{"id":3618,"date":"2019-04-11T18:16:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2019-04-11T18:16:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T18:16:01","slug":"climate-reality-project-co-chair-is-a-climate-change-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/2019\/04\/11\/climate-reality-project-co-chair-is-a-climate-change-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Reality Project Co-Chair is a Climate Change Superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CU Independent<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After recently becoming co-chair of the University of Colorado Boulder\u2019s Climate Reality Project, sophomore Mike Jacobs is achieving his childhood dream of becoming a superhero through environmental activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Climate Reality Project is a club dedicated to achieving environmental policy reform on the CU Boulder campus through activism. It was started with the help of Administrative and Political Liaison Emilie Craig, who insisted on having Jacobs on board after taking Introduction to Environmental Studies with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew I couldn\u2019t do it alone,\u201d Craig said. \u201cI knew I needed all the help I could get, and I needed [Jacobs] to help me because [he] really inspired me to change my own personal lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs, who had been working with the local Boulder chapter of Earth Guardians, was eager to take on The Climate Reality Project and take \u201ca more collegiate approach to the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs says that comic books inspired him as a child to dedicate himself to advocating for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always looked up to superheroes as idols,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more powerful than helping another person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs\u2019 most recent endeavor was the Youth Climate Strike on Friday, March 15. The strike saw members of both the Climate Reality Project and Earth Guardians push CU to pledge to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity by the year 2030, \u201cto ensure that we youth will have a stable and healthy future and economy,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCU Boulder has not yet committed, but CSU has committed to 100 percent renewable [energy] by 2030, the entire University of California system has committed to carbon neutrality by 2025, and CU is in the capital of renewable energies here in Boulder,\u201d Craig said. \u201cWe should be at the forefront of the renewables movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strike was attended by several politicians and CU administrators, all of whom listened to Jacobs and other activists speak at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the strike, Jacobs saw politicians as \u201cso esoteric\u201d and \u201cthe gods of society.\u201d Getting them to listen to him felt like an impossible task. Jacobs wants those who feel discouraged from getting involved in activism, however, to stop underestimating their power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey came and they listened to me,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cThe more that we as activists start making our voice be heard, the more they listen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another goal of the Climate Reality Project, Jacobs said, is to encourage young people to lobby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are our legislators,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cThey serve us. You can go into their office and lobby for whatever you want. Probably these legislators have never seen a college student come in. I\u2019m sure there have been a couple in history, but nothing compared to the amount of retired people or the amount of oil and gas lobbyists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Jacobs, young people should become involved in the climate change fight because \u201c<\/em>it\u2019s not our next generation, it\u2019s us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig agrees that youth activism is essential to the climate fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are the future, you know?\u201d Craig said. \u201cWe have an unbelievable amount of power and voice in this democracy. We\u2019re so lucky to have a democracy, but youth are not going to be heard unless they speak out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs had postponed his college career to advocate for climate change policy, but is now working towards his degree in order to have a stronger voice in the climate change fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBalance is always a challenge but [Jacobs\u2019] integration is admirable,\u201d Max Boykoff, associate professor and director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy said. Jacobs took Introduction to Environmental Studies with Boykoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the beginning [of the class], he showed purpose and determination to learn as much as he could and to immediately apply it to real-world challenges,\u201d Boykoff said. \u201cHe seems to be moving purposefully in the world and that is something to value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While moving with purpose, Jacobs still sees that there\u2019s a need for urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime is running out,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cClimate change is upon us, and I just feel like the sooner I get that degree, the sooner \u2026 I have way more authority in this world.\u201d Read more …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CU Independent After recently becoming co-chair of the University of Colorado Boulder\u2019s Climate Reality Project, sophomore Mike Jacobs is achieving his childhood dream of becoming a superhero through environmental activism. The Climate Reality Project is a club dedicated to achieving … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 04:44:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3620,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions\/3620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}