We Live on Planet A: Young People Rally for Their Rights Young people all over the world are putting pressure on government leaders. Their cause: saving the planet. Their methods: lawsuits, rallies, and education.

In 2017, 18-year-old Victoria Barrett and 21 other young people filed a lawsuit against the United States. It claimed that the government was ignoring their rights by not taking action on environmental problems. While this may seem extreme, Victoria believed it was necessary to persuade the government to help combat climate change.

In addition to speaking at conferences in Paris and New York City, Barrett has become involved with marches and has met with important political administrators.

Like Victoria Barrett, Greta Thunberg became passionate about climate change in her teens. In 2018, the Swedish teenager made national headlines when she camped out in front of Sweden’s Parliament. She held a sign that said “School Strike for Climate” in Swedish. Soon after, she began to travel all over the world to make speeches and talk to national leaders. Thunberg was chosen as Time magazine’s person of the year for 2019 because of her determination. Young people have been inspired by her. They have seen how committed she was to share the dangers of climate change. Many became activists themselves.

Students across the planet who were concerned about climate change began making their voices heard. Thousands of Australian students rallied in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. In Islamabad, protesters cheered on a favorite minister who supports environmental change. In Germany, thousands marched in Munich, Hanover, Hamburg, Berlin, and Freiburg. The protesters included teenagers, scouts, and Red Cross volunteers. Two hundred young people in Bangkok marched to the Ministry of Environment. Dozens of students rallied in India outside the country’s Ministry of Housing.

In 2018, young people gathered at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. They shared their opinion that the use of fossil fuels should be eliminated. At the same time, students in Alaska asked their state’s government to declare a climate change emergency. In Canada, native teens wrote a letter to their Parliament to express concern over land that was being destroyed in the search for fossil fuels.

Being environmentally friendly doesn’t always mean being political. Students join clubs that promote recycling and use washable water bottles instead of plastic. Other students take classes such as environmental science and human geography to deepen their understanding of the world. Some are even attending local events and setting up tables to discuss important issues.

Stanford University offers a project that supports teaching scientifically accurate environmental curriculum. School boards in California have implemented new science standards. These standards promote literacy of the natural world and study natural systems. Erica Wallstrom, an earth science teacher from Vermont, prefers a more hands-on approach. She brings high school juniors to the earth’s polar regions to work directly with scientists in the field.

Students who can’t make the trip to the earth’s poles can find plenty of low-cost or free online resources. Nature, science, and natural history museums offer online summer classes. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) offer detailed resources on their websites. Finally, some students can earn credit by completing individual study projects. Some write speeches. Some create science fair projects. Some organize lectures on important scientific ideas.

Education is helpful in a variety of ways. It increases awareness of important issues and creates a common vocabulary. It encourages positive behaviors and habits. As students learn about other cultures, they become more caring toward the people who live in other parts of the world. Education teaches students how to approach topics from different perspectives, even if they are the opposite of one another. And, of course, it increases basic concepts for understanding our world.

No matter how young people participate, Victoria Barrett believes that taking action on climate change is what it means to be a citizen on the earth.

“There [are] a lot of actions that you can take,” she says. “And there’s a lot of power you have as a young person.”

How does the author convey the central idea that groups of students can band together to make real-world differences in "We Live on Planet A: Young People Rally for Their Rights"?

by suggesting that students take advantage of resources from NASA and NOAA

by highlighting the few youth leaders who have stood out in this movement

by mentioning specific groups and events that accomplished this goal

by confirming that students can make a difference just by forming recycling clubs in their communities