skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Young activists call on Biden administration to declare climate emergency

play audio
Play

Monday, December 11, 2023   

Young activists are pressuring President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and use the additional powers to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

While Biden's Inflation Reduction Act made record-breaking climate investments, activists said a formal declaration would allow the United States to end oil exports or funnel more federal dollars toward renewable energy.

Maya Kellett, a high school junior and organizer for the Franklin County hub of the climate justice group Sunrise Movement, said young people want more action to protect the planet.

"As a 17-year-old not being able to vote, I'm just frustrated with the lack of transparency and actual commitment to change that our leaders promise but never actually pull through with," Kellett explained.

Kellett added she was disappointed in Biden's approval of the oil-drilling Willow Project and saying he "practically" declared a climate emergency. Opponents of a climate declaration argued it would only face legal challenges.

The Sunrise Movement gained national attention in 2018 when activists occupied former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and began calls for a Green New Deal. Since then, they've successfully lobbied Biden to create the American Climate Corps and helped elect climate activists to Congress.

Kellett noted some young people reject these climate efforts based on their parents' political beliefs but become supportive once they learn the details themselves.

"There's not actual change happening based on what we need as young people," Kellett contended. "Because these older adults are too caught up in their political labels or their parties."

Kellett pointed out Sunrise Movement members are working to educate their own community about the risks of climate change through climate-related scavenger hunts, marches and neighborhood beautification efforts.

She said the efforts have helped her realize she is not alone in worrying about climate change and she can make a difference for others.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021