Stepping Up

Richmond California is a working class town that grew up in the shadow of a Chevron refinery. The company ran both the economy – and local government – for more than a century. What happens when climate champions start winning local elections? What happens when an oil company decides to fight back?

Climate change is serious business. But some climate clowns are donning red noses to get your attention. One seasoned street performer has sung and danced his way from Los Angeles to London, bringing a climate message through imaginative skits and wacky antics which invariably draw a crowd. They stop, laugh and join the conversation.

Following in the footsteps of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, Millennials are turning to civil disobedience in response to the climate catastrophe. But what is the role for elder activists? This story’s producer hasn’t been arrested since the anti-nuclear protests of her youth. It might be time for her to join the next generation on the line.

A group of 12-year-olds, tired of the grownups messing up their planet, have decided to solve the problems of the oceans themselves. They are working on issues like coral bleaching, kelp forests and ocean acidification. These kids are stunningly smart. But they’re also… just kids. Silly, irreverent and playful as puppies.