PFAS…you hate them, I hate them, we all hate them. They are those per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (which we have come to know as "forever chemicals") that contaminate everything from water to kid's school supplies, and they never break down. This is a battle we did not choose to fight, but that urgently needs the initiative and advocacy of more people, especially young ones.
A current demonstration of their advocacy for the issue is how at UMBC in Baltimore, students came together along with local residents to test their waters for PFAS contamination. It may not sound like much came from their initiative, however, they gave those local residents three of the most valuable things: first—real and reliable data about their community, second—exposure to the media and to their community officials, and last but not least—a sense of empowerment over their communities and resources.
Pressure from citizens and youth groups in New Jersey, helped push for a settlement that forced 3M (a medical giant) to pay up to $450 million for polluting drinking water with these "forever chemicals." Local activism in different places across the United States has pressured city councils to mandate state-level bands of these chemicals.
In France, entire villages have sadly lost access to safe drinking water due to a severe PFAS contamination.