The youth are our future, and Teen Vogue is helping to lead the charge—through education, cove

The youth are our future, and Teen Vogue is helping to lead the charge—through education, coverage, and amplification of marginalized voices. In No Planet B, edited by Lucy Diavolo and published by Haymarket Books, a community of climate activists speak up in a way that is accessible, educational, and inspirational. 

No Planet B taught me quite a bit I didn’t know. I was most impressed by its coverage of the plastics crisis. For example, the need to shift to a ‘reuse’ approach and not depend on recycling to save us. Corporations are using recycling as a distraction while ramping up the fossil fuel and fracking–heavy production of plastics. I learned from these pieces that the US sends much of its recycled and disposable waste abroad—for a long time, to China, but now to Southeast Asia. While many Western “green” programs and corporations lean on the top five countries responsible for marine plastics to fix up their act and stop “mismanaging” their natural resources, these same countries—China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka—are where Western countries are sending their trash. 

The essays cover the young climate activists fighting for change at high levels and in their communities—whether they’re sleeping outside McConnell’s office in protest, advocating for the Green New Deal, or standing with Greta Thunberg in global climate strikes. The essays also cover intersectional climate justice, discussing and highlighting how climate change disproportionately impacts people of color, Indigenous groups, people living in poverty, and young women around the world. They amplify those voices and stress that climate justice is not only an environmental but a social and political issue. 

All around, this collection is easy to read but full of crucial, important truths. It highlights how our youth are making a difference, and how we should learn from their actions, invest in their movements, and join the fight.