Five youth activists staged a die-in protest in front of the Thurston Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to call out its lack of action on the climate crisis.
Elsie Sable, a resident of Northwest Olympia, led the group’s protest action during the public comment portion of the BOCC meeting on February 14 at The Atrium.
“Passage of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP) means nothing if you take no step toward implementation,” said Sable. “We demand that you draft and pass an implementation strategy.”
Sable also urged the BOCC to start aligning its actions on the declaration of a climate emergency by developing emergency procedures and freeing up emergency funds.
“Our government was not built to act with urgency [on] the climate crisis demands,” said Sable. “You must enact urgent structural change, or the people you claim to serve will suffer for it.”
“If you continue business as usual, there will be blood on your hands,” accused Sable.
Lisa Ornstein, a member of the Thurston Climate Coalition, also provided a public testimony to lambast the Thurston Climate Mitigation 2023 progress report.
“The climate crisis is a present emergency, and swift implementation of the national climate mitigation plan is vital to the future,” said Ornstein.
Ornstein said the failure to take action for the climate mitigation plan is “terrifying” for the youth.
“Please open your eyes and your hearts to these young people now so they can have a viable tomorrow,” said Ornstein.
Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater came up with the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan in 2020 to address the region’s contribution to climate change.
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wolfmanner
Go to China and protest.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Report this
MaKane
There are real world problems that need to be addressed, seriously
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Report this
AugieH
They are blessed to have the free time to do something so inconsequential.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Report this
Johnwils
I am grateful for the fact that these young people protested in the manner they did. They took action where rules are made, without causing damage, blocking traffic etc. They are obviously very concerned about what they see as a real world problem….and they are trying to do something about it in a harmless but hopefully effective way. I’m glad they took the time for action.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Report this
newsjunkie
I applaud these brave young people who are doing their best to call attention to literally THE real world problem that will continue to worsen and that we adults need to wake up and act on.
Thursday, February 16, 2023 Report this
Esther
These young people deserve our thanks for holding our County Commissioners accountable to follow through on their climate pledges. Anyone who looks at the news and sees train explosions full of toxic gas, wildfires, droughts, the Colorado River going dry, unusual flooding here in downtown Olympia and elsewhere, atmospheric rivers, hundreds of species on the verge of extinction including our own salmon and orcas, the Antarctic ice shelf about to fall off - has to at some point - hopefully before too much more of the lifeblood of our world is destroyed - stand up like these young people did and demand that our health and our lives are more important than profit for the few.
Thursday, February 16, 2023 Report this
JW
Products of the modern school system.
Congratulations, you've done nothing but can feel good about yourself.
Saturday, February 18, 2023 Report this