Haven Coleman
“I feel like I need to do something, because why wouldn’t you want to save your future? We can stop the worst effects, so why shouldn’t I try and save all you adults?”
Haven refers to herself as a Youth Organizer, Idea Levitator, Climate Activist, and Resource Redirector. As a seventh grader, she, along with fellow youth activists Alexandria Villasenor and Isra Hirsi, organized the U.S. Youth Climate Strike.
August 2017
Coleman spoke at a town hall meeting hosted by Republican Colorado Senator, Cory Gardner. She pleaded with him to take action against climate change and petitioned for renewable energy and clean air, as Gardner's campaign had received $1.2 million dollars in funding from the oil and gas industries.
“If the carbon polluters’ money is holding you back, I can organize kids, adults, and money and we can use social media and do grassroots.”
Coleman also gave a speech to Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican State Representative and notorious climate denier. She attracted the attention of Al Gore through this speech, and he invited her to be involved in his “24 Hours of Reality” project, which was a television program all about climate change. This allowed her to educate youths all over Colorado about how the climate crisis affects them and what they can do to help, and it helped to jump-start her career in activism.
February 23, 2019
Coleman at age 12, protesting outside of Denver City Hall. She had solo protested every Friday of this year so far, outside of various Denver businesses and government facilities.
“Us kids, we are the only ones who are doing anything recognizing that our future is at stake. The reason why we are ‘climate striking’ is to try and get the attention of the adults, because we can’t vote — but we can influence senators.”
Haven received criticism in her politically conservative town of Colorado Springs. Her classmates and people her age did not share her passion for climate activism, she reported that kids "hated her guts", and she had been shoved into lockers, causing her to switch to homeschooling.
“When you are dealing with such a heavy issue at such a young age, sometimes it just brings you down.” Her parents are very supportive of her cause, and hopefully she has found comradery in the other activists that she has met through her efforts.
Many youth climate activists all over the United States began solo striking, connecting to one another and gaining support through social media. Many kids and teens in Europe encouraged them as well, as the youth climate movement has largely taken off there thanks to Greta Thunberg, who began striking in front of the Swedish Parliament in August 2018.
March 15, 2019
The U.S. Youth Climate Strike was established thanks to Haven Coleman, Alexandria Villasenor, and Isra Hirsi, and as a result climate protests have occurred across most states. On March 15, 2019, an international youth protest occures with 105+ countries participating.
Coleman's current efforts are going towards ARID Agency. She founded it after she found how effective young people can be at bringing about change. The goal of this agency is to boost positive campaigns and bridge gaps between adult-run organizations and the younger generations' creative capability and power.
ARID's first campaign is raising money towards providing air filters to people in need. This is an important adaptation effort to aid disadvantaged communities. ARID aims to provide relief to communities affected by air pollution and wildfires, which are ever-worsening due to climate change.
"No one should be denied a human right, like having access to clean air!”