Young Women's Voices for a Safe Climate

Young women understand the link between security and climate change. By connecting to their own extreme weather experiences, namely the 2013 Boulder flood that was declared a national emergency, they are able to understand how our collective security is tied to our ability to maintain a stable climate. I facilitate a group for young women’s vocal empowerment through SPEAK.WORLD at the University of Colorado for 8 girls who attend Casey Middle School, Boulder High School, and Fairview High School. I asked them to contribute to this World Pulse invitation, and this is what some of them said. Beth Osnes, co-founder of SPEAK, Theatre and Environmental Studies Professor at the University of Colorado

Lerato Osnes: I remember during the time of the 2013 flood my mom and I walked down to look at the water at the creek and it was outrageous. So much water was crashing and moving downstream, overpowering and totally flooding all the land that was once grassy and now soaked and smothered in overflowing water. I thought it was cool because the power of water is so strong, destructive and can do a lot of damage, as it did for many people in Colorado on floodplains, taking them years to reconstruct. 

Olympia Kristl: My family gets a lot of food from our garden. During the flood we were unable to go out to the store and get food, so we decided to go to our garden and gather food. When we got out, all of us were surprised to find that the neighboring neighborhood had flushed its sewage into our neighborhood. The food that we had worked hard to grow was now not edible. Our neighbors to the right of us also had their garden ruined. Luckily between us we were able to share some food and manage until we could finally leave to the store. I remember that when I was at the store I saw my family grab whatever we could. Now we always make sure to have extra food and often donate whatever we can.

Uli Miller: I live in the mountains so when the flood hit in 2nd grade it was hard. I actually really like to stay home and chill but its weird when you’re not allowed to leave your house. We had no electricity or a source of running water. When you looked out the window you felt like you were floating. Rain was everywhere. Now I am a 7thgrader but when I think about the flood I try to imagine if I were in a different community where there was no way of getting the help needed. Climate change is hard especial in a hard place. If we had not had the help and resources we needed we may not have been so good.