 A couple things that I want to ask just of you, I don't want to catch you off guard. Yeah, no. I know there are a bunch of, you know, I guess high school age, maybe there's some college age folks as well in the State House today. And can you just give me a sense as to, and I'm going to ask you to introduce yourself to the record, as to kind of what your organization is, I think it's called Youth Climate. The Youth Lobby? Yep. Yep. It's composed of, you know, what you guys do, guys and girls do, and, you know, I know a little bit about it because I've had conversations with some folks and I've got some constituents who participate as well, including my son, but, you know, I'm going to be interested in a little background for committee members' understanding. Yeah, definitely. I'll introduce myself. I'm Seth Fisher-Overa. I'm a senior in high school at Vermont Common School, so... Which is where? In South Burlington. Yep. I live in St. George. Yeah. Part-time in Burlington. Part-time. So, yeah. The Youth Lobby is a network of schools, basically, and then through the schools, a network of clubs relating to climate, climate justice, outdoor clubs, and it's kind of a coalition of all of those clubs, all of those people who care and are passionate about climate and who care about our climate, who want to take action to help save our climate, and so we plan events to come to the State House, Lobby legislators. We have events out on the lawn to celebrate the climate, to bring people together to talk about this, to make sure that our legislature understands how the youth feel and kind of express the youth's feelings. Do you do work locally as well? For example, you know, you work with, I don't know, with the South Burlington, you know, town council, I'm not sure what they're doing with the energy committee. Yeah. I don't know. For example, I know that I have a local high school, Fetford Academy, and there are a handful of students there that work pretty closely with our collect board, you know, looking at some of these issues, and it's been interesting as they kind of dig in at the grass roots level, you know, how does government work? Yeah. Do you, does the climate lobby work with local or is it mostly focused on state? I think it's generally focused on the state level. I think that, like you said, individual school clubs are still definitely able to engage on a local level, and I think that's an awesome piece of the youth lobby is, it's a coalition of groups and not just kind of one mass, so when we're together, I think we focus on state issues, but when we go back to our separate schools, I think we still have the ability to kind of take, have an impact on a local level as well. Right. So, I'm sorry. Yeah. Well, I was just, as quickly as you have a list of who's, you know, who your group is, who's in it, what schools. Yeah. Kind of, I mean, it's a long list in terms of like the events that we've put on and who kind of affiliates with us. I mean, we had more than 170 college, high school, middle school and homeschooled kids come, so we have the attendees there, but it's a long list. And the school, I mean, the schools across the state, far south is Byrne Burton. Maybe I'll be specific. Yeah. He went in St. Charlesbury. St. Jay. Off the top of my head, I have no idea. I mean, I'll be honest with you, but yeah, I think. I'd be interested to find out. Yeah. Yeah. And I think a big part of the youth lobby is we take climate justice into account big time, and so having representation across the state, rural areas, urban areas, minority populations, and having as diverse of a group as we can to, I feel like make sure we're getting all the perspectives we can. That's really important. If you go to youthlobby.org, it's all there. Oh, thank you. Okay. So the floor is yours. I didn't want to cut that off. Awesome. But I wanted the committee to know kind of a little bit about your Yeah. Um, well, first of all, I just want to thank you guys, um, passing the, uh, getting the GWSA through committee. Um, that's awesome. I know that means a lot to me personally. Um, and I know that youth lobby is really supportive and appreciative of that. Um, in terms of what we're doing in the state house today, um, Valentine's Day, and we're here to celebrate, uh, the climate, the earth, and our appreciation for that. And so I think we have a couple of testimonies and committees planned. We have this love letter written. Uh, and so I plan to share that with some committees. And then we have a press conference, um, at one, and then some meetings, uh, individually. Yeah. Um, is this specifically for our committee or is there a, is this the same letter? This is the letter that we're going to be sharing, um, collectively. I'm a little hurt that the Valentine's isn't as personalized as well. I was in our technology committee. You know what? Well, I'll share the love with the creation committee. Very kind. Very benevolent of you. Thank you. Um, yeah. So I can read this love letter really quick. If that sounds good. Yeah, sure. Okay. Dear Earth, we have come to the state house to express our deepest affection for your climate and to declare our commitment to reducing harmful levels of atmospheric pollution, which threaten life as we know it. We are forever grateful for the beautiful home you've created, the clean water, green forest, luminous stars, and the deep snow that brings us joy. However, I worry that your treasures are being robbed. The rampant use of fossil fuels has begun to fundamentally disrupt the bounty of life that your inhabitants take for granted. The earth is warming. The stars have begun to dim. And one in four species are at risk of extinction. We are already watching people struggle for the consequences of climate change. Our cries for you too often fall on deaf ears, on minds unwilling to take action, unwilling to change despite the clear and indisputable science. To us, climate change is not a political issue. It's an existential threat, the effects of which we have only begun to feel. We're proud to come from a state that shows to keep the promises that were made at the Paris Climate Accords. However, we are ashamed that with all of our goals, we are not reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Vermont carbon emissions have risen by 16% while climate pollution in all of our neighboring states have fallen. It is imperative that we act as soon to prioritize combating climate change and making the switch to clean air through infrastructure and protection of the livelihood of Vermonters. The consequences of climate change continue to reveal themselves. We point to Australia and their burning continent, Venice and their constant flooding, and the many Pacific Islanders whose homes are disappearing beneath their feet. We point to the fact that in 2008, a Cornell study written by leading climate scientists found that if we wish to live on a planet that can sustain human life, we must limit carbon in our atmosphere to at least 350 parts per million. Unfortunately, that was 12 years ago and the problem has only gotten worse, with CO2 levels now over 415 parts per million. With many distractions, it is easy to forget the radiant winter-filled future we strive for. It is easy to get caught up in the trench by those who profit off our destruction. However, for those of us who still storm the breach, run towards the fight, we will not stop, we will not forget. Forget the clean water, the green forests, the luminous stars, or the deep snow, love always the Vermont youth lobby. So, yeah. This is Sydney and Evelyn. Also youth lobby members. Did you want to try this as well? We're here to support Seth. Very kind of them. You got the very end. Seth, give us an introduction to kind of what the Vermont youth lobby is about and why you guys are here today. And you're welcome to add anything you'd like. Thank you. Perfect. Thank you so much for having us. We'll be in the state house for a little bit longer. I just wanted to make a comment that we see the Global Warming Solutions Act as a foundation. But we know we need to do more than just say we're going to make these requirements. We have to actually take some actions that are going to get us there as well. So we're going to continue working on that. I think you're exactly correct. So one of the challenges for us is that we first of all whatever we do is glacially slow. That's just the legislative process. And glacially maybe a bad term. That analogy in this case. I don't even know the question. And we all kind of hope for this silver bullet of technology that's going to fix this. But so much of it is this human behavior. Expectations and our own actions. And those are really hard to change. Especially as adults. And so it seems to me that the best forum for changing human behavior is in schools. And that's really good to see that's driving that area where it's where we can't reach easily. Yep. I think you're definitely right. I think like what you're talking about with this silver bullet that we're waiting for. I think that's how a lot of us youth lobby members feel is we can't wait for this silver bullet. And though we really we believe market forces have a definite impact on how we can move forward in these are really important. And then education at a youth level is definitely a step we want to take. And I think some of us are testifying at the education committee. So yeah. You can say that far more articulately than I did. Just wanted to say as you follow spend time in the legislature and follow what we're doing or not doing. And I've said this in many different ways in constituent meetings in my area and things like that too. It's important to realize that while there are certain important big pieces of legislation like the global warming act that just came out of our committee I see it's important to actually understand that at this point almost every different committee in this building owns some piece of this issue and is going to be doing things sometimes small measures and things like that. But I think you know year after year starting I started seeing it last year where I became aware even though I'm a member of the committee that has energy in its title I didn't even know what some of the other committees were doing because we all sit in little rooms and it's hard to know let's say about carbon sequestration and forestry as one example. So it's important to follow what is happening across the whole legislature in the transportation committees they are going to be dealing with issues around how to make electric vehicles how to change the market so that electric vehicles become more and more of a real possibility for more and more people and that involves incredibly way more complicated issues than I originally thought about charging and who pays electric vehicles help contribute to road maintenance and all of these things that I went into thinking well that's easy it's not. So these committees are figuring those things out and I think year by year making progress on that. So it's important to not just look to the big bills but to see whether everybody or almost everybody in the building in both the house and senate are incrementally doing things as well. Something I'll add on with Representative Pat's comment when we were first elected the same year in 2015 and served on the health care committee something the health care committee is working on now and I actually was a sponsor of the bill three years ago relates to telemedicine and really important issue that you wouldn't think about with regard to climate change but it's important for rural areas it's important actually from the work that this committee has done on access to broadband internet service but also the ability of people who don't live close to medical care being able to access medical care literally on their iPhone or on their computer and in that regard one of the ways the health care committee looked at this was to go to the doctor or you can see a specialist if you live in a remote part of Vermont if you have access to broadband internet service and to your point there are a bunch of small things that add up to meaningful change in terms of either having to get into a car or if you live in a rural area having access to something that five years ago you didn't have access to and it is interesting that different committees get access to Seth I'd just like to talk for a minute from an adult's perspective I can't think of anyone any adult that doesn't care about the environment they live in especially the folks in the rural area like myself I live in it every day whether it's where my septic system goes where my water comes from but I think the other thing that the group has to understand for sure is when you're an adult and you have children and other commitments whether it's property taxes whether it's a son or daughter that you have to commit to an institution for one reason or another whether you need to keep a job to pay for all this sort of stuff I think it's really important that the economy stays viable because if folks aren't comfortable with their living situation the last thing they're going to care about is the environment when they're talking about life and death situations so again I think I can understand the youth perspective but again the criticism sometimes that I see with adults saying that we haven't done enough or we're not doing enough when I honestly believe that there's a lot more to it than that I think it's it's just something that I believe the used lobby should be aware of more as far as what a lot of folks are trying to do and have to do to make a goal of it and let me just say I think that youth lobby as a whole definitely it's not just climate action it's climate justice and we don't really believe that climate action should happen if it's not equitable for everybody so if there's climate action but it disproportionately benefits people who live in urban areas who don't need long term who are more who have more access to public transportation we don't think those things should happen because if climate action isn't bringing everybody with it then we don't it's just not feasible for a world to live in we don't want to create a sustainable world and only half the people get to live in that world so I think you're absolutely right when we talk about how do we make it economically viable and I think when I was answering your previous question market forces are important making this an economically viable option for families is going to dramatically improve our carbon emissions is going to improve how we as a state have responded to climate change and so absolutely market forces are definitely important but I think the core belief is that well-crafted policies can help move the market towards a sustainable future and we believe that well-crafted policies can help Vermonters who are struggling who want to have an EV car who want to be using solar to accomplish that goal so they can remain economically healthy while also assisting the environment because I believe that in terms of money it's obviously an issue I live in a family where we don't have a ton of income I'm going to college next year I just got into college yesterday and thank you and so money is really on our mind but I think I wouldn't want to say that because people have issues with money because on an internal level I know I'm speaking from my family the money is not always there but I think the environment is always on our minds and I think it's hard for them not to be at all I don't want to cut you off I think certainly making it an economic development issue is part of it but I think the biggest issue is the culture climate change and sort of following up on what Robin started talking about getting people to prioritize issues around sustainability and dealing with climate change not only in terms of greenhouse gas reductions but in terms of planning for resilience and adaptation and how we're going to cope with climate change that cultural change is I think the biggest issue and also the most amorphous and the most difficult to sort of quantify or deal with but what you all are doing is really important that way so talking with your peers and talking with your parents and your parents' friends that is as important as talking to all of us because the legislature will do what people demand us to do ultimately I just want to make that point as well I think you're absolutely right I think that's part of why one of our goals is to be a constant presence in the state house is to be a constant presence in schools and to be in as many schools as we can and to be in all the places we can be because I think you're right the culture the mindset is really important because when people are on the right mindset then they are calling their legislators then they are looking into options for sustainable so think of how quickly the culture changed around gay marriage for example or legalization of marijuana or I don't know smoking another excellent example culture changes really fast when it gets to a tipping point and we might be getting to the tipping point but you know it's really critical that you that you are aware of that and again among your peers and among your parents and your parents' friends yeah Thanks Scott said pretty much what I wanted to say but I want to also add that you guys are a force and I think that the action that the youth lobby and all the events that were sponsored last year and everything really made a difference and I appreciate that and I think that you are going to continue to be one of the driving forces in whatever we can do to address this problem Thank you That's what I would also say is you know and I think I really appreciate Representative Higley's comments The town that I live in is fairly rural not quite as rural as it is low but pretty rural and it's interesting to me to see where again we have a high school that's been very involved in these issues but economically we've started to move and it's kind of a neighbor to neighbor thing we've had local groups some of them youth oriented but some of them very much adult driven that have been interested in renewable technologies and huge questions around affordability those things is that something I can participate in related to transportation issues and we're not a mass transit town but there's a lot of people in my town about 30 miles away at the medical center in Hanover but people thinking about these things from an economic perspective is actually been really helpful I don't think the tipping point in my town has been around I hate to say it around as much saving the planet I get a few more bucks in my pocket because I'm generating my own electricity or we've got a bus now that goes from my town to the medical center and it's things like that where people are starting to save money those market forces I think are really important in changing 50 year old minds you know and I think it's representative Higley said if you're 16 years old maybe those things aren't quite as front of mind but I will say it from some of my constituents you know when they look at kind of planet saving measures and environmental measures that work kind of in concert with economic measures those are really powerful forces and that's not at all to undermine the fundamental message here because I think it's important but when those things get married on Valentine's Day those are the I think those are the things that really push culture change and again in my town we've started to see it and some of it has been driven by youth action driven by market forces and those things that work well together yeah absolutely I don't think you know the fish in the ocean don't care about why you decided to go solar why you decided to keep their oceans from acidifying but as long as it's happening I think they're okay with it I know we're short on time so I'll just the last thing I want to say is going back to representative Pat said in terms of just kind of how it sometimes feels slow and it's better like I don't need to tell you you know better than I do how you know how the process and the legislature works and how sometimes it feels like it's step by step and I can assure you that though we're not in the legislature I think a lot of the youth feel the same way is it feels like a slog it feels tough a lot of the time and that's kind of what the last piece of the letter was about is I think we believe truly that this fight will be won it can be won we're here in the state house we wouldn't be here if we didn't believe that we were going to facilitate change we wouldn't be here if we didn't believe that the change we believe we can facilitate is actually going to be impactful for a lot of people and for the planet and so we appreciate your continued work and we look forward to working with you in the future thanks for joining us well done