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How two generations are fighting against climate change by focusing their attention on age and finances
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How two generations are fighting against climate change by focusing their attention on age and finances

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Editor’s Note: The Florida Television Network rebroadcast the program. The State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed that an announcement would be made on Thursday, April 21st.

Delaney Reynolds, a teenager, took on Florida’s climate change lawsuit. She was the leading plaintiff in a case involving pollution. Lawyers for the state argued that there is no legal guarantee that the climate will be protected from the effects of climate change.

The case was finally dismissed by a state circuit court judge. The judge stated that the lawsuit was legitimate but dismissed it.

Reynolds was not discouraged. Reynolds and others were then encouraged. DemandedThe state follows two laws that were passed many years ago, directing the Department of Agriculture in order to set goals for switching electricity production from fossil fuels towards renewable energy. One month after the petition was submitted, the Notice filed by Department of Agriculture and Consumer ServicesIt said that it was working to develop a rule, which would include “the gradual elimination of energy production from sources non-renewable.”

FPL, the largest electricity provider, generates about 70% of its electricity from natural gas.

Reynolds expects an announcement about those goals will be made Friday — on Earth Day.

“It’s going, quite honestly, to be a landmark change in the state of Florida when referring to climate solutions. And I’m very excited about that,” she stated.

The Department of Agriculture refused to confirm any announcement made to WLRN. If the commissioner sets goals that Florida electricity comes from renewable energy, this would be the first time the state government has set specific timelines for reducing greenhouse gasses and increasing clean energy.

Climate activist Delaney Reynolds, 22, speaks at a press conference where U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla, was announcing a solar power initiative for the state, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in South Miami. Reynolds, who founded The Sink or Swim Project at the age of 15, continues to run her non-profit and push for policy change, while also pursuing dual PhD and law degrees. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Rebecca Blackwell/AP

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AP

22-year-old climate activist Delaney Reynolds speaks at a press conference in which U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla) announced a solar power initiative. The event was held Wednesday, February 9, 2022 in South Miami. Reynolds, who founded The Sink or Swim Project in her 15th year, continues to run her non profit and advocate for policy change while simultaneously pursuing dual law and doctoral degrees. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Reynolds was born in Miami and raised in the Lower Keys. She’s now studying for a law degree and a PhD in environmental science and policy at the University of Miami.

Although Reynolds is only in her 20s, Reynolds has been active since childhood, raising awareness among young people about the danger of sea level rising, especially in South Florida. She is frustrated by the inaction of older generations.

“I would say we are fed up with it, quite honestly. She said that she believes that this is something that has been manifesting over the past few years.

An environmental activist and veteran of climate activism agrees. Bill McKibben has been arguing to pay attention to climate change since the late 1980s before the phrase ‘climate change’ was well-known outside of the scientific and environmental communities.

In his first book, The End of Nature, McKibben wrote, “Changes that can affect us can happen in our lifetime in our world — not just changes like wars but bigger and more sweeping events. I believe that without recognizing it we have already stepped over the threshold of such a change: that we are at the end of nature.”

It was 1989.

LISTEN MORE – McKibben shares his thoughts on why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a turning moment for fossil fuel.

“It’s both wrong, morally and impractical, to demand the biggest problems in the world be solved by 17 year olds — to tell them that in between algebra homework and field hockey practice, they also have to save the world,” he said during an interview while visiting South Florida in March.

Both activists are focused upon mobilizing their peers, and the power that commerce has on climate change. McKibben says McKibben is asking people over 60 for their economic power to change corporate climate behavior.

“We vote in amazing numbers. Washington is governed by us. McKibben stated that, whether it was fair or not, all the money ended up in our favor.

Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben.
Bill McKibben is an author and environmental activist.

McKibben is calling for action to reduce the concentration of assets as a focus of his latest appeal to action for fellow Baby Boomers. McKibben founded Third Act last January to help people over 60. He also knows Floridians are a key target audience due to their rapidly increasing over-60 population.

He stated, “I think that older Floridians need to make a decision.” He described that choice as being reflected on a bumper sticker that says “I’m spending the inheritance of my child” or “defending their inheritance.”

He is asking older consumers for more spending power. He threatens to cancel credit card accounts and close four big banks accounts by the end of this year if the banks don’t stop funding fossil fuel projects.

“The most important thing an individual can accomplish at this point, is to be less of an individual.” He said that it was important to join forces with others in large-scale movements that can shift the economy and politics. “We’re not in a position to solve this crisis one Tesla. It is necessary to be able move it one senator at time, one country at a.

Reynolds’ generation may not yet have the voting or spending power. “We aren’t the largest population at the moment. That’s the older generation — the Baby Boomers — so they often dominate the voting numbers,” she said. “But I think we’ll see more of this as we vote more and more, as we realize that voting is a very important means for us to voice our opinion and get things done like climate change.

Reynolds stated that she learned this lesson from her failed climate lawsuit against the government. “It gets in my way of everything. She said, “It’s a long process. This is what I learned.”

Politics is a reality. As state legislators debated a measure this spring, Officially creating a statewide Office of ResilienceThe state transportation department must develop a plan for resilience. ModificationIt was defeated to expand the duties of the office to “reduce the root cause of sea level rise, flooding”

According to Census Bureau data, Generation Z is slightly ahead of the Baby Boomers according to Delaney. Millennials is the largest generation in terms of population, according the inexact definitions.

Reynolds stated, “I believe that the way we spend our money matters a lot and it’s something we need to think about more.” “So, as we move forward, it’s going be expensive to fix climate change, even on an individual level.

Copyright 2022 WLRN 93.FM. For more information, visit WLRN 91.3 FM.



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