High school student perseveres for years to enact major change within school district: 'I was naive at first'

Meaningful climate action starts at the local level, and getting young people involved is an important part of the process. Few know this better than Diana Michaelson, a student from Long Beach, California.

Now a college student at Cornell University, she first took an interest in saving the environment in high school. Michaelson participated in the Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit that offers education, advocacy, and leadership training in the climate action space.

The program is responsible for helping the Los Angeles Unified School District commit to 100% clean electric energy by 2030 and in all other energy sectors by 2040. Michaelson hoped to secure the same commitments in Long Beach.

As a sophomore, she founded the Long Beach Green Schools Campaign at her high school in 2020.

"I was naive at first. I thought GSC would simply present the school district with a 100% clean energy resolution and the school board would vote yes and, boom, done. World saved," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I was not expecting a two-year-plus process."

It was a rough road to get the approval, Michaelson said, but not because of climate deniers. It was most difficult getting people to care enough to make their campaign a top priority.

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At the time, her school district was putting most of its efforts and resources into making adjustments during the pandemic for distance learning. To spread the word, the campaign group held a virtual town hall, started a petition, threw a rally, and did consistent outreach to residents in the area about their cause.

It took two years of community engagement, along with meetings with the district and school board, before the Green School Operations Energy and Sustainability Policy was adopted on Aug. 17, 2022. This committed the Long Beach school district to transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2045.

"The many months it took to pass this resolution allowed us to craft a feasible, realistic plan that put climate action at the forefront of LBUSD's goals," Michaelson said.

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Everyone benefits from young people being educated on environmental issues and getting involved in their community to make positive changes.

A high schooler from Illinois used their class project to draft a climate change bill that requires mandatory climate education in Illinois public schools. The bill passed and will go into effect in 2026. A group of teens in San Francisco convinced their high school to invest in clean, renewable energy and divest its endowment from dirty energy sources.

"Nonrenewable energy has been the norm for so long that our systems are built around this technology, and, quite frankly, it's easy to stay this way. That's why it takes a village to decide to fight for these issues," Michaelson said.