At Uplight we declared a climate emergency on Friday with an estimated 4 million other people in 163 countries on all 7 continents–quite possibly the largest event around climate change to date. Uplight employees participated in 12 events in the US (Colorado, Washington, Massachusetts, Washington, DC) and in India! 

Check out the pictures of our amazing employees in the gallery and read of our employees’ perspectives.

Emily Beliveau’s Climate Strike Story

I marched in the climate strike because this crisis is the thing that keeps me up at night – both worrying about if I am doing enough and how to prepare my family for worst case potentials. I know that other families around the world are not so lucky. They are already seeing the impacts of climate change on their daily lives from water shortages in South Africa to the impacts of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas to disproportionately high asthma rates in African Americans. I marched for those people too knowing there is a direct link between those who are the hardest hit and those who are some of the poorest in the world. 

I am also lucky in that the thought of this crisis the thing that gets me up in the morning. I get to work in a place committed to this emergency. No one person, one company, or one government is going to solve this alone. We all need to do our part where and when we can. At Uplight, we have set ambitious 5-year goals that reduce our footprint on the globe by getting people to engage with their energy usage and take action about it. 

I am grateful to the young people in the world standing up and saying climate change is not about my children or my children’s children, this is about me and this is about now. As a 30-something, I can no longer count myself in the youth category, but my passion for this issue has not waiver since that age. I marched because the time for action is now and the people to lead are the youth. 

Ryan Warren’s Climate Strike Story

During Friday’s Global Climate Strike I had the privilege of participating as a volunteer with the students and teachers of Seattle Girls School, an all-girls middle school in Seattle, WA (where my daughter is a student). They kicked off this afternoon of climate awareness and action with a school-wide educational presentation, led by the students for the students, delivering powerful and well-substantiated presentations on the science behind climate change, the dangers it represents, and ways we can all take action. After this, the school then divided in half, with each student being offered the opportunity to either join a letter-writing campaign, or a climate action march through Seattle’s Central District which culminated in a school rally at a neighborhood park and spontaneous student speeches.

It was extremely heartening, not only to participate in marching through Seattle to demand action with the passionate young activists, but also to see the community support as we did so. You could see the girls grow in confidence and enthusiasm as so many cars slowed down to honk their support, chanted with us from out their windows, and customers filed out of a neighborhood Starbucks to applaud, chant and cheer as we passed by.

Addressing Global Climate Change, containing global warming below1.5C, and reinventing our culture and economy to enable a sustainable energy system are the defining issues of our time-and represent a truly existential threats to our society and home planet. I’m proud to work with a company like Uplight to make these changes a reality. The question is whether, all together, we can do enough, fast enough. The good news, at least, is that these young people know how serious this crisis is, and I’m gaining confidence that they won’t rest until the rest of us have done something about it.

Tanuj Deora’s Climate Strike Story (from Twitter)

Today I’m participating in the #ClimateStrike even though company that’s a leader in combating climate change – explicitly in its articles of incorporation.  Thx to @Uplight & fantastic colleagues fighting for a sustainable energy system!@BCorporation

Lindsay Morgan’s Climate Strike Story

I applaud young climate activists like Greta Thunberg, who are leading the charge and demanding urgent action against climate change. Last Friday, I participated in the Global Climate Strike in Longmont, Colorado and witnessed others, many of them young, making their voices heard. While Longmont may have not drawn the same scale crowds as other cities worldwide, the message was loud and clear. 

I have to admit, I went, thinking it would merely be an inspirational photo op at the most. While the creativity of the signs being raised provided that, it also resonated at a much deeper level. First, I became angered by the actions (and inactions) of our global community that have led us to this point, leaving this young generation to deal with the consequences. Then I felt empowered and emboldened to make right—make a change for the better, however possible.

It’s our responsibility to change our way of thinking, our habits, and the way we treat our environment and people. Greta Thunberg and other climate activists don’t want our applause, and that rebuke is what makes me want to do more. We owe it to future generations to step out from behind the lens, and get busy working toward a more sustainable future.

Did you miss Friday’s events? There is another #climatestrike this Friday, September 27. Find an event near you.