Having a voice without a vote

Over 60 percent of voters between 18 and 34 view climate change as a serious threat. But what about people who are too young to vote? tbh producer Antara Gangwal, a senior at Leland High School, says education is the first step in being involved in advocacy.

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Story Transcript

Sounds of crickets

It’s 8 PM on a cool July evening. My friends and I are on a hike. We’re at the 622-acre Pearson-Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto, California. Rolling hills and chirping crickets surround us.

Clip of hike: Ooh, this is so nice. Can we take photos here? Or we could go up to that like, that bench. Ooh, I like how you can see the highway…

We arrive at a bench nestled at the top of one of the smaller hills. The sun sinks into the horizon, painting the yellow grass golden.

This park is located in California’s 16th Congressional District, where I live. I treasure the natural landscape here. We have sprawling grasslands, sandy beaches, and redwood forests, all in one district! But these beautiful features are being threatened by the earth’s rising temperatures.

BBC news clip: For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius for the entire year.

BBC news clip: On every single day over the past year, the world’s oceans have broken temperature records.

ABC news clip: Life-threatening heat across the country. More than 127 million Americans are on alert.

I know a lot about the science behind climate issues. But I don’t know what I can do to make a difference. I’m not old enough to vote, so I feel powerless.

ABC news clip: As temperatures continue to rise and natural disasters grow in frequency and magnitude.

NBC news clip: President Biden now facing new pressure to declare climate change a national emergency

Spectrum news clip: Experts say the worst effects of climate change will become unavoidable and that day is now less than 5 years away.

But… maybe I can start by talking to local politicians who represent me. Who have the power to steer environmental policy in San Jose, where I live.

This year, voters in my district will choose a new representative to replace Anna Eshoo, who’s retiring. If you need a refresher, there are 435 Congressional districts across the country. Each has one elected representative who serves in Congress.

One candidate who stood out to me was Joby Bernstein. He’s a 28-year-old Stanford business school graduate. During the primary, he ran a climate and economics-focused campaign.

JOBY BERNSTEIN: I think this district really has the power to control climate policy for the rest of the country… With Anna Eshoo stepping down, it’s a perfect opportunity to have a climate warrior in office.

With his background in investing, he says environmental policies don’t have to be costly. Politicians can take actionable steps to boost the economy and reduce our environmental impact.

JOBY BERNSTEIN: Our key pain points within climate is fixing our grid…I think a lot of it second, a lot of efficiency measures. So how can we produce, the same amount of goods with less amount of electricity or energy?

He also supports a carbon dividend. But what does that mean?

JOBY BERNSTEIN: So basically, we would tax people's carbon emissions, that all Americans or businesses would pay a tax on what they're emitting. But then every single year, that would be redistributed back to Americans.

He lost, but his focus on the climate and his young age inspired me. I reached out to him for guidance on how I could engage.

He has three pieces of advice for young people who can’t vote. First:

JOBY BERNSTEIN: Going to secure your city council meetings in San Jose, and just explain that climate is important, you should be talking about climate when you build your housing plans, transportation plans, and infrastructure; we want you to be focusing on emissions, sustainability.

Second:

JOBY BERNSTEIN: Reaching out to your state senators, State Representative or members of Congress… Having worked on the Hill, I know that good letters do get read and get responses.

And third, he recommends to…

JOBY BERNSTEIN: Rally a group of friends to take action together… I'd say that's also a pretty powerful thing. And it can have an immediate impact as well.

This last piece of advice is critical. We have the power to influence our friends and family. Climate researchers say that when we change our daily habits to be more environmentally friendly, we inspire people around us to do the same. Small things like taking the bus or carrying reusable water bottles do add up. If there are enough people making lifestyle changes, then it can really make a difference. 

ABC7 news clip: In the hotly contested race for the district 16 congressional seat…

KRON news clip: Assemblyman Evan Low... he will compete against former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo on the ballot in November.

Bernstein lost the primary election to Democrats Sam Liccardo and Evan Low.

I wanted to learn about what these candidates propose when it comes to climate change. Low never responded to my interview request. But I got the chance to talk with Liccardo. He explained some of the environmental issues facing my district.

SAM LICCARDO: I've got a coastal district now, where coastal erosion is a very severe concern in places like Pacifica, and Halfmoon Bay…

This is a new issue for him, but he’s trying to educate himself.

SAM LICCARDO: I've been doing a lot of listening, visiting sites, where we see literally apartment buildings get scraped, because the cliffs underneath them were swept away by the sea, soil.

And there’s another big environmental concern.

SAM LICCARDO: The wildfire risk is more substantial in other parts of this district, because so much of the district lies along the Santa Cruz mountain range.

Liccardo served as the mayor of San Jose from 2015 to 2023. He claims to have lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 36%.

SAM LICCARDO: I think the most significant thing that we did to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was in the launch of what's called San Jose Clean Energy, which is a Community Choice energy program… We were providing an alternative to the incumbent utility, which was PG&E, that was really focused on finding GHG free sources of electricity.

San Jose Clean energy was just one part of his plan. He also worked to restrict development in open spaces, like when he preserved 1000 acres of Coyote Valley in 2018.

SAM LICCARDO: So by doing that, by preserving open space and hillsides, we're forcing the development to be more dense in the downtown and long transit corridors. And obviously, that's critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Coyote Valley is an open space preserve at the south end of San Jose. I’ve been hiking there, and I can’t imagine its vast grasslands turning into residential neighborhoods.

Liccardo also supports a carbon dividend, like Bernstein discussed. And he agrees t hat climate policy doesn’t have to go against what’s economically beneficial. So I’m curious if the two have met.

SAM LICCARDO: Sure, yeah. Joby's a wonderful guy…I've had several conversations with Joby. And he's helping me to think about more ideas around climate…I'm excited to continue to work with environmentalists like Joby, and organizations that have been supporting me like the Sierra Club.

I ask Liccardo for his advice in regards to engaging in climate issues. His response is refreshingly frank.

SAM LICCARDO: As you can imagine, since I'm on the campaign trail, most of the time talking to voters. This isn't a question I'm often considering. And it is so critically important because obviously, our youngest generation is the one that is going to be most affected by climate change.

But he still provides a few ways that youth can get involved. First, of course, he suggests joining his campaign’s intern program.

SAM LICCARDO: We have many dozens of volunteers. Many of them are college and high school students…it's a great way to learn how the process works from the campaign standpoint, and to get more sophisticated in figuring out how to advocate for climate and other issues of concern.

He also recommends volunteering with environmental nonprofit organizations.

SAM LICCARDO: Whether it's better 350 Or Sierra Club or the League of Conservation voters or others… there are ways and avenues for young people to get involved in those nonprofits that help to improve communications and outreach…

I took this last suggestion to heart. I got in touch with teen volunteers at Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, or SVYCA. It’s a youth-led nonprofit made up of almost 200 middle school, high school and college students in the Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

MANI BEKELE: At the city level with our city action teams we work to support policies that will effectively address climate change, largely through electrification and decarbonization of our city's infrastructure.

That was Mani Bekele a high school sophomore. He’s one of the three co-leads of SYVCA’s San Jose city team.

MANI BEKELE: We write emails and get in contact or have meetings with our San Jose City Council members, as well as making public comments at the city council meetings

I ask him to explain how to make public comments.

MANI BEKELE: Whenever an agenda item is heard, the first step is that they read what the agenda item is about, and then open it up for public comments from any residents or nonresidents who would like to make their opinion heard. And then… council members discuss the item amongst themselves and make their final decision as to whether to approve or not approve the item.

Mani tells me about his first time making a virtual public comment a few years ago. A council member had suggested cutting funding to Climate Smart San Jose, the city’s government Climate action plan. He stressed the importance of the program.

MANI BEKELE: And it was heard by the city council members, and at that time, they maintained full funding for the climate-smart San Jose program.

I’m so inspired. Mani and other members of SVYCA contributed to preventing this harmful budget cut. Just by logging onto a virtual meeting and sharing their opinions.

MANI BEKELE: Elected officials really listen when young people share their personal stories and how climate-related policies will impact their future.

Mani said virtual public comments aren’t allowed anymore, but in-person comments are still an option. It would be so easy to join a city council meeting and voice my opinions. And I’m shocked to see the difference it can make.

Sounds of walking in grass

The next stop in my journey is Rainbow Park in Cupertino. Nestled within neighborhoods, it’s made up of a playground and a small grass field. It’s a bright and sunny Sunday morning. I’m here for a park cleanup hosted by Tino Eco, a youth grassroots organization that adopted the park.

Sounds of trash pickers and sunscreen

As she hands volunteers trash pickers, I talk with Clarabelle Wang, a senior at Cupertino High School. She’s a part of SVYCA’s Cupertino team. She founded Tino Eco in April 2022.

CLARABELLE WANG: Our goal is to bring community engagement, education as well as involving our community more into our environment, being more outdoors and feel more appreciative of it. So we do cleanup events like this and we also have publications and podcasts to teach people about, sustainability and climate change.

Tino Eco’s volunteering efforts also lead to advocacy.

CLARABELLE WANG: Especially one thing that we’re thinking of is trying to ban confetti in public spaces like parks... we kind of see a lot of confetti and it’s really hard to pick up.

Today, Clarabelle tells me, we’ll be cleaning up Rainbow Park and Creekside Park.

CLARABELLE WANG: Just kind of show community spirit like us walking as a group together... we want to be stewards and just inspire people to do the same. And also the secondary thing we were thinking of counting how much confetti that we found in these parks.

Clip of confetti clean up: Is there confetti here? Yeah it’s like super stuck.

After half an hour of cleanup, we start walking towards Creekside Park, picking up trash along the way.

Clip of trash clean-up:…Damn, a whole egg carton?... It’s a gum wrap! That’s crazy! You just saved a turtle right there!

As we walk across the street, I talk with Prutha Kelkar, Tino Eco’s member engagement lead. She explains how, together, youth volunteers can have a voice.

PRUTHA KELKAR: Kids and education are really important to every district around here...rallying together, we do have a say, especially because we live here, we should have some power.

We arrive at Creekside Park, and continue to clean up. After half an hour, we’ve filled 4 bins to the brim with litter. The volunteers empty them into the park’s trash cans.

Clip of Antara saying goodbye

It’s half past noon and almost 90 degrees when I say goodbye. But even after so much time in the heat, I’m content. I had no idea that people my age were able to adopt a park. It makes me happy to see youth care so much about protecting their local environment.

There are also other ways we can inform our communities. The following week, I join another youth group in a deserted part of downtown Oakland.

Standup clip: I’m standing outside a building where I can see a sign that says “New Voices Are Rising Summit” in pretty chalk letters…

This summit is for the Summer Leadership Academy of the New Voices Are Rising Program. It’s hosted by The Rose Foundation, a grassroots organization that supports environmental justice initiatives. Andrea Pineda, the group’s Youth Coordinator, tells me more.

ANDREA PINEDA: We give them knowledge on environmental justice, the issues going on in their communities and we give them the tools they need to advocate for themselves.

These youth come from communities like Oakland itself, Richmond, San Pablo, Antioch, and Pittsburgh. 25 teens participated this summer. Today, they’re showcasing the environmental justice projects they created.

There’s a frenzy of teens and older volunteers setting up for the event inside the building. Some hang up paintings and sculptures for display. Others push chairs into place and bring out the food.

Diego Garcia-Gonzalez is a senior at Skyline High School. He’ll be sharing his presentation about water justice tonight.

DIEGO GARCIA-GONZALEZ: So it's basically going to be talking about what water justice is, and kind of expanding on solutions that are currently going on and examples that are happening here in the Bay Area and around the world.

He wants to pursue environmental law in the future. I ask him how youth like us, who can’t vote, can still get involved in climate policy.

DIEGO GARCIA-GONZALEZ: You can use your voice to talk about these issues and help inform those who are able to vote.

And that’s exactly what the event is about today. At 6pm, spectators and families start filtering into the building. Soon, the gallery walk for physical projects begins.

Andrea introducing the physical projects: ...projects from our youth. Paintings, drawings, physical projects, sculptures. So please go around, ask some questions, check them out!

Paintings, sculptures and even comics are displayed around the room, each focused on an environmental justice issue. Youth explain their projects to community members walking around.

And after 30 minutes, the presentations begin.

Digital presentations begin: The physical projects will be up all night, but we are going to transition into the digital presentations…

Students talk about everything from climate change to food justice to the nearby Chevron Refinery. It produces dangerous levels of air pollution near their schools and homes. Soon, it’s time for Diego’s presentation.

Event speaker: I want to introduce the next speaker, Diego!...Hi, my name is Diego. I am 16 years old, I go to Skyline High School and my summit project will be on water justice. To start off…

I’m totally focused on learning. I don’t even notice the time go by. I leave the event two hours later knowing much more about local environmental justice efforts. And I know other attendees can say the same.

These 25 teens did exactly what Bernstein and Liccardo suggested. They raised awareness about environmental issues they cared about. Just like Diego said, educating the adults in the audience helps the youth be more politically active.

I can’t vote. But I’ve seen so many ways I can still advocate for the environment. I can teach those around me about environmental issues, and inspire them to vote for policies that make a change. Just like the New Voices teens did in Oakland. I can also volunteer at organizations like Tino Eco. And I can even make public comments.

Now, I have an action plan. I want to be more active in SVYCA’s San Jose team. I want to join a city council meeting and make sure members consider their environmental impact when making decisions. I also want to keep attending youth-led environmental events. Because above all, I want to continue talking to more young people who are changing things in my community.