Logan Heflin, a former member of the ASUI senate, took 17-year-old activist Greta Thunberg’s words to heart and sought to promote action to combat climate change.
Last September Heflin and Nicole Xiao, sophomore at Moscow High School, co-created the Climate Crisis Walkout involving Moscow High School students and University of Idaho students. Similar events were held across the world on that day.
For the past five months, Heflin has continued to make a statement against climate change by sitting outside Moscow City Hall with signs promoting action against climate change. He has done this every Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Every week, he posts on his Instagram page photos of himself holding his signs. The signs read, “#FridaysForFuture Climate Action Now #ChangeNow” and “Moscow Sierra Club Ready for 100 Campaign.” He also frequently posts about issues regarding climate change on his Instagram story.
Heflin said he is taking part in the Fridays for the Future Movement, a global movement started by Thunberg to encourage people to protest in front of their political leaders and demand action against climate change. Heflin said he is proud to be participating in this.
“I think about all those people and other places that don’t even have the right to do what I’m doing right now,” Heflin said. “It’s a global movement, so the least I can do is sit out here for a few hours and protest.”
Heflin has managed to get the support of some community members. He said mostly he gets a few honks from cars, but some people will bring him coffee.
However, he has gotten the support of environmental groups such as the Friends of the Clearwater, the Extinction Rebellion Campaign and the Sierra Club in Moscow. Heflin is working with the Sierra Club in Moscow on a campaign called the “Ready for 100 (resources)”.
“That’s a campaign that a lot of cities are adopting in the U.S. to pass a resolution that pretty much guarantees that they’ll become carbon neutral and utilize 100% renewable,” Heflin explained.
Heflin said he is working with the Sierra Club and the UI Sustainability Center to encourage more students from UI to join him on Fridays for the Future.
He said he’s gotten a few to join him, but most of the time he is by himself. However, he said he still remains resilient and hopeful. He also said he hopes that more people will join him soon.
“I would just ask that they take the necessary steps as an individual to reduce their carbon footprint and limit their greenhouse gas emissions,” Heflin said. “We have to reduce our emissions by such a steep amount. We do need a system change, but that can’t happen without individual change. Each one of us should really look into how we can help care for the environment.”
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected].