Students Making Change: Faith Ruck on Climate Change
Also, I think it would be a disservice to introduce face without mentioning that this past spring, the Fossil Free Pit Coalition occupied an academic building for 285 hours to get the Chancellor to divest from fossil fuels. And I just think that's absolutely incredible. With all this in mind, it goes without saying that taking on climate change is daunting regardless of your age. And personally, I think it takes a specific strength of character to dedicate yourself to this cause in the way that Faith is done
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 2:54
But natural disasters like that impacting areas further up the coast is something that we're beginning to see more and more now that Hurricane season has changed as a result of climate change, as many disasters have been because of these experiences in my childhood, I would say environmentalism has been very important to me growing up, but it really took off when I got to Pit
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I always find it jarring when I come across a place that's so clearly been affected by climate change. Whenever you see that sort of thing first hand, it's just really disheartening. And I think that for a lot of people seeing really is believing, so sometimes they need to see that. But personally, knowing that the concern is growing gives me a lot of hope
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 3:11
I've met plenty of people who don't exactly identify as Liberal or even Democratic that want to protect the Earth in whatever way they can. And while a lot of times this looks like just conservation, welcoming people that just want natural parks and green spaces can be turned into people that care about issues of environmental and social justice. Together, they just need to be given the opportunity to explore these ideas that they might not have heard of before
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 1:59
But I would consider the development of the ad hoc committee of victory for us because we've been pushing for divestment to be taken more seriously over the past couple of years, even though it's not exactly what we want it to be, it's still a step in the right direction
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 2:15
So we want to encourage them to do it as soon as it's possible, in accordance with the Ready for 100% Clean energy policy that Sarah Club has in terms of being sustainable in my daily life. I would say that mostly takes place in even small decisions that I make. Like, I haven't eaten meat for a couple of years now, and I reuse as much as I can
I also know that Maryland, or at least the County I'm from provides each household with a recycling bin, and I think Allstate should consider doing that as well. So before we call it a day, I would like to circle back to your mentioning of Frontline communities and ask if there's anything you've feel like our listeners need to know about prioritizing Indigenous sovereignty and giving agency to Frontline communities and what can allies do to support these communities
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 1:56
If you claim to care about a certain issue, make sure that the companies are purchasing things from also have that belief so that you're not indirectly supporting a company that will in turn harm the frontline community that you claim to support
Thank you so much for that answer. Faith, I think you've definitely mentioned quite a few ways that allies can get involved in these sorts of things and support these communities. Keeping in mind that no one should be taking away anybody's agency or speaking for anyone who's experienced that, they don't understand. That being said, I would like to thank you for talking to me today
Faith Ruck
@faimuck · 0:26
As a final thought, I would say that if you're involved in any kind of activism, remember to take breaks for yourself because you can't really provide the most to a cause. If you don't take the time, time to catch up with yourself mentally and take care of yourself. Thank you again Liora, for having me today. I really enjoyed discussing these issues with you and I hope to do so again soon. Bye
Hey, Faith, I just wanted to say thanks for coming on here and sharing your experience and what you do. I can't say enough to people how important this cause is we all need to be doing a little bit better editor here. And it's people like you that I think start the conversation and keep it going. So thanks again for my time as an undergraduate, I lived in a beach town, and I saw how people missed mistreated the environment
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:57
A question I had for you was around businesses and sustainability because that's something that came up in this conversation. And I wholeheartedly agree that though it is really important for us on an individual basis, to be aware of sustainability and to try to make our lives more sustainable when it's possible, and depending on the kind of privileges and economic situation that we're in, big business is ultimately the biggest culprits here when it comes to climate change