Tag Archive for: youth

AYEA Kicks off a Summer of Arts in Action!

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Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) is gearing up to host our annual fall Youth Organizer Summit in September, and with applications open for just 2 more days, this Summit is already shaping up to be our biggest and best yet since we resumed in-person gatherings post-pandemic! We already have applications pouring in from across the state! Here at AYEA, we’re very excited about this fall’s Summit because it marks the beginning of AYEA’s next 2-year statewide campaign cycle. AYEA is youth-led, meaning teens choose and lead all of AYEA’s projects and campaigns. The teens that gather this fall will decide on an issue that is important to them and their peers and then build and execute a statewide campaign that seeks to address it!

This also means that it’s time to tool-up with some new campaign skills! To build excitement and skills in preparation for AYEA’s next moves, we’re excited to host a series of Arts-in-Action workshops this summer for teens in Fairbanks, Kodiak, and Anchorage! Know a teen in one of those communities? They can register here! 

Community organizers have long used art to tell stories and make bold statements that inspire community action – and AYEA is no exception! Scroll down to see some inspiring art and messages that AYEA teens have created over the years! From raising awareness about plastic bag bans and statewide youth climate strikes to direct action with art at the state capitol building to demand education funding (not once, but twice!), AYEA teens know the power of a bold statement or eye-catching art piece to share their message!

At our summer workshops, teens will learn arts-in-action techniques like screen printing, block printing, and banner painting that they can use in their communities. They’ll also get to create and share their own messages about whatever issues are important to them! Any teens who attend the fall Summit with these new tools under their belts will be poised to help their fellow organizers develop art and messaging to launch their new campaign. 

We even kicked off the summer with some art at Trailside Discovery Camp’s Youth Leaders in Action week, where AYEA teens joined Trailside youth to learn about the impacts of climate change on Alaska’s ecosystems, and actions we can take to address it. Along with the help of an AYEA teen, Trailside youth tried out some fun block printing skills and worked on creating their own messages for action.


AYEA Arts in Action workshops are coming up next month in the following places. Help us share with teens you know!

Fairbanks Workshop – July 7
Kodiak Workshop – July 20th
Anchorage Workshop – July 31


A big Thank You to the Martha Levensaler Fund and the Alaska Conservation Foundation for supporting this project! We can’t wait to share the inspiring work that is created! 

Earth Day and the Electric Cooperative

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Tomorrow is Earth Day, a day to reflect on and celebrate our home and our future. Now more than ever, we need to support policies designed to protect our planet and the systems that enable life, including the climate system.

The headlines are full of dire warnings about climate change, and it can feel like an insurmountable problem and that we are well behind the eight ball. Yet, as we face steep challenges, we must also realize that there is hope:

The children and teens of today are perhaps the most engaged and galvanized generation the world has ever seen on the need for climate justice.

The conservation movement is beginning to recognize the value of Indigenous knowledge and work to decolonize their practices while amplifying Indigenous leadership.

The Biden Administration is the most climate-oriented administration we have ever elected, and with enough pressure, we could see him make some dramatic and effective climate commitments.

More and more, the economic argument for renewable energy is now almost irrefutable.

The movement that started Earth Day resounds in all of those who are taking action to protect our climate and our planet: The Alaska Youth for Environmental Action leading climate strikes, the youth plaintiffs in the Sagoonik v. State of Alaska youth climate action lawsuit, advocates for climate policy action at the state and federal level, even those who serve on our electric utility boards and those who advocate with our utility boards to increase the share of renewable energy that utilities produce or purchase. There is hope, and there is action, and both are going to help us as we confront the challenges of climate change head-on.

That is why tomorrow, on Earth Day, The Alaska Center is hosting a Climate, Care, and Community event to highlight the importance of getting involved with your local electric utility entitled “You are your utility.”

Do you pay an electric bill to Matanuska Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association, or Homer Electric Association? If so, that makes you a member-owner of your electric utility! Want to know more about your rights as a member-owner and ways to get involved with local energy democracy? Join us TOMORROW, April 22, at noon to hear from member-owners across the railbelt who stepped up to create change in their utilities!

JOIN THE ZOOM SESSION

More people getting involved with their electric utility leads to a greater diversity of thought and increased transparency and accountability for our electricity providers. We will be relying on these cooperatives increasingly to unlock carbon emission reductions in the transportation and industrial sectors of our economy, so ultimately, our electric cooperatives will have a significant role in decreasing carbon emissions.

It may not be the sexiest way to celebrate Earth Day. Still, we believe that even actions like increased participation in utilities can lead to significant changes in our ongoing fight to protect our beautiful planet.

See you tomorrow,
The Alaska Center

Climate Rights

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Do current and future generations have a constitutional right to a safe climate? Sixteen youth plaintiffs filed a constitutional climate lawsuit against their state government in 2017 to argue that we do have such a right. 
In Sagoonick v. State of Alaska, the young plaintiffs assert that Alaska’s fossil fuel energy policy and the State-authorized fossil fuel development and ensuing greenhouse gas emissions that result have caused and contributed to Alaska’s climate crisis. The policies have placed the youth plaintiffs in danger and are harming their health, safety, homes, culture, and Native villages in violation of Alaska’s Constitution.
On January 28, 2022, in a split 3-2 decision, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled against the young plaintiffs. On February 7, the youth plaintiffs filed a petition for rehearing of their case, asking the Court to reconsider its decision and allow their case to go forward. The youth were disappointed about the February 25 denial of their petition, but the fight is far from over. 
State lawmakers have taken note of how close the decision in Sagoonick was. Representative Ben Carpenter, a Republican from the fossil-fuel embracing town of Nikiski, took to the House Floor to make a note of this. Representative Carpenter stated, “this isn’t going away” and that “the implication here…is that State…oil exploration policy…our energy policies…need to be adjusted for an individual’s right to have a safe climate.”  
While some lawmakers may take the close decision as a warning that the state’s petroleum industry is under attack by the youth, Carpenter’s words offered another assessment – sobering to some – that the courts are coming around to the idea of a right to a safe climate.   
Suppose an industry or a policy effectively uses our atmosphere as a dumping place for a chemical byproduct that is enough quantity can put into question the ability of mammals to survive on the planet. In that case, you bet today’s young people should try their level best to stop any additional inputs of that chemical byproduct. The courts are taking note of the danger ahead if we cannot radically decrease the emissions of CO2 and methane into the air. Too much is at stake for this issue to just go away. Expect future lawsuits, legislation, and petitions for rulemaking from the young people of our state and nation.  
Government regulations on industry are in place to protect our health and, ultimately, our individual freedom. The brave youth plaintiffs in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska are fighting for our individual health, individual freedom, and collective health and freedom. These youth are true patriots, and their actions resonate with other youth. Change is coming.
Yours,
The Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Voice Your Support on March 1st\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”9″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”10″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”11″ ][cs_element_button _id=”12″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills To Watch This Week\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”13″ ][cs_element_button _id=”14″ ][cs_content_seo]Learn More About Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]