Youth Climate Story: Climate Justice and Activism in Wisconsin

Positives

• This is an engaging story that can inspire youth to take action.
• Vic Barrett is a young, Black, Latinx, queer individual. It is important for students to hear from climate activists who are working at the intersection of climate justice and social justice.

Additional Prerequisites

• Vic Barrett is one of 21 young people who sued the government in 2015 in the court case Juliana v. United States. You can read more about this lawsuit and its current status on the Our Children's Trust website.

Differentiation

• Consider using the closed captions for English language learners or students with learning differences.
• Be sensitive to the social-emotional needs of your students while they watch this video. You can lead a brief discussion after the video, asking your students how they feel after learning that young people sued the federal government for inaction on climate change. Students may feel angry, sad, or afraid. It is important to validate all of these emotions.
• Social studies classes could use this video as a hook for lessons about the importance of public participation in a democracy or the need for laws and regulations to protect the health and common interests of the public.
  
• This video can be used in advisory or counseling sessions to help explain to students the concept of intersectional environmentalism. In addition to fighting for climate justice, intersectional environmentalism also fights for racial, social, and economic justice.