We are youth climate activists who've spent the last month marching 400 miles from New Orleans to Houston to demand a robust Civilian Climate Corps! Ask Us Anything!

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Biden should be worried that young people who mobilized to vote for him are now holding him accountable for the claims he made about the environment. If he wants a second term, he's got to pay attention and listen to the demands of Gulf South youth!

- Roshni

This is such a typical reddit question. Biden is the one who wants the civilian climate corps. Those were the "jobs jobs jobs" he was talking about in his speech to congress.

Thank you! His plan includes a CCC, it's just a very weak version. We're marching to show him that there is real passion behind the idea of improving his plan.

- Jenna

It's true, after pressure from young people rising up Biden is starting to cave to our demands for a CCC and Green New Deal!

However, despite using our language, his current CCC plan is pretty weaksauce. So we're marching to demand he makes his solution meet the scale of the crisis.

-Nathan

Our 400-mile march was a HUGE sacrifice, as we all gave up 6 weeks of our lives to trek through marshes, swamps, rain, and shine. Biden should care that the young people of the Gulf South care about their homes, their livelihoods at stake, and the land they inhabit.

-Chanté

What exactly is the Civilian Climate Corps?

Great question! It draws inspiration from the original CCC (Civilian *Conservation* Corps), which was a part of the New Deal and helped get us out of the great depression by creating hundreds of thousands of jobs doing things like building parks and such.

A Civilian Climate Corps would be like that but even BIGGER and BETTER and would put people to work rewilding areas, building renewable energy infrastructure, repairing homes, and doing all that essential work to keep our civilization strong and healthy!

-Nathan

Wait, how old are you guys??

We range from 16 to 31!

-Chanté

Chanté here has been playing hooky to march with us! Had to leave for a few days to take her AP tests!

-Nathan

Hey Nathan, you didn’t have to rat me out lmao.

How did Chante take her AP exams?? And was she marked absent while school was in session?

I was marked absent while school was in session :(. I took my AP exams for one day and then continued marching.

-Chanté

24

- Jenna

I'm 26, but we range from middle schoolers to someone who's 31! It's so energizing to be organizing with so many invest young people.

-Javier

How can the average citizen help combat Climate Change? I want to help, but it all feels overwhelming and I don't know what to do or where to begin.

Organize!! I felt the exact same way for years before I found The Sunrise Movement. Climate change is too big to tackle alone, but the good news is you don't have to! Find a group near you that you like and they'll be able to help you make the maximum impact, and if you start to get tired you'll know you can take a break and they'll have your back to keep the work going.

Here's a map of local Sunrise Movement hubs, check a nearby one out when you get a chance!

-Nathan

I'm an average citizen, too! If you're in Texas or the Northeast, come to our upcoming events (Houston on the 21st, DC on the 28th)! Otherwise, join your local Sunrise hub, begin a hub, or volunteer as part of the Rays (:

- Roshni

What are your guys's plans for DC?

Most of us are heading there after this march to join hundreds of other Sunrise Movement members in demanding a CCC from the federal government! You can sign up here to join! It's gonna be legendary.

-Nathan

Sign up and see (;

smvmt.org/june28

-Roshni

How have bathroom needs brought you all together (or apart)?

We have a poop tent (which some of us are weirdly fond of) in case anyone needs to go while we're on the road, but I personally have gone out of my way to avoid touching that thing hahaha

-Nathan

Some of the people on this march are very weird.

- Jenna

OK I'll start with the question of all questions:

Haven't we already gone past the tipping point?

No! There isn't one "tipping point" that scientists can agree on. The CCC would allow the United States to drastically reduce our carbon output through establishing green infrastructure. Plus, as a bonus, it could revolutionize worker's rights by providing a high-paid alternative to soulless corporate jobs.

Our country is on a bad path, it's true, but it is absolutely possible to hit the brakes if Biden decides our future is worth fighting for :)

- Jenna

Hi Jenna, do any of these points you're bringing up involve us completely re-imagining our current agriculture industry? Unless we tackle the amount of oil and gas used to create the calories eaten on this planet, (nine out of every ten calories consumed on Earth by humans is generated by fossil fuels) a civilian climate corp won't accomplish squat.

Awesome question!

The CCC would include regenerative farming, agricultural scientists, and other agriculture improvements alongside the transportation, infrastructure, care economy, and a ton of other aspects of our nation's climate response.

- Jenna

Ok, but how? I have a wish list of things like that, believeing them when said is one thing, it's another to make it happen. The CCC isn't a new idea, and environmentalists have been pushed to the back for decades, how do we get from our service based consumer economy, to a vertically integrated society in the time frames we have to before we crack 1.5c global temps?

At present course we are on track to a 4c world by 2100, what is the CCC fundamentally going to make change that will make an impact?

The answer is that the only way to make a massive change is to create a system that allows people to make that the only thing they're working towards. That's the CCC.

The question of a complete economic overhaul is something different. I don't know how to answer that question.

- Jenna

Scientifically speaking, the “tipping point” stands generally undefined. However, for me, I’m wayyy past my tipping point. Being raised in the Gulf South, I can say WE have been past the tipping point, going from crisis to crisis.

On the other hand, this march is symbolic in the way it raises awareness and tells the story of Gulf Southerners (more specifically, Black and Brown Southerners) who have been rebuilding after storms, relocating, experiencing economic inequality, environmental racism, you name it!

But the thing is-we have a chance this summer to actually get legislation passed for a Civilian Climate Corps to make sure these communities are paid for the work they’ve been doing, that they are protected from these climate disasters, and that our economy changes to benefit people and the planet!

-Chanté

How did you handle showers and smelling decent whilest marching in the humid summer heat of the south? Did you get funny comments or looks during your pit stops?

Even after showering I am still sweaty because of the humidity. I have learned to live with it.

-Nathan

Nathan is from North Texas so he has an extremely low humidity threshold.

- Jenna

What's the coolest thing you've seen while marching?

There was one point when I was able to see 5 alligators at once and that was pretty sick.

-Nathan

I saw an alligator CROSSING THE ROAD!!!!

- Roshni

Your mom insert cool face. Jk, we saw some infamous Calcasieu river dolphins when we were walking in Cameron parish!

-Chanté

What is a cool face

- Jenna

The face Javier is making in the picture.

-Nathan

I love cows and I got to meet so many of them while walking. They are such sweet animals.

- Jenna

Honestly, I really enjoyed talking to so many people that we met on the way. While we may not have agreed on everything they supported standing up for workers, communities, and against the elites holding us back.

-Javier

What would you say to the skeptics who don't believe that climate change corps is a pragmatic solution?

I would say that the CCC doesn't just address the climate crisis, it addresses the infrastructure crisis and the jobs crisis! The money that it would cost is money that comes from our pockets anyway, and the work it would pay people to do is work that's already getting done under extreme and unfair conditions.

We marched through Lake Charles and participated in a ton of mutual aid work there. But the communities that are being shredded by hurricanes, freezes, and floods, should not be expected to hold themselves up when they're in such distress. The government can afford to help people, and they should pay the people who are already doing that work.

- Jenna

I would point them to the original CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps from the New Deal! It accomplished tons (some of my best memories are camping in CCC-built parks!) and helped pull the country out of the great depression!

-Nathan

What's stopping us from getting a CCC?

A CCC is actually looking super likely right now-- but the *quality* of that CCC is very up in the air. The CCC has gained a lot of momentum as an idea thanks to demand from climate activists, and Biden has already said he intends to create one!

However, his current plan for the CCC is pretty weak, only creating 20,000 jobs... Alternatively, Ed Markey and AOC introduced a wayyyy better version that would create 1.5 million jobs- That's the CCC we want.

-Nathan

Right now, we're being stopped by Biden and centrist Democrats' insistence on negotiating with climate deniers on their infrastructure plan. 11 Republicans have signed on to the "compromise" bill that entirely excludes climate action, and Biden has indicated he might actually sign it.

If Biden thinks he can work with Lindsey Graham to ignore the realities of climate change as it threatens our world and our future without major pushback from us, he's wrong. We're taking the fight to him and proving that climate change is more than a political issue, it's an existential threat that cannot be ignored in favor of "bipartisanship" with people who don't believe in science.

- Jenna

if biden thinks that working with global warming deniers is a thing he should even consider doing, he's out of his mind.

edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDNZX2nql2Y&ab_channel=reactionflv

I guess he's out of his mind then :( it's tragic but true. He needs immense pressure from the left to support climate action as an attachment to the infrastructure bill.

Do y'all walk all day long?

We walk about 14-16 miles per day, and it takes between 6-8 hours.

- Jenna

Heck no!!! We get up bright and early and walk no later than 3pm! Usually we go 16 miles in a day, but on days with events we do less than that.

-Nathan

Some days we march 8 miles, some days 16! It depends on how much other work we need to do to prepare for events and logistical things! A typical walking day is from 7 to 3!

- Roshni

Favorite songs to sing while marching?

When we were in St. James parish protesting Formosa Plastics, a group there called Rise St. James taught us the song "Victory is Mine," which they sing at most of their events and actions. I love it so much. Coming at the problem from a perspective of already having won just by banding together to fight for what you believe in is really beautiful to me. Plus the song slaps.

-Nathan

I like singing our protest/rally songs like "Victory is Mine" and also random ones like "Hotel Room Service" by Pitbull!

Marchers from Dallas also wrote our own song about our city, we sing it an annoying amount!

- Roshni

Roshni is responsible for annoying us into loving both Hotel Room Service and the Dallasite song by never allowing our ears any respite from them

-Nathan

Hey Gen on Fire Gulf Coast! I'm the supply van person for a walker here in Florida who's sounding the alarm on the climate crisis, building up numbers along the way for a big nonviolent civil disobedience march from Jacksonville to Tallahassee to get the governor of Florida to declare a climate emergency, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and a legally binding citizens' assembly to determine how to get it done. (Anyone who wants to help that effort out and learn more can check out walkwithnick.com !)

I know people have been inspired by all these marchers out there, and you all, the California marchers, and Nick are hopefully on the vanguard of what's going to become a very popular thing to do. For the sake of those to come, and those who are still marching now, how do you outreach and get turnout for others to march with you? What's the best outreach strategy to youth that you would recommend?

Honestly, taking action with like minded individuals is so empowering and so rewarding. There's the pressure of needing to get a huge task done too, yeah, but it's also joyous and fun. One of the main reasons I put my life on hold for a month to do this is just plain FOMO, I couldn't let it happen without me.

-Nathan

Why not just push for the green new deal?

The CCC is the first pillar of the GND!

- Jenna

The CCC is one of the core aspects of the Green New Deal, and it's one that we can win this summer if enough people demand it!

-Nathan

So cool that it was such a multi-dimensional march!! Can you talk more about the mutual aid programs that you did along the way? Also what were some of your favorite interactions that you had with communities along the way?

We've had so many meaningful interactions along the way. Some of my favorites were with the Oil Refinery workers in Beaumont. We walked the picket line with them for hours to show our support and solidarity for their labor rights, and in that time got to have really in depth conversations with them. Climate activists and oil workers side by side was a really powerful reminder that we're all on the same team!

-Nathan

Sure! We organized a food distribution in Lake Charles, and we participated in some demolition projects at a few of the houses that were destroyed by flooding. It was an exciting way to demonstrate what the CCC could accomplish.

We did most of the demo work for 3 different houses in one day, and we have barely any construction experience. Imagine if the government paid experienced and knowledgeable contractors to help folks who needed help after natural disasters! They wouldn't have to lose everything just to have a livable home again.

We also met some of the incredible organizers in that area, like Donna Lamb and Faye Cooper. They organize food banks, supply distributions, and construction assistance while also dealing with the insane fallout of storm damage to their personal homes and lives.

They shouldn't have to work themselves to the bone to provide for their communities when they're suffering just as much. What is a government for, if not to protect its citizens when they face incredibly dire situations?

- Jenna

My favorite interaction with community along the way was when we joined with RISE St. James to stop Formosa Plastics!!!! There was so much pain and joy at that event, where community members who all had their lives ruined and health stolen by polluting industry were still able to imagine a future without those hardships and still had so much fight in them to push back!

- Roshni

Hello Generation on Fire

u/smvmtgenonfire ! We are proud to follow you all! We are a nonpartisan/multipartisan working-class grassroots group that represents youth fighting for climate action all across America! Could you all please follow us back on Twitter?

lmao ok. Give us your handle and Roshni, our twitter queen, will do it

- Jenna

Sure! What's your handle?

-Roshni

If you could subject Ted Cruz to something you endured on the trip, what would he have to go through?

My fun answer is that I would subject him to mucking out the rotting floorboards of a house that's been flooded for two weeks.

My real answer is that I would want him to talk to all the incredible people we spoke to, in the hopes that it might melt him enough that he would stop screwing us all over. I know he's completely soulless, but I just can't imagine that he could witness the spectrum of human joy and suffering we've seen on this trip without experiencing some form of guilt.

- Jenna

the mosquito bites.... also I wish he heard the stories that we did from his suffering constituents over the 40 days we're marching. I wish he was forced to directly face what he was putting our neighbors through. Maybe then he would do something about it?

- Roshni