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Renewable Resources Journal RENEWABLE RESOURCES JOURNAL VOLUME 34 NUMBER 4 CONTENTS Youth Mobilization to Stop Climate Change: Narratives and Impact......................2 Heejin Han and Sang Wuk Ahn How Development of America’s Water Infrastructure Has Lurched Through History..........................................................................................................13 David Sedlak Vertebrates on the Brink as Indicators of Biological Annihilation and the Sixth Mass Extinction....................................................................................................17 Gerardo Ceballos, Paul R. Ehrlich, and Peter H. Raven Lessons Learned from U.S. Cities’ Climate Adaptation Implementation Methods...............................................................................................27 Lykke Leonardsen News and Announcements..................................................................................32 Youth Mobilization to Stop Global Climate Change: Narratives and Impact Heejin Han and Sang Wuk Ahn Galvanized by Greta Thunberg’s idea for Friday school The international community recognized the strikes, “climate strikes” emerged in 2018 and 2019 as importance of engaging various societal groups in a form of youth social movement demanding far- environmental policymaking early on. During the U.N. reaching action on climate change. Youths have taken Conference on Environment and Development (known various actions to combat climate change, but as the Earth Summit) in 1992 and in the subsequent academics have not paid sufficient attention to youth Agenda 21, nine major groups were designated as climate mobilization. This study thus examines the channels for achieving the world’s sustainable questions of what has motivated youth to mobilize and development goals. Those groups included women, how they have shaped global climate politics and children and youth, indigenous peoples, farmers, governance. This study focuses particularly on the business and industry, labor and trade unions, science narrative of youth activists to address their and technology, local authorities, and NGOs. Existing understanding of climate change and their ideas studies have discussed their engagement with and regarding how to respond to it. Youth collective action participation in climate activism 3–9. However, few has succeeded in problematizing global climate academic analyses have addressed the mobilization of inaction and inertia and in framing climate change youth in global climate politics (the definition of youth from a justice perspective, but activists have faced differs, but this paper uses ages 15–24 to mean youth, limitations in converting their moral legitimacy into a definition based on the U.N.’s World Youth Report the power required for sweeping changes. Overall, this published by the Department of Economic and Social study demonstrates the emergence of young people as Affairs10, according to which there are 1.2 billion young agents of change in the global climate change arena people, accounting for 16% of the global population). and the urgency of engaging them in climate change Young people are related to climate change in multiple governance and policymaking. ways. On one hand, their experiences with climate Introduction change are negative and pessimistic. Young people will live much of their lives on Earth whose conditions are Climate change is one of the most urgent issues increasingly altered by climate change. Various confronting the international community. To address dimensions of their lives, including their security, well- global climate change and its far-reaching impacts, being, and even mental health, will be negatively governmental, intergovernmental, affected by climate change11. Recent studies have and nonstate actors have targeted multiple fronts on shown how climate change and extreme weather different scales. In particular, over the years, various events have negatively affected the physical and nonstate actors, including nongovernmental mental health conditions of young people, including organizations (NGOs), citizens, and the private sector, children12–14. Climate change also affects the have complemented governmental and socioeconomic conditions in which youth live. For intergovernmental efforts, combining their unique instance, in developing regions such as Africa, young strengths and resources in combatting climate change people, which constitute the largest demographic both locally and transnationally.1,2 group and the largest labor force in terms of the agricultural sector, are exposed to growing existential Heejin Han and Sang Wuk Ahn are professors at threats, as climate change has altered environmental Pukyang National University, Busan, Korea, in the conditions such as water availability. Moreover, a Division of Global & InterdisCiplinary Studies and changing environment often engenders conflict Division of International & Area Studies, respeCtively. Volume 34 Number 4 Renewable Resources Journal 2 between various youth groups Renewable Natural Resources Foundation 15 over the use of scarce resources . The Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) is a nonprofit, public policy research organization. Its mission is to advance the application of science, engineering and design in On the other hand, on a more decision-making, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and educate policymakers and the positive note, youth can be seen public on managing and conserving renewable natural resources. Member organizations are: as environmental stewards for the American Geophysical Union • American Meteorological Society future. For instance, teenagers American Society of Civil Engineers • American Society of Landscape Architects Fund have fought against climate American Water Resources Association • Geological Society of America change through various forms of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry activism, including lawsuits against RNRF Board of Directors fossil fuel companies and 16 Chairman: Lu Gay Lanier governments . In the case Juliana John E. Durrant American Society of Landscape Architects v. U.S., 21 teenagers from Oregon American Society of Civil Engineers Fund filed a constitutional lawsuit Executive Director: Raj Pandya Robert D. Day American Geophysical Union against the federal government Directors: Howard N. Rosen and the fossil fuel industry in Public Interest Member Dresden Farrand August 2015, arguing that their American Water Resources Association Barry W. Starke Public Interest Member government had failed to address Sarah Gerould Society of Environmental Toxicology and Kasey White climate change, violating their Chemistry Geological Society of America rights to life, liberty, and property, Andy Miller and had failed to protect essential American Meteorological Society resources in the public trust17. Renewable Resources Journal Similar lawsuits have been litigated in developing countries, Renewable ResourCes Journal (ISSN 2578-3998) is published quarterly by the Renewable including Colombia and Pakistan16. Natural Resources Foundation, 6010 Executive Boulevard, Suite 700, North Bethesda, MD 20852-3809, USA. Tel: +1 301 770 9101 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.rnrf.org Moreover, young people in some © RNRF 2020. developing countries have The journal may be downloaded at no cost at RNRF’s website. RNRF assumes no responsibility spearheaded efforts to confront for statements and opinions expressed by contributors. Permission is granted to quote from the journal with the customary acknowledgement of source. climate change and its adverse Editorial Staff: Robert D. Day, editor; Madeline Voitier, assistant editor; Stephen Yaeger, consequences15, prompting assistant editor. international institutions such as the U.N. Development Program18 to finance various youth-led environmental projects around the world. Despite such actions, young people are still portrayed as disengaged from civil action19. One study20 argued that GenX’ers (born 1962–1981) and Millennials (born after 1982) prioritize extrinsic values such as money and fame over intrinsic values such as community and and affiliation. The study found declining patterns in these generations in terms of civic orientation, e.g., political participation and interest in social problems, with the largest decline being observed in the “environmental action” category. This depiction, however, has been shattered by the youth climate movement that swept the world in the years 2018 and 2019, which became one of the most widespread environmental social movements in history. School strikes for climate have been associated with Greta Thunberg (hereafter, Thunberg), whose Friday school boycotts grabbed international attention. This Swedish teenager used strikes to demand the adoption of more aggressive climate policies on the part of older generations, governments, and international organizations. She has since inspired other teenagers, leading millions of them to join her by taking to the streets. Although they are scattered all over the world, the movement participants have demanded drastic actions such as an immediate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a fossil fuel phase-out. Youth participation in politics is not new, as they have played various roles in domestic and international politics, triggering political and socioeconomic transformations such as democratization. Young people have played Volume 34 Number 4 Renewable Resources Journal 3 significant roles in various movements, e.g., the U.S. civil rights, feminism,
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