This episode is based on the inspiring story of Shiva Rajbhandari, a young man in Boise, Idaho.
This Q&A from a Teen Vogue interview with Rajbhandari captures the arc of his climate interest rather wonderfully:
TV: Where did your own activism and political career start?
SR: I first got involved as a climate activist. I learned about [this issue] in seventh grade, in earth science, and I was super lucky to live in a district where climate change was part of our science standards, because it wasn’t part of Idaho’s state standards.
For two years, this was really isolating for me. I felt like this was not something world leaders were talking about. I turned inward; I did all the recycling stuff, cut down on meat, stopped buying new clothes.
In September 2019, I was in ninth grade and we had our global climate strike in Boise, hosted by the Sunrise Movement. Over four million people globally [participated]. Suddenly, this sense of isolation was replaced by a sense of power and a sense that when we all work together, we can do something.
See the following articles for more:
Teen Vogue: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/shiva-rajbhandari-school-board
Yale Climate Connections: https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/11/teen-school-board-member-in-idaho-wants-to-expand-climate-change-curriculum/
Shiva for Boise Schools: https://www.shivaforbsd.com/on-the-issues/climate-education