Leading the Way to Climate Recovery in Iowa

By Glori Dei Filippone, age 15

Iowa State Senator Rob Hogg and I hosted an Earth Day rally at the Iowa State Capitol building inside in the rotunda. About 60 people attended along with press. We had great visibility and a lot of support from various environmental groups. Senator Hogg was the master of ceremonies, and there were various speakers who all did a wonderful job and delivered the same message: “We must act now...our government must act now.” Before the rally some of my peers and I visited Congressman Tom Lathem’s office. We dropped off a petition asking him to just do SOMETHING about climate change. We talked with his staff about climate change and why this is the most important issue of our time. I have scheduled a meeting with the Congressman in May to discuss this issue further. After the rally, I had the good fortune to meet many state senators and shake hands with people who understand our message and will work to spread it. This was a very successful rally and I would like to thank everyone who spoke and attended for supporting progress toward ACTION on climate change!