Why Our Approach to Climate Change is Dead Wrong | Sophia Esteban | TEDxYouth@SanAntonio

The talk is over our ideology concerning the immediacy of climate change. Because climate change is such a large-scale issue, we have collectively adopted a mentality where we treat it as an abstract issue. This fosters a notion that pushes aside the reality of the rate and magnitude of the issue, oversimplifying and underestimating its impact. Societally, we've reached a point where everyone can recognize that climate change is evident, but on a personal level we have failed to grasp what the warnings we've been receiving for decades signify. It is only when made aware of one's complacency toward legislation, advocacy, and conversations that fail to recognize the irreparable damage that needs to be fixed in a timeframe as small as 2-5 years that one is forced into becoming more cognizant of one's environment. This simple awareness changes neutral tones of conversations into passionate ones, and patience towards government responses into demands, and that change in intent is what fosters change in real life. By nature, individuals care the most about any issue that directly affects them, this simple yet neglected perspective acts as the incentive to directly facilitate and care about improving climate change. Sofia has an extreme passion for using her voice to advocate for equality in all spaces, especially education.

Sofia is a junior at Seven Lakes High School. She is the president of the Texas Future Business Leaders of America Area 5, the largest geographical area of the Texas FBLA sector. She’s also the founder of the Seven Lakes Junior High and Beckendorff Junior High speech and debate programs, team development chair on the Seven Lakes High School speech and debate team, the 2024 class secretary. She is a 3x FBLA state champion, placed 3rd at FBLA nationals, has finaled and semi-finaled at large debate tournaments like UT Austin, TFA State, the Glenbrooks, the Tournament of Champions, and NSDA nationals.
Sofia is the founder of SEEN, a non-profit organization that builds awareness of issues impacting Title 1 schools, and helps them community make a difference. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx