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2023 One Earth Contest Winners Span the Globe

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2023 One Earth Contest Winners Span the Globe

Since its inception in 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has grown from a local, Oak Park/River Forest, Illinois, project accepting just 12 submissions to a highly competitive international competition garnering 403 submissions. Countries such as Brazil, Australia and Mexico and states such as California, Georgia and Indiana will be represented among this year’s winners at the Global Awards Celebration at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., in Chicago, or online virtually anywhere in the world.

Reserve free tickets here: tinyurl.com/yfc23awards

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Historic Youth Climate Trial in Montana: No Miracles Needed

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Historic Youth Climate Trial in Montana: No Miracles Needed

Held v. Montana was the first of the youth climate cases to make it past many procedural hurdles over many years and arrive in a trial court in Helena, MT. There, over seven days (June 12-20, 2023), Judge Kathy Seeley heard from the 16 young plaintiffs as well as world-renowned experts, including Dr. Mark Jacobson, on the effects of climate change in the world overall and specifically in Montana—temperatures warming, glaciers melting, rivers drying up, forests burning, air-quality alerts becoming more common.

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Youth Environmentalist Writes Children's Story Book about Food Deserts

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Youth Environmentalist Writes Children's Story Book about Food Deserts

At 14 years old, Tiara began her work in environmental justice at the Eco-Ambassador Program. Upon learning about food and sustainable land use, Tiara thought about the food desert in her own community of Calumet City, Illinois, where thriving businesses are constantly replaced with liquor stores. Pete’s, Aldi, and Food4Less are currently the only major fresh food marts on the far edges of Calumet City.

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The Winds of Change: Young Activists Pursue Climate Justice and Green Living

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The Winds of Change: Young Activists Pursue Climate Justice and Green Living

Born in the mid-to-late 1990s up to the early 2010s, Generation Z environmental activists agree that urgent action is needed to achieve climate justice, and they’re willing to do what it takes to get results. “Climate and environmental justice and environmental racism are very big concerns among youth, whether or not they are youth of color. It’s not just about energy, water or air—it’s also very much about people,” says Ana Garcia-Doyle, executive director of One Earth Collective. The Chicago nonprofit inspires action, facilitates learning and promotes environmental justice through annual programs like the One Earth Film Festival and One Earth Youth Voices, a summit designed to give voice to the next generation’s environmental concerns.

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Did Government Fuel the Climate Crisis?

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Did Government Fuel the Climate Crisis?

The film Youth v Gov is the story of Juliana v. United States, the legal case filed by Our Children’s Trust in 2015. In Juliana, 21 plaintiffs from 9 states sued the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, personal safety, and property. Their claim is that through its willful actions, the U.S. government has created and is continuing to create the climate crisis these young people will inherit.

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Chicago Area Youth Will Attend COP27 in Egypt

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Chicago Area Youth Will Attend COP27 in Egypt

On November 5, five students from the Chicago area youth-driven advocacy group It’s Our Future (IOF) will fly to Egypt to take part in COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh. It's Our Future, a program developed by Seven Generations Ahead and supported by One Earth Collective along with other partners, connects youth climate activists and empowers them to advocate for climate solutions in their schools and communities, and for a healthy livable future for all.

If you, like me, don’t know much about how a young person gets to go on a trip like this, you’re in luck, because I had the great pleasure of discussing these matters with two students who will be going—Tori Evans and Emmet Ebels-Duggan.