What comes next?

One effect of the Willow Project’s approval has been discussion of what changes should be made moving forward.

For Abebe, simply listening to younger people’s voices instead of shutting them down could be a good step forward.

“I think a lot of the time there’s this ideology that Gen Z is supposedly this woke culture that is very performative and I agree that there are aspects of this generation that are very performative,” Abebe said. “However, most of the time and for most of the people that I’ve met, it’s genuine care in wanting things to change. I think just listening to our generation and acknowledging that we want to have change that is actually going to better the generations that come after us is important.”

Similarly Heideman thinks that adults should acknowledge that their actions are now the younger generations’ responsibilities.

“I think that [adults] need to understand that the fallout from their generation, from what they failed to do, is going to rest on our shoulders,” Heideman said “I think that it’s really scary for us because we’re going to have to deal with the world that they left for us.”

Fair believes an important step is prioritizing technology that is, “Cleaner and less harmful to ecosystems, so no more oil spills or no more carbon dioxide or smog or acid rain.”

Additionally, Fair believes that with more discussion people are able to recognize and help advocate for change.

“I see a change now where the consumers are saying, Hey, we can’t do this without the government and without the corporations making regulations and driving this change.” Fair said. “We really need all the governments of every country to agree that this is important and make changes.”

Similarly, Walden also recognizes that individual aspects may not have a large impact, but he also thinks that drastic change from governments and businesses is not guaranteed. Thus, small efforts like utilizing solar power can be the best way to move forward for average people. 

 “[I] don’t know if you can really stop an entire planet from doing what it’s doing, especially with all the emissions that we’ve put out there for years and years and years.” Walden said. “So, I think we’re gonna have to get really good at adapting to whatever our planet brings us, there’s probably going to be some migration that happens in the future.” 

Abebe agrees that even though small actions may not solve all environmental issues, they are important.

“Even though one person being vegetarian or one person recycling may be small, you’re still doing something,” Abebe said. “I think that’s worth all the while as opposed to doing nothing and just sitting and letting it happen.”