Students in 1,700 locations across over 100 countries around the globe staged a massive demonstration on Friday, demanding that leaders in their own countries and globally take action to address the existential threat of climate change. A reported 1.4 million students walked out of school and marched and held rallies from Tokyo to Cape Town, and Stockholm to New York to raise awareness of the climate change crisis and their increasing concern that their generation will be unduly impacted by the failure to reign in greenhouse gas emissions now before it is too late. Their chants and signs tell the story:
- In New York City the crowd chanted, “Climate change is not a lie. We won’t let our planet die.”
- A sign in Sydney read “I was hoping for a cooler death.”
- In Tokyo, the students cheered, “What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!”
- In San Francisco, the students chanted in unison, “Ain’t no power like the power of the youth, cause the power of the youth don’t stop!”
- In Madison, Wisconsin students held signs saying, “No Jobs on a Dead Planet” and “This Is Our Future” and “Be a Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Pollution.”
- ODP covered the D.C. climate strike on Instagram and from our story there you can get a sense of the rally at the U.S. Capitol.
The students are having an impact. For example, CBS News reported that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the students inspired him to hold a special summit in September to deal with what he called “the climate emergency.” “My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change,” Guterres wrote in an opinion piece in The Guardian. “This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry.” Photos of the strikes made local newspapers and received TV coverage as well around the globe, garnering the attention of tens of millions of people even on a particularly gruesome news day because of the shooting at the mosque in New Zealand.
Why This Matters: These student voices are a clarion call. Leaders should listen — not only because these students will be voters soon enough, but because of their sense of anxiety and urgency around climate change. There is an old adage in the conservation world — we do not inherit the planet from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Ultimately all leaders with a conscience realize this truism and seek to cement their legacy with environmental accomplishments. But addressing the climate challenge cannot be merely an afterthought — a capstone for a successful political career. It must be a “prime directive” — an organizing principle — for how we govern ourselves into the future.
To Go Deeper: You can see more photos from the climate strikes around the globe here. And check out MSNBC’s coverage, featuring an interview with Monica. Or listen to her talk about the strikes on Background Briefing, a nationally syndicated radio show.
March 18, 2019 » climate change, climate change children, crisis, FridaysForFuture, student climate strike
