Whereas there is a significant, negative impact that a rapid and ongoing changing climate has on youth in the United States; Whereas youth are especially vulnerable to the physical and mental health impacts of climate-related disasters and the cumulative toll youth will endure from additional exposure to increasing climate-related disasters; Whereas youth represent a particularly vulnerable group because greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere will impact today’s and tomorrow’s youth throughout their biological, psychological, academic, and social development; Whereas an American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica report stated that, as of 2016, as climate-related disasters continue to increase, more youth will be directly affected by increasing rates of stress and trauma through interruption in schooling, disruptions in routine, separation from caregivers due to evacuations or displacement, and parental stress after a disaster; Whereas recent studies cited in the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica report have documented that high levels of stress during childhood, such as those associated with the experience of a climate-related disaster or displacement, can affect the development of neural pathways in ways that impair memory, executive function, and decision making in later life; Whereas a 2016 Social Science and Medicine study found that experiencing an extreme weather event before age 5 resulted in higher levels of anxiety and depression among adults; Whereas recent studies confirm individuals from low-income communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color are often the most vulnerable to the worst impacts of a changing climate, such as flooding, drought, fire, and extreme heat; Whereas a study by the American Public Health Association and ecoAmerica entitled, Making the Connection: Climate Changes Mental Health , shows that up to 45 percent of youth have developed depression after a climate-related disaster, affecting both their caregivers and the youth themselves