Skip to main content

"If Trump Withdrew From the Paris Climate Agreement..."

Support Provided By
Get Lit Logo

In collaboration with Get Lit: Get Lit NOW is a new weekly series by the youth of Get Lit – Words Ignite. Listen to the poets respond to breaking news and celebrate free thought. #THINK

"If Trump Withdrew From the Paris Climate Agreement..."
Written by Colleen Hamilton & Mila Cuda. Performed by Colleen Hamilton.

How does this issue affect you or your community?

Colleen Hamilton: I grew up in the Bay Area in a home close to sea level. If temperatures rise passed 3.6 degrees — the tipping point according to many scientists — the oceans will rise. This will not only leave my home vulnerable to flooding, but also millions of others around the world. Although I was only in second grade, I still remember the images of Hurricane Katrina: Thousands forced to leave their homes, sofas floating in the streets. If we do not act on climate change, this will become the norm. We need to protect our communities — and the Earth — from this outcome.

Support Provided By
Read More
A blonde woman wearing a light grey skirt suit stands with her back to the camera as she holds a sheet of paper and addresses a panel at the front of a courtroom

California Passed a Law To Stop 'Pay to Play' in Local Politics. After Two Years, Legislators Want to Gut It

California legislators who backed a 2022 law limiting businesses' and contractors' attempts to sway local elected officials with campaign contributions are now trying to water it down — with the support of developers and labor unions.
An oil pump painted white with red accents stands mid-pump on a dirt road under a blue, cloudy sky with a green, grassy slope in the background.

California’s First Carbon Capture Project: Vital Climate Tool or License to Pollute?

California’s first attempt to capture and sequester carbon involves California Resources Corp. collecting emissions at its Elk Hills Oil and Gas Field, and then inject the gases more than a mile deep into a depleted oil reservoir. The goal is to keep carbon underground and out of the atmosphere, where it traps heat and contributes to climate change. But some argue polluting industries need to cease altogether.
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.