Sunday, December 8, 2019

Human Rights Day: Climate Change


Human Rights Day
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In a well-attended event, our community in Amherst celebrated the Human Rights Day that was organized by the local chapter of Amnesty International. We hosted a panel on Climate Change. The two distinguished 
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Solomon shared the gloomy picture of climate injustice and what we can do locally and globally to fix it. Irene and her students from Amherst Middle school spoke about the action they are involved with to make this change happens.

The following statement was in the invitation brochure that was circulated in town: 
"Building on the momentum of AI’s participation this fall in the “People’s Summit on Climate, Rights, Human Survival,” we welcome climate expert Solomon Goldstein-Rose and Amherst Regional Middle School social studies teacher Irene LaRoche as panelists, and human rights advocate Mohamed Elgadi as moderator. 

Given that mobilization at the local level to make an impact globally is crucial, they will discuss strategies and actions to address climate injustice. Goldstein-Rose, having served as the youngest member of the Massachusetts legislature from 2017 to 2019, now focuses full-time on climate change. His research has evolved into a framework being published this March in book form as The 100% Solution: A Plan to Solve Climate Change. 

LaRoche is a social studies teacher at Amherst Regional Middle School with a current focus on the intersection of human rights and the climate crisis. For the past six years, she also has guided her students to create remarkable visual artwork inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each year their work is on exhibit throughout December at the Jones Library in Amherst. 

Elgadi, adjunct faculty at Springfield College, has conducted research and taught in the environmental sciences. He is a longtime activist in the cause of human rights.May be an image of 1 person