Bergen County Students Fight for Climate Action

Temperatures are rising, oceans are warming, ice sheets are shrinking, sea levels are rising, natural disasters are increasing, and the oceans are acidifying. All of these phenomena are backed by NASA, which has also proved that the changing climate is being caused by human activity. Our planet is dying, and yet there is still a significant amount of people who don’t believe in climate change. Over 30% of Americans don’t believe that the climate is changing, and an even greater percentage don’t think it is because of humans. This is an alarmingly high number considering that scientists discovered climate change in the early 19th century, and NASA reported that it is real and caused by human activity in the 20th century. Now, experts claim that in order to prevent irreversible damage, we must significantly reduce (cut in half) emissions by 2030, and have net zero emissions by 2050. Otherwise, there will be dire consequences. The most threatening contributor to climate change is carbon emissions. Political change to combat climate change and reduce emissions in the US has been limited, and certainly not enough to save us from this global crisis. In fact, the US is the second-largest emitter of CO2. Without strict action immediately, the world we live in will begin looking very different in the future.

However, students in Bergen County will not rest while decision-makers do nothing in the face of a crisis that will impact the planet they are growing up in. A group of high-school-aged students has formed a group called “Sunrise Bergen” to combat the climate crisis. Sunrise Bergen is a chapter of the national “Sunrise Movement.” The Sunrise Movement is “a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.” The Sunrise Movement operates through its chapters, which are known as “Sunrise Hubs.” Sunrise Bergen is one such Sunrise Hub. Sunrise Bergen, which was created in August of 2020, has already been very active in local political and social change. Sunrise Bergen has held protests at Rep. Gottheimer’s Hackensack office calling for climate action (and calling out his inaction), dropped banners over route 4 to raise awareness for the climate crisis, attended Bergen County Commissioner Meetings, collaborated with various Bergen County organizations, held phonebanks in support of Green Politicians during the election season, created their own climate action plan for Gottheimer, held various events to engage their community, and so much more. This is a tremendous amount of action in such a short span of existence, and they will not stop fighting until the climate is under control.

Sunrise Bergen is a diverse group of mostly high school students from around Bergen County. They are always accepting members (under age 35) from anywhere in Bergen County. In order to join, simply fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJVoijp-UoaOncYf75u7RRm8ZTN4LHipTWkrtAliPw6JqHeA/viewform and a Sunrise member will reach out to you in a timely manner. There are a variety of teams you can join, as detailed in the form. A member will reach out to you with the link to a discord server, which is where the majority of communication happens. Forward this article to someone you know who may be interested in joining Sunrise Bergen and the fight for a healthy future!

Join Sunrise Bergen: https://forms.gle/wFZCbaeJdhER4R9P6
NASA climate change evidence/stats: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
Sunrise Movement Website: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/?ms=SunriseMovement
Sunrise Bergen Instagram account: sunrisebergen