Yeah Hi my name is Karen and I'm here to Sunrise Movement I've been sunrise in February since degrees deal launch my friend and fellow senator Andrews behind the camera and we are here in Democratic National Committee headquarters This is the Committee that decides who and what gets the stage during the primary We are here because we are going to ask the Ecb to take the climate crisis seriously and hold a debate centered entirely around climate The climate debate is one of the most already one of the most popular ideas among voters and candidates 16. Plenty of already backed Greennewdeal 18 of those candidates have fun No Now Just tuning in my name is Brandon and I'm here with Sunrise Movement my friend and fellow sunrise images behind the camera and we are in front of Democratic National Committee headquarters We are here to ask the Jcc Stick climate crisis seriously and holds a climate debate My friend Oil refineries three miles, southwest of us had exploded A member and my hands were shaking and I was really through all of these moves are frantically I make sure that nobody has gotten hurt and and when I was sure I put my phone down and I got there and cried Cried and then I was worried that I was gonna make week my roommate up so I went to the bathroom and I cried some more refinery is the largest of its kind on the East Coast and on Friday morning at about Four AM is exploded it's it's located just right on top of this really densely populated residential working class community of color and Southwest Julie which is sitting there I was thinking about about all those homes filled with families just like mine with tweeting a kids just like me I'm We were really lucky it was it was the second time that it exploded this month but but nobody was hurt nobody was killed there are tons of toxic chemicals in the soil refinery and none of them were released we were so lucky but I was sitting and I I'm still thinking you know what about next time What about next time? The p's oil refinery explodes. What about next time One of the fossil fuel projects that gas plans. They are fineries and Philadelphia explodes or releases some of those toxic chemicals into the air Are we gonna We can be so lucky again and what about all the other communities like mine who are living right next to those fossil fuel projects. We're living right next to those oil refineries are they gonna be so lucky and it's it's not just those you know, it's not just the kids like me and Philadelphia who's homes might explode. It's it's the kids like me in Detroit who have incredibly high rates of asthma because of the fossil fuel industry there It's kids like me in Puerto Rico whose homes have already been washed away until 90 washed away again because of hurricanes caused by those fossil fuel projects It's kids in Miami who's homes will likely will likely be flooded and disappear within our lifetime right I know that will be live in a fossil fuel economy like the one we have now those disasters are inevitable They are guaranteed Those oil refiners will keep exploding and I'm 18 I've grown up watching this happen Kids. My age have grown up watching the fossil fuel industry poison our communities. We've watch our classmates get asthma. We've watched as families for district as moms and dads Brothers and sisters got respiratory illnesses and cancers that could have been prevented I was here just last summer at the dance right where we're standing now and I told them I told them about the P refinery and I told them about the fossil fuel Ceos for poisoning my community I told them about the kids and Philadelphia public experience who were dying of asthma tops cause that refinery and I asked the Fbi for the fair minimum I said stop taking campaign contributions from those Ceos don't Killing my community and the Fcc said no they said we can't do that We're gonna keep shaking it And here we are and it exploded and we were so lucky but we might not be next time and I don't have any any evidence. The big care I watched The Democrats refused to take action that roads the scale of the climate crisis but the crisis I see in my community I've washed taken half measures and push for carbon taxes that we all know aren't enough And I launched to I do refuse to play where Texas until just this year when we forced it into the National conversation and after it was already too late for millions of For thousands of 18 year olds just like me whose lives have already been destroyed whose homes have already been washed away it was communities have already been destroyed by the time of Christmas and buy our reliance on these fossil so this is the first election of the first presidential election that I'm gonna be old enough to vote in I just keep thinking that the candidate who wins the candidate who's gonna hold the most powerful office in the world You're gonna sky They're gonna make a choice. You know will they will they stand with the P oil refinery where they say yeah Fossil fuel projects like this. This is okay Will they let them keep poisoning my communities and children in Philadelphia when they say no enough is enough A little science and Justice demand and pass a Green new deal so that no matter your zip code or the color of your skin. You have access to clean air and a livable future This election will be able to make that choice and I know that's the crisis I've seen in my community is bigger than the few sentences that they're gonna devote to it The next few nights. I know that it's bigger than a few minutes they're gonna spend talking about climate change is bigger than a carbon tax or even a carbon cap So I'm here today because the least the Ecb can do the very weeks after I watched them allow this crisis to continue after I've watched them take money from the people who are killing my community. The least they can do is say okay you have two hours to talk about this We're gonna get One climate to be I mean I could sit here and I can tell the I could say you know you I can tell you about all the candidates who have said yeah, we want this. I could tell you about all the voters who have signed petitions. I could tell you about all the hashtags that have trended but I know that you've seen that I know that you've seen the articles and the petition and the tweets I know that you obviously have never seen a gas plant explode three miles away from your home I know that you have never heard about kids Your skinny cuz you could have gone to school died of asthma attack I know that you have never sat with your friend prepare for climate spring and watch her. Tell you that her home in Bangladesh is letting again because the American stuff can't stop burning fossil fuels is I know if if you would seen that you would be right here with me and you'll be saying, Yeah enough is enough. We need this We need to talk about this. This is not a single issue. This is affecting everything I'm here today to tell the dancing that the crisis in my community is bigger than those few sentences and not they all went to my community in Philadelphia to 18 year olds everywhere to communities across the country on the world to talk about this to treat it like crazy, it is crisis it is and to have a climate debate