On June 13th, six of Accelerate Climate Solutions Youth Leaders had the opportunity to table at Naperville Neighbors United’s Juneteenth Festival. Although this holiday dates back to 1865, it was not recognized as a federal holiday until 2021, over 150 years later. This alone highlights the importance of the holiday as it is not just a day to reflect on the past but a day to acknowledge and confront the injustices that continue to persist.

Joe Hus, Chair of the Energy Committee for the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force (NEST), spoke to our BLAST summer interns on Wednesday, June 10. Hus has devoted much of his time and expertise to informing the community about the benefits of adopting renewable energy sources. “We are on the verge of a huge energy transition that most people just don’t know about,” Hus said in an interview with Phoenix, a Climate Communication Intern. Contrary to popular belief, solar is...

Accelerate Climate Solutions was founded in 2023 by Cathy Clarkin to educate and empower the next generation of climate and environmental leaders. At ACS, we believe that elevating youth voices is key to creating meaningful and long-lasting change. That’s why we created our youth program, BLAST – Building Leadership Around Sustainable Transformation. This program provides opportunities to both high school and college students via our BLAST Competition and BLAST Internships. Since our...