Teens take the lead on climate action, from online journals to local classrooms

For a growing number of teens, climate change isn’t just an abstract global challenge — it’s a personal mission. Across the country and here in Key Biscayne, young people are finding creative ways to raise awareness and push for solutions.

One example, reported by InsideClimate News, highlights Mira Shah, a high school senior from Los Altos, California, who launched Karbon Economics, an online journal that explores the connection between climate change and economics.

Shah was first drawn to the issue in sixth grade when a brush fire threatened her neighborhood. Since then, she has focused on the role money, policy, and systems play in addressing global warming.

Through Karbon Economics, Shah publishes youth-written articles and essays that break down how financial and economic forces shape climate solutions. The journal provides students across the country with a space to share research, analysis, and personal perspectives on topics ranging from renewable energy investment to the hidden costs of pollution. Her goal is to make climate economics accessible and to inspire a generation of young leaders who can think critically about the challenges ahead.

“I wanted to create a place where students like me could connect the dots between the economy and the environment,” Shah told InsideClimate News. “Climate change isn’t just science — it’s about how decisions and resources affect our future.”

Many Key Biscayne students, sharing the same environmental concerns as Shah, have also created or launched initiatives to strengthen that message.

In 2021, MAST Academy student Holly Thorpe convinced the Miami-Dade School District to transition to an all-electric fleet of school buses. That achievement earned her the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne. Named after the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris Fellowship is  one of the highest honors the organization can bestow.

And in 2023, MAST Academy’s Green Champions program became the first Florida public high school to be awarded the Gold Apple from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection — the highest recognition in Florida’s Green School program — for its efforts to help the environment.

Whether it’s through an online journal on the West Coast or award-winning student projects here on the Island, teens are proving they’re not just concerned about climate change — they’re leading the way in tackling it.