Young people worldwide have been taking action in recent years to highlight the urgent need to address climate change. But few have gone as far—quite literally—as Mya-Rose Craig. The 18-year-old environmentalist from the United Kingdom recently ventured all the way to Earth’s northernmost region, the Arctic Circle, where sea ice is melting at an alarming rate.
Craig traveled there by ship from Norway. Once she arrived, she spent five hours on the ice, holding a sign that read “Youth Strike for Climate.” (Craig’s protest was part of her involvement with a global movement started by 18-year-old activist Greta Thunberg, in which students skip school to demand action on climate change.)
With her Arctic protest, Craig aimed to spur lawmakers to set up sanctuaries (protected areas) in the ocean—and to inspire other teens to speak up.
“Climate strikes have been revolutionary in terms of giving young people a voice, to show people in power where our priorities lie,” Craig wrote in a recent opinion article. “We have to act, and we have to act now.”