Our best hope to combat the climate crisis is to talk about it.
That’s what Dr. Katharine Hayhoe said in her newest book, Saving Us, it’s what we are trying to equip Iowans to do at Iowa IPL, and it’s what Andrew Dunn, legislative assistant to Senator Rob Hogg and fellow young adult, pushed at the January 10th climate strike. “Do your best to have hard conversations, to reach out to rural Iowans to talk about problems they will be facing,” he said to the group, “Focus on interpersonal relationships.”
With roughly 30 strikers in attendance, Lillian Hill’s climate strike at the Iowa State Capitol on the first day of Iowa’s 2022 Legislative Session had a mix of environmental organizations, legislators, and concerned citizens standing in the lobby of the capitol building holding signs and chanting.
Lillian Hill is a 14-year-old climate activist from Johnston, Iowa. She began the strike in the capitol with her own powerful message. She asked the strikers surrounding the lobby of the building, “How long will it take for Iowans to acknowledge the climate crisis?”
The leadership from our future generations is paramount to combatting the climate crisis, and Lillian’s leadership is hopeful. As Senator Rob Hogg said during his speech at the event, “We need a thousand Lillian Hills across the state.”
But the bottom line is that we need as many individuals as possible to get involved to make the climate crisis a priority in our state. “[Climate change] affects us,” said Senator Hogg, “This affects our families, our communities and the things we care about. [But] it will take all of us to transform this situation.”
As we look to the future, we know our actions now will directly affect the generations to come. As Iowa IPL supporter Channing Dutton, said at the capitol, “[Future generations will ask us] you knew, and what did you do?” He carried around a picture of his young grandson and asked us all to display photos on our phones of the young ones in our lives. When we hold up pictures of people who will be alive in 2050, it gives us a direct connection to a world we may not yet be able to grasp, but that will be a true reflection of what we are able to accomplish now, in the present moment. I held up a picture of my brother; we will both (hopefully) be in our fifties in 2050.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the human impacts on this earth”
Lillian Hill
Remember the importance of discussing climate change frequently with those around you. Though the conversations can be hard, they are necessary. Lily told us at the end of the strike that day, “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the human impacts on this earth.” Join us in supporting Lillian at her next planned strike in February.
Save the date for the next Capitol Climate Strike on Monday, February 21st, 2022 at 2 PM. Plan to join Lily on the west steps of the Capitol for this climate strike and invite others who might be interested in attending too – especially young leaders! To connect with Lillian and event organizers email iowaclimatestrike@gmail.com.