In just a matter of hours, voters will be queuing up at polling places. I wondered, with the myriad issues and concerns people are grappling with, where climate change factors into the priorities of millennials.
“I would say it’s a high priority for me,” says thirty-year-old Dynasty Ceasar.
Born and raised in Milwaukee’s midtown neighborhood, Ceasar doesn’t care for labels; she is a professional and a concerned citizen, and especially since the birth of her now one and a half-year old child, Ceasar says climate change has climbed higher on her concern list.
“I worry about how the world will be, if there is a world—not to be dramatic—but if there is a world for my son, how will the air quality be? How will this experience be as he grows? So, it’s a definitely a high priority,” Ceasar says.
But even climate change is eclipsed by Ceasar’s number one concern, “The priority has always been equity, always. It’s always been at the forefront,” she says.
Over time, Ceasar says she’s come to realize striving for equity and climate action are interwoven—you can’t have one without the other.
“As we continue to strive for liberation and equity, if we don’t consider what’ happening on the planet, we won’t have a planet to experience that on. So, it has to be something that’s being considered, and it’s just as important,” Ceasar says.
Ceasar says as for political engagement, she makes sure she’s informed, but keeps her political views to herself.
No matter who is elected, Ceasar believes officials should be aggressively addressing climate change.
“They have that infinite responsibility to make sure that our planet is being taken care of. We have responsibilities as individuals, but they have responsibility as lawmakers. So if they’re not talking about that, I’m not listening,” Ceasar says.
For Stephen Perkins, who is 27 his political affiliation and drive to bring about climate action go hand in hand. He’s a conservative strategist and activist.
A few years ago Perkins co-founded a group called the American Conservation Coalition, along with Wisconsin native—Benji Backer.
The coalition has branched out to more than 100 communities across the country.
Perkins says its mission is to come up with a bipartisan, supported, codified national strategy to tackle climate change, and Orienting the conservative movement toward a better direction, a more productive, common sense direction,” Perkins says.
Perkins says that means bringing Republican politicians on board to talk about climate action in a productive way.
“For this is about pushing the movement and the party that I care about so much in the right direction and being on the right side of history on this issue,” Perkins says.
So, for example when it comes to Ron Johnson’s bid to keep his job as a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, Perkins has a glass half full attitude.
“For Senator Johnson, he is someone we would love to see him more engaged on climate policy, again, in a productive way, as we push all Republicans to be,” Perkins says.
Perkins thinks the midterm and the 2024 general elections will be highly consequential.
He says his organization is focused on making sure Republicans in leadership positions are poised to take the lead on climate action.
“The Biden administration and Democrats in Congress—whether you agree with their policies or not—you can objectively say that they have made climate, made the environmental one of the top issues that they’ve been working on,” Perkins continues, “ We want Republicans to add keep that up, and obviously have their own angle to it, and have their own set of solutions.”
Back where she sits in Milwaukee, Dynasty Ceasar admits, she’s fearful about the midterm election.
“I think this is a big one, I know this is a big one. There are a lot of conversations about equity that are happening and there’s a lot of arguing,” Ceasar says.
She compares it to family elders arguing around the dining room table.
Ceasar isn’t sure young voices, conservative or liberal, will be heard by elected officials.
“They’re too busy bickering with each other and they’re like this is a grown folks conversation; you don’t get to put in on this,” Ceasar says.
Ceasar worries conversations about equity and climate action could, in her words, “go away.”
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