CLIMATE CHANGE
ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 🌎Â
Climate change = the long-term “the planet is acting weird again” shift in temperatures and weather patterns — but here’s the kicker: humans have sped things up big time.
When forests are cut down or burned, all the carbon they store gets released into the atmosphere (kind of like when you shake a soda can and open it… except way worse). That carbon builds up, trapping heat, and leading to stronger storms, longer droughts, and rising sea levels.
🌳 Tropical deforestation accounts for up to 15% of global carbon emissions every year — the same as all cars, planes, ships, and trucks on Earth combined.Translation: saving forests is one of the most powerful, immediate ways we can protect our planet.
ABOUT RAINFOREST TRUST 🌱
Rainforest Trust is out here doing the work. They purchase and protect the world’s most threatened tropical forests — stopping deforestation before it happens, partnering with local leaders, and keeping endangered wildlife safe.
Their work looks like:
Teaming up with conservationists and community partners
Identifying forests in danger
Creating science-backed plans
Raising funds to protect the land forever
Rainforests store billions of tons of carbon (basically nature’s climate defense system), power medical discoveries, and house thousands of species found nowhere else. Protecting them = protecting our future.
CLIMATE RACISM: WHAT IT IS & WHY IT MATTERS 🔥
Climate change doesn’t hit everyone equally — and that’s where climate racism comes in. Many communities of color have some of the lowest carbon footprints, but face the worst impacts.
Take Zambia: Despite producing just 0.36 tons of carbon per person per year (less than 1/30th of the U.S.), the country faces severe droughts and food insecurity because of global warming.
Or look at major U.S. cities: BIPOC communities in urban areas experience, on average, 3°F more heat than their white neighbors due to decades-old policies like redlining and a lack of green spaces. But here’s the hope: planting trees and restoring green spaces can literally cool communities by those same 3 degrees.
Climate justice = racial justice. And young people have the power to push both forward.
WHAT WE DO 🙌
At Legacy, we don’t just talk about climate change — we do something about it. Every year, we build national action campaigns that turn young people’s energy into real, measurable climate impact. We give students simple, meaningful steps they can take (like reducing their carbon footprint, planting trees, or protecting rainforests), and every action unlocks real-world change through our partner Rainforest Trust.
Whether it’s a week-long climate challenge, a digital pledge, or a full-campus activation, our campaigns make it easy for young people to learn, lead, and take action that genuinely moves the needle for our planet. One small step → one big impact. And together? We’re creating the most climate-action-ready generation the world has ever seen. 🌎✨
IMPACT TO DATE
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