On Friday, over 4 million people across the world in over 160 countries joined 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, and other youth climate activists and environmental organizations, in the Global Strike for Climate. Thunberg, the founder of the Friday’s for Future movement, arrived in New York on August 28 and has since addressed Congress, received the Amnesty International 2019 Ambassador of Consciousness Award, and, most importantly, she has motivated the masses to protest at the 9/20 strike and during climate week.
Last Friday, 250,000 New Yorkers assembled around Foley Square at noon. The crowd was full of determination, demanding real transformative action from government officials and placing high hopes on the UN climate summit on Monday. The crowd moved on to rally at Battery Park until the late afternoon, where Greta Thunberg and other NY-based youth, as well as indigenous climate leaders, spoke and performed.
It was an assembly of all generations, from small children, who are afraid of what the future will look like, to senior citizens, who want their grandchildren to have a planet to live on.
Asked why they chose to skip school or work that day, protesters’ responses were pretty simple and sounded alike: if no serious action is taken to address climate change, then there will be no reason to even go to school or work anymore, because there will be no planet left to live on.
Though everyone agreed on the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for action, the participants interviewed all brought in their own personal motivations:
Tai-Yan Chou-Kudu, a 20-year-old New York college student, could not resist skipping class to express her love for nature and show her willingness to fight for its preservation. ”This is an event of unity, the youth have a lot more wisdom than people may think,” she said. She hopes that social media, as a huge driver of movements, will raise the awareness necessary to cause changes across the globe.
For Ramona Gomes and Caty Schnack, who are in their mid-twenties, it is not just a matter of protecting the environment, but a matter of securing their personal future. The two question whether they should even have children. ”I could have a child in another world, but we don’t even know if we want to have kids if there isn’t a planet for them to live on,” said Schnack, “Is it responsible to have a child on a planet that’s on fire?” They were impressed by the large number of people who showed up from all across the world, which makes them hopeful that the necessary changes may be under way. Greta Thunberg and all the other young protesting people are an inspiration to Gomes and Schnack and a sign that the younger generation is invested in the planet’s future.
A major public strike like this, to 25-year-old Wanda Noonan, was worth setting everything else aside for the day. Greta Thunberg was a special motivation for her to participate, but Noonan has been active in the past as well, for example as a part of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign at Vassar college. However, as of late, she has been less motivated to do lifestyle activism, stating, ”It feels like we’re at a point where how long I’m in the shower, or whether I recycle, just seems minute compared to people with real power, which is why this kind of event gets me more excited.” She doesn’t believe in “a quick fix,” but hopes that the Friday strikes were an important first step.
Leyli Dib, 12, Chole Kaas, 13, and Sigrid Dolan,13, felt that it was necessary to go to the strike. “It means a lot to us to protest and protect the planet we live on. It’s not gonna affect the older people who are going to die soon, it’s gonna affect us and our future. It’s important for everybody that our earth is in good shape,” Dolan said. They want society to move away from the notion that humans are the center of this planet and start to consider all the other species on the planet. The three friends do not think protesting will be enough and emphasized that there is a lot more action necessary.
As a team member of 350, one of the major 9/20 strike and climate week organizers, Melanie Dominguez was especially excited to see the huge turn-out of people. The 23-year-old stressed the urgency of the movement. ”We’re currently in a climate crisis and it’s really up to us that our leaders and our government take action. We don’t have time to waste,” she said. The environment has always been important to Melanie and she admires ”the fearless young leaders” who are stepping up for change.
37-year-old Uno Osato is excited to follow ”the lead of our youth.” She had no idea what to expect beforehand, but is now convinced that the world-wide strikes have attracted the necessary attention. Uno has been organizing events and actions around social justice since she was a teenager, which makes it even more special for her to participate with the new generation in ”something bigger than all of us.”
With the start of climate week there will be numerous events and climate activists around the globe hope to continue to push forward in their fight for a right to a livable future.
Great article and pictures, well done Susanne