25 young people making noise for social progress

MEET Avery McRae, an 11 year old leader standing as one of the 21 youth suing the U.S. federal government for negligent…

Posted by Women's Earth and Climate Action Network on Friday, February 24, 2017

Avery McRae

Like Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Avery McRae is one of the 21 young people suing the government for denying them their basic rights by ignoring climate change. But McRae was just 11 when she signed on to the historic lawsuit.

McRae started becoming an environmentalist at just five years old when she read a book about snow leopards and learned that climate change was one of the factors that led to them becoming endangered. Her mom suggested that she raise money for the snow leopards, so she threw a party and raised $200 for the Snow Leopard Trust. She’s gone on to raise money for wolves and salmon too.

McRae then joined Our Children’s Trust, which is the organization behind the lawsuit she and the others brought against the government. Of course, it was a huge decision for a kid to make, knowing that they’d be going up against some very fierce foes and that this case could drag on for years. But for McRae and the others, the world was at stake. At first they brought the lawsuit against the Obama administration. Now they’re up against the Trump administration, which is a whole other animal. As we know, the Trump administration has not been kind to the environment.

No matter what, though, McRae will continue fighting. “I want my government to understand that climate change is real, changes are happening right now, and things aren’t going to get better on their own,” McRae said. “Climate change should be the government’s first priority.”