Adelle is a student at Park High School here in Livingston, Montana, who recently helped organize a school walkout to protest inaction by lawmakers on climate change. She and other Park High students were part of protest by millions of students around the world demanding action to address the climate crisis. Adelle is also part of the Park High Green Initiative that’s working on recycling and promoting sustainability. Adelle, thanks for joining us today.
INTERVIEW EXCERPTS
"Yes, the facts about climate change are super sad and can get you down, but I try to use it as a jumping point -- to kind of flip it around like: “hey, no, we can stop this.” There are cool people out there doing cool things, and I can be one of those cool people -- and it’s going to be okay."
"I took a backpacking trip…that really kind of boosted my confidence. And I was able to maybe take that anger that I was feeling about the political state of the world, and the climate state of the world, and kind of channel that into more outward expression, rather than holding it inside of me and being angry and upset."
"I think it’s so easy to forget how connected we are as a world. We only have this world, that’s all we really know."
"[Regarding the Livingston student climate change protest], I guess the most inspiring thing is how many people came together. In a small county, seeing even just 10 people or 50 people show up for a protest, or a meeting every week, is super important."
"I think that in order to kind of put an end to the rapidly approaching climate crisis, it requires a drastic change in the way we live, and our lifestyle as humans… I think we have to totally reimagine everything from what we eat, to what our houses look like, to what our buildings look like. And that kind of change is really hard. And I think that it’s going to be hard for this generation, it’s going to be hard for future generations, and of course it was hard for past generations. And we’re all living together as multigenerational society, which makes it even harder, I think."
"This dress I have on, I am wearing from the beginning of school to Christmas break, to protest fast fashion, and the environmental and social detriments it has… this dress protest is changing the way I look at what I buy. And that’s something so small, but it’s having an impact on the way I live, which is having an impact on the world."
READ MORE
The Conference of the Birds by Attar- translated by sholeh wolpé (mentioned in the interview)
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams
Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James Nestor
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