They are 16, 17 or 18 years old, and soon they will change the world. Karel Mayrand is convinced of this. “You are the most inspiring thing I have seen in 25 years of fighting for our planet,” writes the former executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation for Quebec and the Atlantic in Letter to a young ecologistan essay intended for a generation that “has nothing left to lose”.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Heat records, droughts, floods, forest fires: almost every week, the news reminds us that the planet is suffering the repercussions of climate change.
“We are living in an emergency situation. […] Our house is burning,” said Karel Mayrand in an interview.
The letter of some 140 pages that he addresses to teenagers and young adults could have been imbued with discouragement and sadness. While Karel Mayrand admits to having sometimes felt these emotions over nearly 30 years of activism, his letter is above all full of hope, because its author believes in the ability of Generation Z to turn the tide.
“Whenever there have been major changes in our societies, they have been brought about by a group. One only has to think of the fight for the civil rights of African-Americans […]those for women’s rights or for workers’ rights…”
It is always someone whose interests or freedoms were threatened who stood up. For me, the fight of these young people is the fight for the civil rights of their generation and of the following ones.
Karel Mayrand
And the mobilization of young people is impressive, adds Karel Mayrand. “There were 7 million people who marched for the environment on five continents in September 2019. It was, at that time, the largest citizen movement that has ever taken place on the planet. In Montreal, half a million demonstrators had followed in the footsteps of Greta Thunberg, he recalls.
“Young people have ideals. They have nothing to gain by preserving the world we live in right now. They have everything to gain by changing it,” continues the man who is now CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal.
size changes
To succeed in limiting global warming, major changes are necessary, agrees Karel Mayrand. “We have to get out of the logic that everyone will make their own little individual gesture. We don’t have time for that anymore. »
In his book, he invites young people to bring about systemic change. “You have to come up with new, completely different ideas. We must rethink the way we transport ourselves, how we build our cities. You really have to change a lot of things, a lot of systems. »
The scale of the task seems enormous. Where to start ? “It’s impossible to eat the whole pie in one bite. Start by finding gestures that are within your reach, that you will be able to do as a group,” suggests Karel Mayrand.
Sensitizing his MP to environmental issues or implementing “zero waste” solutions in his school cafeteria are two examples, illustrates the author who thought a lot about his children when writing the book.
The evil of a generation
Karel Mayrand is sorry that nearly 75% of young people aged 18 to 34 suffer from eco-anxiety, according to a Léger survey conducted last year.
What I would like to say to these young people is that the future is not determined. Rather than feeling like you are having a future imposed on you, where all is lost, start playing your cards to create the future you want.
Karel Mayrand
According to him, “the best way to get out of eco-anxiety is to take action”.
“If you remain powerless, you are letting people who abuse your future win,” argues Karel Mayrand, pointing out that there will soon be provincial elections.
Dreaming of a better world
In Letter to a young ecologist, he also invites activists to dream of a better world. “If we want to rally millions of people to our cause, we must offer them a vision of the world that we want to build in which they will want to live,” writes Karel Mayrand.
“Most of the things to counter climate change also have an impact on improving our quality of life,” he explains in an interview. One can imagine a neighborhood where children go to school on foot, for example. […] You have to build something better, not just stop something bad. »
“The house is burning. Currently, the question is: do I get up to water it or not? concludes Karel Mayrand.
Letter to a young ecologist
Karel Mayrand
Kata editor
From 12 years old
On the same subject
Another youth novelty that addresses eco-anxiety, world’s smallest savior follows Florent, 10, who overhears a discussion between his two mothers. They wonder “if the planet will hold out” and if it is “irresponsible to have another child”. “Am I too much? Is the planet bad because of me? asks the boy, who sinks into great sadness. His parents will then show him how he changes the world. Signed by the collaborator of The Press Samuel Larochelle and embellished with poetic illustrations by Eve Patenaude, this touching book ends on a note of hope.
world’s smallest savior
Text by Samuel Larochelle, illustrations by Eve Patenaude
XYZ Editions
From 7 years old