Our generation is capable of making great changes. We are a passionate and driven group of young people who hold issues near and dear to our hearts, however marches are not the way to accomplish our goals.

In recent months we have seen an increase in national marches. Recently, April 21 was the March for Science and April 29 was the National Climate March. Despite popularity, you won’t see me at any marches, and here’s why.

People have used signs, posters, t-shirts, and other toxic and single-use items to further their goal of protecting the environment in the past few weeks.

This is a problem, specifically with a Climate March, because we then have a large number of people who are protesting the issue of environmental conservation with signs and posters that are the opposite of environmentally conservative. Posters will be painted with toxic paint or markers, used once, and thrown away directly after.

You would hope that participants would recycle these posters after a one time use, but many will not think to do so, even after an eco-friendly centered march. Thus, you have a massive amount of waste entering our landfills and wounding the environment.

Even if participants decide to recycle their materials, recycling is a process which often has a better reputation than it deserves. Most recycling facilities depend highly on fossil fuels and the process almost always involves incredibly toxic and harmful chemicals. Inks from paper recycling facilities are frequently released directly into rivers and streams. Technically, recycled paper is actually worse for the environment than plastic. This is why reduce and reuse come before recycling in the handy saying we’ve all been taught.

Another environmental setback is that a number of people will be flying in to larger marches, such as the one in D.C. People who are traveling will be doing what? Emitting massive quantities of CO2, which is exactly what is causing climate change.

Lastly, many people will plausibly end up purchasing shirts so that they can show their support for such a cause, but the problem with this is that once again, a majority of marchers will not research to see if the shirts are fairtrade or organic, which is crucial, because the companies developing these products will likely be neither of these.

I believe we can make a change; I really do, but my hope is that we learn to take a new approach to expressing our voices.

Anyone can paint words on a sign and show up to an event, but a real change will be seen in our society when we decide to lead by example and use our actions to advocate for change.

Don’t get me wrong here: voices have an impact. Our voices have brought us a great distance in the past. Lobbying and writing to government officials who have more ability has wonderful impact, however I believe that our hands and hearts have a longer lasting impact on others than our comments and remarks, which can quickly fade into the background.

What I am proposing is that we choose to actively live our cause. Rather than walk with signs, choose to do the dirty work and pick up trash, volunteer to plant trees, or give out plants to those who need a reminder of the natural world. Then, when others see the love and change that we actively spread, they can’t ignore our cause as easily.

It becomes more difficult for naysayers to call those of us who advocate for our ideas and dreams “annoying” or “obnoxious”, simply because we’ve spoken with our hearts instead of our feet.

If you do decide to attend a march, or another event, I simply request that you research the true and actual effects, and please consider the environmental impact of the resources you use.