My name is Ashley Ambrocio. I am a member of Drawdown East End and Riverhead EAC (Environmental Advisory Committee).

When I learned of the magnitude of the climate crisis, I decided that I will not sit and watch.

When people hear about the negatives on this topic, they often cocoon or ignore it, because it seems like a problem to big too solve. It’s not “their problem”. I could not be one of these people because I do not have the luxury of not being affected by this crisis.

I have dreams and aspirations, things that, when I am older, I would like to say that I did during my life. Greta Thunberg once said “That she was fortunate to be born in a time and place where everyone told us to dream big; she could become whatever she wanted to. She could live wherever she wanted to. People like herself, had everything they needed and more. Things their grandparents could not even dream of. They had everything they could ever wish for and yet, now, we may have nothing” This is a reality all too real for those that are millennials or younger.

Many young people are becoming aware of this crisis and are taking action in the form of the Extinction Rebellion, Sunrise Movement, and many more. I am mobilizing with these kids because we want to ensure that we have a safe and happy future to complete these goals that we all have.  Although we are not the ones who caused the problem, we are very determined to fix it. But we need allies. We need those who have been alive to see this crisis unfold, to help us to ensure that my children and my grandchildren have the opportunity of a future. There are solutions that involve individual action, collective action and moving governmental policy.  

What I ask is to find that passion and curiosity, to lend some of your time and energy, and to join a group like Drawdown East End or Win With Wind and help solve the crisis.

We aren’t winning against this challenge. We need to see that this is the time to act. We need to seize the opportunity and turn climate change around. We need to help the younger generations that are inheriting this crisis and the generations that will come after us. We need to give them a stable, safe, and thriving world.