Climate Activist-Xiye Bastida, It’s Time Re-Earth, Pique Action!

CLIMATE ACTIVIST- XIYE BASTIDA

Meet Climate activist Xiye Bastida (Sheeya Basteeda). This 21-year old  member of the Indigenous Otomi community is an internationally known Mexican climate activist. She is one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future New York City and has been a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant visibility in climate activism. In 2021, Bastida became an international sensation when she confronted President Biden and world leaders during his Earth Week 2021Virtual Leaders Summit. Not only did she chastise him and the rest of the panel for being in denial, she said, ““You need to accept that the era of fossil fuels is over.” Then she made her most searing indictment. “The people here are mostly from the Global North,” she tells the leaders. “The systems that uphold the climate crisis rely on the existence of sacrifice zones.”  

Thanks to her, mainstream media reported on, and the concept of Sacrifice Zones was outed. In climate-speak, Sacrifice Zones are defined as areas of the planet that wealthy, Global North countries have decided will “bear the brunt of the consequences of their pollution,” in the Global South as well as Black and brown communities in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Bastida comes by her climate activism honestly. Her father, Mindahi, is a leader of the Indigenous community in the region, and has campaigned to preserve its wetlands. Her mother, Geraldine, is an ethno-ecologist. (They met at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, where nations signed the first framework agreement on climate change.)   

Why does Sheeya Basteeda matter to us? As a child in Mexico, Xiye’d dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but her thinking expanded once she arrived in New York. She realized that she could do something to help animals and nature on a larger scale. This Generation Green wunderkind reminds us all to think bigger!

DEEPER DIVE: Youtube, Vogue, Insta, XiyeBeara

RE-EARTH

Here’s a kickass organization that we’re all about at The Climate Daily. It’s called the Re-Earth Initiative. It’s a youth-led international NGO which believes “There’s no climate justice without social justice.” Re-Earth was co-founded by Xiye Bastida. The missioin of Re-Earth is to make the climate movement accessible to all. According to its website, youth are becoming more aware about social and environmental issues, yet there still remains a gap driving real, concrete change. Re-Earth wants to break the echo chamber and bring climate action to the masses by hosting informational webinars and creating toolkits.

An example of that occurred on Earth Day 2020. The group mobilized thousands of people to take part in its global digital protests. Re-Earth asked each person to make two climate pledges for Earth Day – 1 individual, and 1 systemic. In fact, you can still make an individual pledge. Click on the option under the Take Action tab, or click on the link in the Deeper Dive section of this story at theclimate.org/episodes. Re-Earth’s toolkit initiative currently includes four available toolkits—Pledges, Biomass, Plastic Pollution and Water Resources. 

Why does Re-Earth matter to us? Because it’s solarpunk. It’s about re-imagining our future, reconnecting with our planet, and redefining collaboration. Because it’s about bridging the Hope Gap, the abyss between the despair people feel around climate change and an imagined future with solutions worth STRIVING for.” 

DEEPER DIVE: RE-EARTH, EARTHDAY.ORG

PIQUE ACTION–THE ANTIDOTE TO DOOMSCROLLING

Here’s a company trying to do what we do here at The Climate Daily—amplify stories of people and groups taking positive action to offset the worst effects of climate change. Pique Action is a new media company creating micro-documentaries around climate solutions. Pique tells the stories about the most critical issue of our time – climate change – and aims to have audiences leave transformed from passive viewers into active participants. In the words of the website, Pique Action is “the opposite of doom scrolling.” Pique aims to change the conversation around climate by producing and distributing content that elevates solutions and drives action. 

Some of that content includes NextNow, micro-documentaries highlighting different climate challenges and how innovative organizations are working to solve them. Pique Action is more than micro-documentaries and TikTok videos. It also features Pathfinder, a newsletter with uplifting climate stories written by the company’s resident sustainability scientist, Alaina Wood. Wood is a sustainability scientist and climate communicator with a background in stormwater and solid waste management in both the public and private sectors. Back on Earth Day 2022, Pique and EARTHDAY.ORG announced a strategic partnership as part of the ‘Invest In Our Planet’ theme for Earth Day 2022. EARTHDAY.ORG shared clips from Pique Action’s NextNow series. 

Why does Pique Action matter to us? It proves the concept that there’s a need for an antidote to doomscolling. It’s nice to know you can now listen to The Climate Daily, and also watch Pique Action videos. Surf on over to piqueaction.com or click on the links in the Deeper Dive section of this story at theclimate.org/episodes to learn more.

DEEPER DIVE: Pique Action, Doomscrolling definition