Opinion: For Colorado’s younger generations gripped by climate anxiety, taking action is a tangible remedy

Climate change poses an urgent threat to communities globally, and many young people like myself find the climate crisis incredibly anxiety-inducing. 

We weigh our options for the future based on disbelief that meaningful change can be accomplished, and many of my peers are not planning to have children in fear of the future consequences of climate change. Some have already experienced climate change directly, experiencing the devastation of fires like the 2021 Marshall fire and the raging wildfires in Los Angeles after climate “whiplash” returned California to drought conditions.  

I saw destruction as hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through my Florida hometown. Our generation’s discouragement about climate action is exacerbated by a new administration that promotes fossil fuels and has exited the Paris Agreement — which unites all but three countries in action against climate change — once again. 

It is well documented that burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas is the primary cause of climate change, and drastic changes in weather patterns like increased flooding and drought occur as a result. We’re already more than halfway to the threshold for catastrophic warming — 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, after which extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes will become more frequent and severe.

According to the EPA, marginalized communities are disproportionately more likely to be in the wake of climate change and are the least able to prepare for and recover from heat waves and poor air and water quality, among other impacts, which can also compound health problems like heart disease and asthma.

To supplement my learning and remedy my sense of hopelessness in the face of climate change, I began a climate policy internship and became involved in the class VI well rulemaking at Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management Commission. Class VI wells are meant for long-term carbon storage and are currently regulated at the federal level. The recently passed rules will support Colorado in its bid for primacy, or regulatory authority, over class VI wells. 

States with primacy cannot have looser rules than the federal regulations, but they can be stricter. My priority in this rulemaking was for Colorado to opt for stricter regulation than the EPA to align with Colorado’s climate goals. 

Through my internship, I helped research rules in the three states that have primacy. I focused on the risks of leaks into the atmosphere when sequestering carbon in an oil and gas field and the need for storage to be definitively permanent to prevent later extraction for enhanced oil recovery, a process using stored CO2 to extract more oil and gas. I also helped to create a toolkit to help the public comment on the rulemaking. 

Ultimately, the rules were not as protective as I would have liked, but being involved in the process gave me a sense of hope for climate action in the future.

To young people, these processes can feel very inaccessible. Even many environmental studies students don’t know about rulemakings that are important for climate efforts. My peers have a very real sense of isolation and climate anxiety, but not necessarily the tools to do much about it (yet!). My participation through research and writing, however small, made climate action feel tangible to me in a way I did not feel previously. 

There is certainly a communication gap between the public and agencies, and it is difficult for the public to get the information they need without the help of an organization. If you feel disconnected from climate action, there are things you can do to contribute:

Volunteer or sign onto the mailing list with grassroots organizations like 350 Colorado, GreenLatinos, WildEarth Guardians, or any other organization in your area that works on rulemaking relating to climate action. They can provide you with information about what they need help with, whether it’s research, organizing, or more. 

Also, if you can’t volunteer but would like to contribute, try using a toolkit. Toolkits are sent out by organizations to provide relevant information and talking points to help you make a public comment. 

You should also regularly call or email your elected representatives to let them know that climate action is a top priority. 

Ultimately, Colorado’s climate goals are a promise to my generation, and those after me, that future citizens are as valued as current citizens. But while Colorado may be “leading the way on climate commitments,” net-zero emissions targets are empty promises if not supported by policy and rulemaking that prioritize an end to fossil fuel use.

Sofia Sanchez, of Bradenton, Florida, is a climate policy intern at 350 Colorado and a senior in environmental studies at the University of Colorado.

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