This Mother's Day, Youth Will March to Demand Action on Climate Change

Whatever your age, the world's inaction in combating global warming is frustrating.

But for kids, doubly so. This is the "future generation" that academics and politicians so often speak of in the abstract when they talk about climate change. It is the generation of people, who, in the coming decades, will be left to clean up the mess left by today's adults.

That's why Alec Loorz is organizing an uprising. He is 16 and has already spent all of his teenage years educating his peers about climate change. He founded the organization Kids vs. Global Warming as a sophomore in high school last year.

On May 8th (Mother's Day in the U.S.), that uprising will begin.

The iMatter March will be a day for youth to take to the streets in cities around the world and demand their governments protect their future by reducing greenhouse gas emissions today. Older folks—including mothers concerned about the welfare of their children—are also welcome to join.

Here's what Alec says:

"Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time. Our societyʼs addiction to fossil fuels is messing with the perfect balance of nature and threatening the survival of our generation. It needs to stop, and we will not sit idly by as our leaders make decisions that affect our future.

So on May 8, we will march. The youth will rise up in our communities and let the world know that climate change is not about money, itʼs not about power, itʼs not about convenience: It is about our survival. Itʼs about the future of this and every generation to come. And we are ready to do whatever it takes to change it.

There will be marches in cities all over the world, everywhere from New York City to New Dehli to Canton, Georgia to Mexico City. And we need you to march with us."

You can check out the iMatter website to learn how to participate in a march or help organize one. Also check out the group's Facebook page for updates.

The group has also started a petition on Change.org that it is using in an innovative way. The petition and the stories it helps gather will be submitted as an "Amicus Curiae" or "Friend of the Court" brief in lawsuits around the country that involve questions of climate change and dirty energy sources. This type of brief is a legal document sent to court judges asking them to consider issues they might not have heard otherwise in whatever case is in front of them.

With enough stories and petition signers, the brief they will put together will be a powerful document of moral force. It will be the voice of conscience on a judge's shoulders as he or she listens to the lawyers of oil companies and power plant owners try to convince him that action is unnecessary, and even illegal.

Here's what you do: When you sign the petition, check the box to leave a personalized comment. Tell your story—it is worth telling. Write a short paragraph telling how your life will be impacted by our changing climate. Lawyers will weave these stories into the cases on behalf of youth.

Sign here right now, and then participate in a march the week of May 8th.

Follow Change.org's Environment page on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credit: Courtesy of iMatter March