Profile: Yixin Tay

17, The Woodlands High School, Woodlands, Texas

• I believe that the climate crisis is accelerating beyond what many think, which makes it all the more critical for all hands to get on board with making sustainable changes for good. Every day, we get further and further from reaching the necessary goal of limiting global warming to 1.5c, making it vital that our current and future efforts are aggressive and substantial. I am so impressed by the work that FXB Climate Advocates have done, and believe that this is an incredible platform that enables the youth to spread their voices and do their part to help in the climate crisis. If able to join FXB Climate Advocates, I would use the resources and opportunities available to help pursue what I am passionate about: educating others about the climate crisis and helping them make sustainable changes to their lifestyle without overwhelming them with depressing facts and statistics, as well as combatting the dangerous mindset that "somebody else" will help solve climate change. It's not too late to make a difference, and I would love to be able to do what I can in this moment to help and be a part of the movement to fight climate change.

• I am a high schooler from Texas who is passionate about educating others about the climate crisis and spreading awareness about the necessity of combatting climate change now. I love going on long walks, grocery shopping, and watching movies.

• I co-created an online campaign called Heed Your Handful, which spreads awareness about how to reduce food waste and be more sustainable in the kitchen. Through this campaign, I've been able to produce several sustainable shopping and anti-food waste guides and publish them as brochures, distributing them to local grocery stores. Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and plastic packaging from food items is something that I believe is avoidable as long as people make educated choices when shopping. After learning about issues like overfishing and the harmful impacts of certain agricultural practices used to harvest the food we eat, I felt that it was necessary to share my knowledge with others so that more people can learn about this often overlooked or forgotten topic in climate change, and hopefully inspire my community to live more sustainably.