Name: Adam R.

Age: 16

Grade: 10

School: Westlake High School

Hometown: Westlake Village, CA

Climate change matters to me because I understand the urgency of the problem and how it affects us. My extracurricular activities include Junior State of America, a political club that often debates environmental topics as well as holding a board position in the Junior Achievement Company Program. I am a member of Earth Club and volunteer at the Many Mansions homework program. I am on the Academic Decathlon team at Westlake High School.

Name: Alexander L.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Golden Sierra High School

Hometown: Pilot Hill, CA

Climate change means everything to me. We need to realize that our world is in danger and that, unless we act immediately, we may not survive. I have hope, though. I know that the human race has the ability to change, and that we can reduce our impact. I am a straight “A” student at my high school, where I am an involved member of the Drama department. I want to make a difference in this world, and what better place to start than helping to save the world itself?

Name: Aliya W.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Vistamar School

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

I am the second youngest out of four. I am unique, charismatic, involved, dedicated, and compassionate. I play many sports including Varsity Soccer (3 years), and JV volleyball (2 years), and I have also run track (3 years). I am also an involved member in many clubs including Secretary of NAACP Youth Council, member of the Top Teens of America, and the HOUP (Helping Others Understand Others), Literary, and Ecology club at school. I am the future, which is why climate change matters to me the most, because it will affect me directly when I am older. I want to help slow climate change, not only for me, but for my siblings and all the future adults of the world.

Name: Anna M.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Menlo-Atherton High School

Hometown: Portola Valley, CA

Climate change honestly scares me, but what’s worse is society’s ignorance. My love of nature makes me feel responsible to protect the environment, especially because many people don’t understand the toll their actions take on our planet. Climate change matters to me because we aren’t the only things living here, but our actions are slowly disrupting nature that was in tact long before we were. It’s only a matter of time before we use up all of our resources as well, so it is our job to get the word out and inspire everyone to take steps to reduce their carbon footprints. I’m a student body officer at Menlo-Atherton High School where I head the Environmental Committee and play varsity tennis and lacrosse.

Name: Arielle G.

Age: 17

Grade: 11

School: Oak Park High School

Hometown: Oak Park, CA

Protecting our environment is something that I am extremely passionate about, and doing what I can to address the issue of Climate Change is extremely important and rewarding to me. Besides my interest in the environment, I enjoy helping others by participating in the Peer Counseling program at my school and working as a religious school teacher’s aide at my temple. Recently, I have become involved I the California YMCA Youth and Government program. I enjoy playing the guitar and being with friends and family, and I devote a considerable amount of time to AP and Honors classes at school.

Name: Charlotte P.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Palos Verdes High School

Hometown: Palos Verdes Estates, CA

The climate crisis is an important issue not just because of the global impact, but also because a solution will require the entire world to unify for a common cause. To solve this problem, I hope to unite as many people as possible by providing them with an understanding of the issue and what they can do to help. As a reporter for my city’s news station, student member of my district’s Board of Education, and leader of a student research team developing alternative ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, I am always looking for ways to make a difference.

Name: Devin F.

Age: 17

Grade: 11

School: Miramonte

Hometown: Orinda, CA

I think that climate change is the most important issue for my generation, which is why I strive to communicate information and motivate my community and fellow students. I am captain of my school’s cross-country and track teams, play the trombone, and take an active role in my community. As a member of the Food Bank Teen Board, I have worked to help make this organization environmentally friendly. This summer, I lived and worked for 6 weeks in a small, rural community in Honduras, where I gained a new perspective on environmental issues in a foreign language, lifestyle, and culture.

Name: Isaac P.

Age: 16

Grade: 10

School: Palo Alto High School

Hometown: Palo Alto, CA

I am a student at Palo Alto High School and became interested in the environmental crisis through my step mother, a political activist. I believe that we must not only embrace the environment as a social cause but as an economic cause. I’m particularly drawn to the idea that CO2 is not the only problem that needs to be addressed, but also how our culture is unsustainable. I’ve worked on a project addressing this issue, and hope to continue to do so. I also play lacrosse, and am interested in the ways people network and spread information.

Name: Jordan H.

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Lick-Wilmerding High School

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

Global climate change matters to me because it is global. The consequences of climate change will affect everyone – rich or poor, animal or plant, every country and every biome. My actions impact the present and future. I do not want the weight of a dying world on my conscience, so I want to do all I can to reverse global climate change before it is too late. I am the co-president of Lick-Wilmerding’s Environmental Club. I was captain of the cross-country team. I love blacksmithing, volunteering, acting, bicycling, meeting quirky people, and exploring the nooks and crannies of San Francisco.

Name: Leah R.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Marlborough High School

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Climate change, an issue that affects every living species on this planet, should matter to everyone. However, there exists a large population of people who do not understand the perilous state our environment is in. Climate change affects me personally, because I believe that every person has the right to know the facts, so I am very passionate about advising others what condition the world is in and how to help save it. My other interests involve JSA (Junior Statesmen of America), dance, and the guitar. I find these extracurricular activities good ways to meet new people and help them get involved as well.

Name: Marvin S.

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Richmond High School

Hometown: San Pablo, CA

A 12th grader from Richmond, California, I participate in activities that focus on improving his community and environment. Upon learning that global warming contributes to asthma rates in Richmond, I am leading the way to educate peers about global warming and its long-term effects. Earlier this year, I represented his community at the North America Youth Leadership Project for a Sustainable Future.

I am also involved with the Richmond Youth Media Project, which produced “Richmond High Speaks Up”, a monthly television show that address school issues. Currently, I am working on another television series that focuses on environmental initiatives.

Name: Patrick O.

Age: 17

Grade: 11

School: Miramonte High School

Hometown: Orinda, CA

Climate change is very important to me because I believe that we, as inhabitants of Earth, must respect the planet. I agree with Al Gore that saving the planet is a moral issue. It is immoral if we ignore global warming and leave a destroyed world for future generations. My primary interests are film making and soccer. I have been making videos since I was eleven. I am also a big soccer fan and love watching matches on TV. At school, I am the videographer for the varsity soccer games. That job is great because it combines my two passions.

Name: Rachel S.

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Pacific Collegiate School

Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA

My passion for activism and politics drives me to make climate change a constant source of discussion and action. I believe climate change must be addressed quickly and accurately. The social, legislative, and community responses to climate change are part of my inspiration to find pragmatic solutions to our current environmental problems. Throughout high school I explored my interest in activism through student government, the debate club, and volunteering on political campaigns. I have also become more interested in public service through my summers spent at a political summer school and volunteering in Latin America.

Name: Rebecca C.

Age: 16

Grade: 12

School: La Costa Canyon HS

Hometown: Encinitas, CA

My trip to Costa Rica elicited an emotional response to deforestation, intensifying my passion for the environment. I want to save more than simply the trees I can hug in a lifetime. I am an idealist who wants to change the world – through environmental law, I will lead society to environmental sustainability. I am a culmination of many roles, somehow fitting into and defying each stereotype. As a varsity gymnast, I am a jock with disdain for a cultural obsession with professional sports; a temperamental classical musician who enjoys rock; a spirited academic whose driving force is her own curiosity.

Name: Sophia A.

Age: 16

Grade: 11

School: Rim of the World High School

Hometown: Lake Arrowhead, CA

After living ten years on a michigan nature preserve, I gained respect for the environment, and knowledge that humans could limit their impact on the planet in a modernizing world. However, Midwestern life also exposed me to the many injustices that the Earth suffers at corporate hands. Near the preserve, hundreds of acres were razed for development, the worst example of clear-cutting I’d seen. Years later I realized greater local environmental crimes weren’t even visible: Nearby automotive plants poured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, disregarding any consequences. As a Climate Champion, I greatly appreciate the chance to promote respect for our planet, and to help reverse these destructive trends I witnessed firsthand.