The Silent Protest: Voices Against Environmental Neglect

It may be someday said that the responsibility will have fallen to the emergent maturity and wisdom of Gen Z and that of Gen Alpha to be a caretaker generation, the generation that had the honor of finally “saving the planet”- but until that day arrives, a great and terrible burden has been shouldered onto us by decades of neglect, indecision, and the widespread failure, or lack thereof of decisive international cooperation to address the primary causes of the climate crisis; with the only successes of note insofar being that we have prevented our atmosphere from quite literally falling apart due to the Antarctic ozone hole.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are together a protest generation. We are charged to not only hold our leaders accountable to fulfill their responsibilities, but also to bring them to justice for their seeming apathy towards our future. We are a generation that has been charged to raise our collective voices in a chorus of protest against the destruction of our natural world. Alas, such cries of protest too often fall on deaf ears, such that this protest has become that; a silent protest. But hope remains, in the form of those among us who have raised themselves as champions of the planet. Regrovve interviewed the inspirational Sabrine Olivia, a young and outspoken advocate for the environment and a PADI certified advanced open water diver.

We’re here to tell her story.

As a student of Mentari Intercultural School Jakarta, Sabrine Olivia is her class’s eco-officer, a position which she has held for 3 consecutive years; this position bestows upon the bearer the responsibility of managing the collective efforts of their class in safeguarding and protecting the environment of their school’s campus. Her responsibilities include the planning and leading of various initiatives like recycling programs and awareness campaigns, things that encourage her fellow students to take up sustainable practices and habits as members of the student body, and she loves her job. On the importance of her position, Olivia noted its role in strengthening a culture of environmental responsibility; “because sustainability isn't something one person or one community can achieve alone. The more schools that integrate eco-officer systems, the stronger the culture of environmental responsibility we can build among young people.”

But what drove her to possess such a proactively protective mindset towards the environment? For Olivia, it was her childhood; “The environment has always been a part of my life since I was younger. I grew up appreciating nature, and over time, that appreciation turned into love and responsibility. For me, caring for the environment isn't just a hobby, but rather it feels like part of who I am.” This love of nature, which she sees as an integral part of her identity, her very being, is what eventually inspired her to take up diving as a hobby.

As a certified diver, Olivia has had the chance to see the ocean in a way that few people do; she expressed how she felt enlightened to the reality, the urgency of the danger faced by the mother, the source of all life; “My early love for the environment had led me to dive, because I wanted to experience nature more closely, especially the underwater world. But once I became a diver, that experience deepened my interest in the environment even further. because in my opinion when you dive, you see the ocean not just as a beautiful place, but also as a fragile ecosystem. You really begin to notice coral reefs that are thriving, but also reefs that are damaged by pollution or climate change. Diving has motivated me to care more actively, because I don't just read about these issues on the news but rather I see them with my own eyes.”

This beautiful, enlightened perspective is what has driven Olivia to not simply be a voice for, but also to become a leader of the youth in protecting the environment; being involved with numerous environmental initiatives, such as Gemestta (Gerakan Semesta Kita Indonesia) as well as Project Blue Steps, a student-led initiative to clean up beaches in the Kepulauan Seribu Regency of the Jakarta Special Administrative Region. When asked regarding the role of the youth in shaping the future of environmentalism, she emphasized the potential for our generation to bring creative and novel ideas to the table, as well as the readiness we possess to embrace new ways of thinking and living more sustainably; “I believe youth involvement is one of the most powerful forces in order to drive environmental change. Young people bring new and fresh ideas, and are often willing to adopt new sustainable practices faster than older generations.”

She however, continued to note that limitations continue to exist, presenting barriers to the involvement of the youth of our generation to involve themselves with the efforts necessary to protect the environment; “But one critique would be that many opportunities for environmental engagement are targeted at older groups, leaving high school students with fewer entry points to contribute meaningfully. I think their involvement should prioritize three things, education, action, and advocacy.”

The chorus of protest against the mistreatment of our planet has so far been a muted wail. The day is coming soon however, when the consequences of ignoring reality can no longer be ignored; when that day arrives, with voices like Olivia’s leading the charge, the protest won’t be so silent anymore.