TRURO, N.S. — Dallace Pash is afraid that her future is being destroyed.
“I want a future; I want to be able to live and experience the things I should,” said the 16-year-old Cobequid Educational Centre student. “What’s happening with the environment is really scary, but we need to be positive. We have 10 years to make change. We still have time to do it, but we need to take action now.”
She and Jacob McKiel are two of the young people who took part in Truro’s climate strike on Sept. 27.
“This could be the end of life,” said McKiel. “I feel most youth understand but a lot of older people are dismissing it because they don’t want to believe it.
We have an opportunity to make change and people need to educate themselves.”
He’s doing things to lessen his own impact on the climate, including taking others with him when he drives, consuming very little meat, avoiding single-use plastics and talking to people about the crisis.
“I drink from a fountain instead of using bottled water, and reduce and recycle as much as possible,” said Pash. “I walk to a lot of places and support businesses that support the climate, and every day I try to make someone more aware.
“I’m a vegetarian. So much grain is required for meat; that grain could feed a lot of people.”
She encourages people to make choices based on what’s best for the environment instead of what’s most convenient.
“It’s really scary and so many people don’t understand the situation,” she said. “I don’t think many politicians are listening. They know what’s happening, but they aren’t doing anything.
“We’re going to make a stand. We’re going to make a difference. We want this to lead to change.”
McKiel hopes people who can’t make it to public events will show support for change by posting messages online.
“I can’t imagine knowing what’s going on and doing nothing,” he said. “Fixing the climate will help everyone. It shouldn’t be about money; it should be about keeping people safe
“I want to be able to look back and say I was part of this; I helped change the world.”
