By Te’kyla Miller
Climate Change: YCAT protested in front of City Hall to bring awareness to climate change. (Picture by Te’kyla Miller)
Climate change in Milwaukee is a big deal, and since the youth feel the adults aren’t helping enough, young people have taken it into their own hands to do something about it. On July 19, the organization Youth Climate Action Team (YCAT) had a protest in front of City Hall.
They disrupted the workday of legislators to bring awareness to the growing problem of climate change. Students demanded that legislators consider legislation that would take Wisconsin from its current 10% reliance on renewable energy to 100% in line with the carbon budget, according to a press release.
Youth apart of YCAT were chanting, “that’s bulls**t get off it, this land is not for profit,” in reference to big companies and other entities harming land for profit.
Kiva Carman-Frank was one of the protesters at the State Capital Building. She was wearing a turquoise janitor jumpsuit with a mouth mask that read, “Talk About Vulnerable Communities.”
“Our community has many voices, and part of our goal at YCAT is to bring people deeply invested in other social justice struggles, such as racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, into the climate movement,” said Carman-Frank. “The climate crisis impacts us all, and it impacts us all in different ways. We’re here to amplify the different voices in our community that are telling us how the climate crisis impacts them specifically, and what we need to do to change that.”
Carman-Frank joined YCAT because young people are in the national political conversation right now through climate organizations like the US Youth Climate Strike and anti-gun violence organizations like March for Our Lives.
According to Carman-Frank, young people and students have always been at the front of social movements, and society via media. She now feels some elected officials are actually starting to listen to the youth’s voices.
“Personally, with YCAT, I saw an opportunity to join the movement for climate justice and push climate organizations further in addressing the intersectionality of climate issues,” she said.
YCAT has a number of specific goals, including asking the state to prioritize transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2030. The Green New Deal task force is another organization that’s working to make the world a better place. The Green New Deal was created by the Green New Deal task force with a plan of also attaining 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
YCAT demands that Governor Evers, Counties, and municipalities declare a climate emergency for the future of the planet and the State of Wisconsin. YCAT is also working to organize a strike in each of the 72 counties in Wisconsin in accordance with the worldwide climate strike on September 20.
For more information on YCAT and their work, visit https://www.ycatwi.org.