PORTLAND, Maine — I sat down with a young Mainer doing things I never dreamed possible when I was 16 years old.
Meet, Anna Siegel, a student at Waynflete School who is spending her time making positive changes for Mainers with the help of Maine Youth Action.
Anna’s passion for climate justice was sparked at a young age, while she was in sixth grade. She said it took some time to get over the idea she couldn’t do anything because she was young. But it didn’t take long for her to realize the fight for our future is now.
“It’s not only bringing generations together now to fight for the future. It is happening now. The climate crisis is now,” Anna said.
Fast-forward to several weeks ago, when Anna was awarded a Brookie Award by the Natural Resources Council of Maine for her work on a climate bill that helps Mainers’ retirement funds.
“I am honored to have received a Brookie Award, I’m really grateful to the Natural Resources Council of Maine for their dedication to supporting young environmentalists such as myself and for making this award possible,” Anna said.
Her face lights up with enthusiasm as she relays her gratefulness. It’s a big achievement, especially for a teenager.
The bill Anna worked on is called An Act To Require the State To Divest Itself of Assets Invested in the Fossil Fuel Industry. She helped craft it with the help of an intergenerational coalition of legislators. It steers a lot of money away from fossil fuel investments.
Talking to Anna, you can tell she’s just getting started.
“The climate crisis requires a mass mobilization from every sector. We really all need to be working together,” Anna said.
I am in awe of her drive, determination and passion. I keep having to remind myself she is just 16 years old. I am incredibly impressed how Anna is well beyond her years.
In my opinion, the sign of a good leader is not what you accomplish, rather how many leaders you create. That fits Anna perfectly. It seems like she was born to lead.
The next question that popped into my head when speaking with her was the big one: "How would you solve the climate crisis?”
She paused for a couple of seconds and went all in.
“Taking success and create models to replicate in other communities,” Anna said.
It becomes incredibly clear to me during our conversation that Anna is not settling on past achievements, she’s building momentum to solve the climate crisis.
“Taking inspiration from similar communities that maybe they have better public transit than us, but very similar structure and geography, how can Maine replicate that to have better public transit here along those lines to create that better future instead of trying to do everything from scratch.
What we should be bringing from the past is not that bickering and blaming, it’s how to create better models. What didn’t work in the past, it’s what went well. How can we replicate successes?” Anna said.
Anna is well on her way to changing the world -- not tomorrow, but today. Anna Siegel is great today and only going to get better while making our lives better.