Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

We mobbed them, you know?

No, for real.

Just a squad of nine-year-olds?

Yeah, there was about maybe ten of us that spoke at a press conference, and then we went in and we gave our testaments, our speeches as to why we didn't think that was a good, healthy option for our community.

You know, I think that young people all over this country, more than we give them credit for, are actually really interested in being engaged, but don't really have a platform.

I was really lucky to have a supportive family and a community, so we just reached out to these youth that did care, and all of a sudden, we were all over it.

What do you mean by that?

I think that now, more than ever, we have an opportunity to re-approach an issue like climate change, where it's traditionally been seen as, like, politicians and activists care about this issue, but truly it's so much bigger than that.

If you see the thousands of lives that are being lost across South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, due to floods, you know, Hurricane Irma that is now brewing, Hurricane Harvey that hit...

Texas, you know, it's about people's lives.

It's about people's families, their homes, their community.

That is the issue that we are facing.

And as a member of the younger generation, I believe that we have this opportunity now to face this crisis and to change the way we are acting.

And we are doing something about it.

I'm in a lawsuit against the federal government suing the Trump administration for violating our constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness for failing to act on climate change.

We are changing the way that we are taking action.

We are getting artistic.

We are moving into the streets in a way we have never seen.

So now this generation is reshaping the way that we address an issue as big as climate change.

It is... We're not gonna allow this era to be defined by Donald Trump.