If I've given you the impression that Greta Thunberg (see list of posts I've written about her recently at the end of this article) is the only child activist out there, mea culpa - there are other awesome young people out there doing such effective activism it boggles the mind. Today I'm going to focus on one boy I learned about last night on BBC - an incredible young person who, like Greta, has already accomplished much in the smidge over a decade he's been on this planet.
Introducing Levi Draheim, (now) 11 years old
Frankly, he looks striking. And he is unbelievably articulate, to the point that the BBC anchors discussing him last night could reasonably have been accused of gushing about him. If you're in the UK, you can watch the 19 March episode of Beyond 100 Days here for the next month (the rest of us are out of luck; "it's a rights issue," says BBC).
Here's a short bio from the site of one of the causes he's involved in, Our Children's Trust:
"I work hard to protect the environment and animals near my home. I want my government to work hard to protect my future and the future of the animals and ecosystems in our country."
"You have to find the way of nature," is one of Levi's messages for the world from his beloved home of a barrier island in Florida, just 13ft above sea level. His island has been impacted by environmental issues from red algal blooms to increasing storms from climate change. After Hurricane Matthew, Levi volunteered replanting the dunes at the beach, where he also does litter clean-ups. The youngest #youthvgov plaintiff, Levi has been speaking at marches and rallies in his neighborhood to bring attention to the risk climate change poses to low-lying Florida. He is also a painter and a dreamer who is part of the lawsuit to imagine and build a better future.
Did he appear out of nowhere?
Noooooooo.
Apparently he's been an activist since he was 9. That group, Our Children's Trust, provides legal support to a group of 21 plaintiffs aged 9 to 20 which filed a lawsuit in 2015 against...wait for it...the US government (yes, the US government, that one) on the grounds that it has "knowingly endangered them by promoting the burning of fossil fuels". The lawsuit is known as Juliana v United States. Our Children's Trust also supports a number of other legal actions and help young people not only find their environmental voice but help them put legal weight behind it.
Is he the only other child prodigy out there?
Noooooooo again.
I'm not sure when that photo of the Our Children's Trust group was taken, but I think Levi might have been 9 in the photo.
And there are others. But today's story was about remarkable young Levi Draheim. Let's give him some collective encouragement for his inspiring endeavours.
References
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/levi
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/florida-levi-draheim-of-our-childrens-trust-is-suing-us-government-over-climate-change-2007351
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/02/trump-climate-lawsuit/516054/
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/10/16/climate-change-11-year-old-suing-government
Past posts on Greta Thunberg, leading youth activist recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the #ClimateStrike movement
https://steemit.com/cop24/@kiligirl/cop24-the-proceedings-begin-bad-news-and-good
https://steemit.com/globalwarming/@kiligirl/the-real-adult-in-the-room-is-still-the-teenager-greta-thunberg-at-the-world-economic-forum
https://steemit.com/gretathunberg/@kiligirl/who-is-greta-thunberg
https://steemit.com/fridaysforfuture/@kiligirl/striking-for-climate-justice
https://steemit.com/nobelpeaceprize/@kiligirl/greta-thunberg-has-been-nominated-for-the-nobel-peace-prize
https://steemit.com/fridaysforfuture/@kiligirl/climate-strike-15-march-2019-a-roaring-success
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