An unlikely group has been leading the charge in the fight against our warming world.
Affectionately dubbed the "climate grannies," grandmothers from all walks of life are coming together to put their lifetime of wisdom and experience in environmental activism to use in advocating for future generations, reminding us why listening to our elders is always a good idea.
Hazel Chandler, a 78-year-old grandmother from Arizona, is one of the unsung heroes of the climate movement. As Inside Climate News reported, she clearly recalls the moment she realized the severity of the climate crisis.
It was 1969, and Chandler was reading a paper about how burning oil and gas would cause more destructive weather events in the future. From that point forward, she was determined to do everything in her power to ensure her young son at the time would have a safe, healthy planet to live on.
According to Inside Climate News, she rallied other climate activists to write to lawmakers about the importance of enacting environmental regulations and organized Earth Day celebrations at the childcare center where she worked.
Now, Chandler is pushing for change in new ways, joining environmental advocacy groups such as Elder Climate Action and Moms Clean Air Force in her home state. After over 50 years, she's never lost sight of her mission and feels it's more important than ever.
"When I look my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, my children, in the eye, I have to be able to say, 'I did everything I could to protect you,'" Chandler told Inside Climate News. "I have to be able to tell them that I've done everything possible within my ability to help move us forward."
And Chandler isn't the only "climate granny" on the frontlines of the climate movement. In fact, she's joined by hundreds of others across the United States, and they're making their voices heard in protests in front of polluting corporations and at the ballot box.
As Inside Climate News detailed, people 65 and older are the second-largest group of climate voters after Gen Z, according to a recent Environmental Voter Project report. United by a growing concern for their grandchildren's welfare, climate grandmothers see it as non-negotiable to be politically active.
In California, one group of elder women decided to join forces to oppose the powerful oil and gas industry and raise awareness about the disproportionate impact that climate change has on people of color and Indigenous communities. Called 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations, the organization participates in nonviolent protests and does whatever it can to expose and shut down polluting companies.
Pennie Opal Plant, a 66-year-old grandmother activist of the Yaqui of Southern California tribe, played an important role in teaching the members how to protest peacefully. Plant has co-founded numerous environmental organizations with other Indigenous grandmothers to protect future generations and the planet from exploitation, per Inside Climate News.
Though the grandmothers have led vastly different lives, their paths have now crossed for one common purpose: to help restore balance to the world and fight for a future we can all believe in.
"There are women in the nonviolent direct action part of the organization who really do feel that elder women — it's their time to stand up and be counted and to get arrested," Nancy Hollander, a member of 1000 Grandmothers, told the outlet. "They consider it a historical responsibility and put themselves out there to protect the more vulnerable."
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