LOCALadk Magazine

Spring 2016 LOCALadk Magazine 21 LOCALadk Adirondacks from Miami because so many people rely on snow in the Northeast. Four students from Saranac Lake High School brought this initiative to the Saranac Lake Village Board, and Saranac Lake officially became the first I AM PRO SNOW town on the East Coast. Why is climate important to ADK youth, and How are we Leading? By Silas Swanson - Junior, Saranac Lake High School As youth, we have everything ahead of us and are not willing to compromise our future. The Youth Summit gave me a platform for action, be it for my own personal interests or for positive political change. When presenting to the NYS DEC Bureau of Public Outreach, I emphasized that this is a unique opportunity for anyone who attends. Being a part of this youth movement and creating more sustainable schools honors the fact that we're the first generation to feel the ef- fects of climate change and the last to be able to do anything about it. As a student you create credibility through action, showing society that after spending your whole life learning, you have made this a priority, creating green schools. We can be the model. Youth have historically been the catalyst for change – look at the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Suf- frage, and the Right to Vote. This is no different, and we en- courage you to follow our lead. We need to educate our gen- eration to unite more people than ever to save something, to help everyone find their reason, be it rising sea levels affect- ing island nations, droughts, wildfires, or health risks. Now in the digital age of globalization, it is even easier to connect the local to international movements. The Adirondacks are such an integral part of me, of anyone who has grown up here, and I hope to preserve this region so that the person who grows up in my town at any point in the future can have the same experiences as I had in 2015, instead of the projected North Carolina-like climate by 2050. 2015 was the warmest year on record. This season, Whiteface, the great Olympic mountain had one of its most dismal starts to the sea- son. How are they to continue training their aspiring athletes with so little snow? Saranac Lake is home to The Winter Car- nival, dating back to 1898! At its centerpiece is the Ice Palace that draws thousands of people and is an anchor event for our winter-dependent economy. Every year the fearful conversa- tion about not getting cold enough grows louder and this year has the worst outlook yet. No Ice Palace would be the first cut away from my hope of everyone enjoying the same Ad- irondack experience. Finding that personal connection to the winters I love turned the choice to do something into a moral obligation to advocate for the town and the whole planet. If you look at the big picture, every person has that obligation to do something. We all share the same planet. The Paris Experience By Gina Fiorile, sophomore at the University of Vermont and intern at The Wild Center. She was awarded the Champion of Change for Climate from The White House for her work in youth climate engagement In December 2015, the Youth Climate Summit team at The Wild Center attended the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's 21st Conference of Parties (UNFCCC COP 21). The Wild Center helped organize two presentations in partnership with NOAA and the Association of Science Technology Cen- ters, at the U.S. Center and the Paris Science Center. The focus was to promote climate education throughout the UN Paris Climate Talks. The presentation, "Our Time to Lead: Youth En- gagement in Climate Change" featured the actions students are taking globally as a result of Youth Climate Summits, and drew attention to the need for climate education and climate action. And, the I AM PRO SNOW panel highlighted work being done by mountain communities around the world to protect winter cultures and economies from the impacts of climate change. Nearly two hundred countries were represented at this two week conference -- the largest Conference of Parties in UN- FCCC history. The COP 21 conference is potentially at a tip- ping point in the course of history; the decisions made will determine the course of action that will be taken on climate change - to keep global warming beneath 1.5 degrees C. As this was a groundbreaking conference, our experiences at COP 21 were truly incredible. We learned about the Aerole- Top: The AYCS allows youth to express their concern for cli- mate change in a variety of ways. The #Youth4Climate board is just one of many. Bottom: AYCS attendees present to one another and discuss their ideas. They even have fun while doing it! Battaglia

• Cover