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High school students campaign for sweeping policy change and win school board's approval: 'This is a project of our generation'

With empowered school children advocating for a cleaner, more sustainable world, the future is bright.

With empowered school children advocating for a cleaner, more sustainable world, the future is bright.

Photo Credit: iStock

Students in Boulder, Colorado, have seen success in their efforts to make local schools more environmentally friendly after the Boulder Valley School District Board of Trustees passed a resolution.

As Colorado Public Radio detailed, shared by Common Dreams, the students of Fairview High School were appealing for all school buildings and buses to run on renewable power and for the curriculum to include teachings on sustainability knowledge and behaviors. 

"This is a project of our generation, and we're not gonna stop until every school across the country has a Green New Deal and the kind of schools we deserve," 16-year-old student leader Emma Weber said, per Common Dreams

"The Green New Deal for Schools is the kind of action and urgency that we need in order to address the climate crisis and prepare students to live with the realities of it."

The climate advocates were working within the Green New Deal for Schools campaign championed by Sunrise Movement, an organization that encourages young people to get involved with climate-friendly initiatives.

Sunrise Movement detailed on X, formerly known as Twitter, how the Boulder Valley School District resolution was passed unanimously. The board will now appeal to President Joe Biden and Congress to commit to improving education in schools nationwide about the climate crisis. 

Educational establishments across the country are enacting positive change to slow the rapid rise of global temperatures and increase education about sustainability. At the University of Florida, for example, the student senate passed a policy to reduce the school's consumption of dirty energy — the pollution from these sources remains in the atmosphere and traps heat.

Meanwhile, gas-guzzling school buses nationwide are being swapped out for cleaner electric alternatives, helping to reduce harmful pollution and improving air quality for students. In fact, electric school buses help keep kids in the classroom, with an increase in attendance reported by schools that utilize this technology because of a reduction in illness-enforced absences. 

With empowered school children advocating for a cleaner, more sustainable world, the future is bright.

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