not have the ability to flee the effects of climate change. Equality is impossible to accomplish when human-created pollution is affecting lower income families and communities all around them. This quickly turns from being an environmental problem to also addressing political and economic justice issues.
Ben Inskeep with Citizens Action Coalition (CAC), explained in his presentation how schools in Indiana could benefit tremendously from solar power. Inskeep also encouraged the transition from traditional lighting to LED; in other words he emphasized energy efficiency as well as renewable energy.
A Terre Haute high school Junior, Ahan Bhattacharyya (left, photo by Chenyao Liu), also spoke at the conference. Last summer, Bhattacharyya served as an intern for Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett, who asked him to write a report on the city’s recent greenhouse gas inventory, a precursor to a climate action plan. Bhattacharyya presented the report and how it can help his city to be more prepared for the climate crisis.
There are many approaches that can be made to this crisis. Firstly, people need to be informed. That is the strongest superpower these Hoosiers hold in the face of a storm. This upcoming generation is so well educated on this topic and is doing what they can to teach other people far and wide.
Making a change
Environmental Science teacher and mentor at CSA New tech, Bridget Steele, who brought New Tech students to the conference, said, “If more people would just listen to what we have to say the differences could be seen by now.”
CSA New Tech environmentalist and Senior, Savannah Steele, said, “I will keep attending these events until I physically cannot anymore.”
Looking around the room right now, this writer sees many impressive students and advocates. It was such an amazing opportunity to hear these people speak on the very real concerns in our environment today. We are all aware that this isn’t going to go away if we ignore it. What we can do is take action to make it less harmful. We can reduce the damage we are causing if we just take this seriously.
CTCC’s Rahul Durai, concluded, “We know that the state of Indiana can be a leader in reversing emissions and pursuing climate solutions, and we are more excited than ever to continue to work with people like you for the future of Indiana!”
To learn more about Confront the Climate Crisis, visit their website.
