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In the NoCo

‘My life, my future, my community:’ Boulder Valley students on taking climate action

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Molly Weber holds a sign that reads "Green New Deal Now" on the White House lawn.
Photo courtesy of Emma Weber
"It's framed as this future issue that was about polar bears and melting glaciers – not actually about me, and my life, and my future," said Molly Weber about her education on the climate crisis. She’s pictured in front of the White House in September of 2023. This photograph was taken by her sister and fellow climate advocate Emma Weber.

Anxiety about climate change is hitting the youngest of us hard. And if you’re too young to vote, it may feel like there’s nothing you can do to change what your future looks like. But students in the Boulder Valley School District proved otherwise this past school year. A group of high school students successfully campaigned for the school board to adopt the resolution - a policy demanded by the .

The youth-led climate activism organization held a summer camp in 2023 that helped inspire two Fairview high school students to advocate for the resolution. Twins Emma and Molly Weber said they felt empowered by coming together with peers from across the nation and learning how to take a stand.

“We have our whole lives in front of us,” said Emma Weber. “But a lot of times the things that we want to do in our dreams are being destroyed by this issue that is devastating so many different aspects of our lives.”

After eight months of campaigning, Boulder Valley became to adopt the climate resolution.

In the NoCo’s Erin O’Toole spoke with both Molly and Emma Weber about what the experience was like.

If this conversation was of interest to you, check out our interview with youth activist Madhvi Chittoor. She advocated for a statewide ban on styrofoam takeout containers that became law in 2024. 

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.
As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.