Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez was six when he gave his first speech about climate change.
“I wanted to go to all the factories with my brother and shut them down. And when I turned six, I found out that it was us that were supporting the factories. We’re the ones fuelling the destruction of our environment with our money.”
Now he is 14, Roske-Martinez, indigenous environmental eco hip-hop artist and activist running the environmental organisation Earth Guardians. He raps, he lectures and when he has the time, he speaks at the UN.
But Roske-Martinez is just one of the young voices we’ve been showcasing in the past fortnight as part of #GroundUp, our series on the generation most affected by climate change.
Finn Harries, film-maker and co-founder of video blog JacksGap, opened the series; he told us why his generation must save the planet. We found the young climate activists to watch in the run up to December’s landmark conference in Paris and heard from the world champion freerunner Tim Shieff on why going vegetarian will save the planet.
If you’re a fan of Minecraft, we hope you dived into the world of Climate Hope City – where hydrogen powered boats glide through the freshest crystal waters and natural fruit and vegetables grow on multi-storey farms. The project was commissioned by the Guardian for Keep it in the Ground from expert Minecraft modeller Adam Clarke. Don’t have Minecraft? Don’t worry – take a tour in the video below.
In case you missed it ...
“Our Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth”: these are the words of the Pope, published on Thursday in his historic encyclical on climate change. In the 180-page document, Pope Francis blamed the indifference of those in power for the “grave social debt” owed to the poor by rich nations.
On Tuesday we launched the fourth in our series on carbon bombs: the world’s biggest fossil fuel reserves, that if exploited will take us significantly closer to a 2C rise in global temperatures. This week, we saw energy correspondent Terry Macalister visit one of Earth’s most harsh yet vulnerable landscapes: the Arctic, where warming is occurring at twice the rate of the rest of the planet.
It’s now been two weeks since Alan Rusbridger, who launched Keep it in the Ground in March, stepped down from his role as Guardian editor-in-chief. So as the first phase of the campaign draws to a close, we launch the final episode in the first series of our behind the scenes podcast, the biggest story in the world. The team gather and ask: what has been the impact so far? What is the political state affairs six months from the landmark climate change conference in Paris? And what does the new editor-in-chief Kath Viner think? Download the latest episode here.
If you went down to London’s Tate Modern museum last weekend, you might not have recognised the famous Turbine hall. Activists in occupation for 25 hours charcoaled its 152-metre floor with words of warning about climate change in protest at the museum’s sponsorship by oil giant BP.
Get involved
It’s been quite a week for climate activism. On Wednesday thousands of people – from beekeepers to surfers to schoolchildren – from across the UK turned up at the Houses of Parliament to participate in the country’s biggest ever climate climate change lobby.
Did you go or take part online? It’s not too late to send us your stories, photos and videos from the day. Or if you’re involved in other forms of climate campaigning, anywhere around the world, tell us about it here.
Surfers trade waves for Westminster as they speak up up #fortheloveof oceans: pic.twitter.com/9PRp3fdejd
— The ClimateCoalition (@TheCCoalition) June 17, 2015
Want to divest your own money from fossil fuels? On Thursday we hosted a live Q&A on the issue – this time for our audience in north America. You can catch up on our debate here.
Did you take part in our pension fund divestment assignment? If so, we’re looking over your responses and we’ll be in touch next week.
Want to get more stuck in with the divestment movement? It’s not too late to sign up for the day of talks and workshops hosted by 350.org with support from the Guardian and partners.
