What are you doing on Friday? Millions of young people around the world are begging for their futures, and they’re asking us all to help them. It’s a historic call for action as the terrifying realities of global warming set it.
Disrupt Business As Usual
We are all being urged to disrupt business as usual on Friday, September 27th. That means walking out of your home, office, or workplace, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a professional athlete, a delivery truck driver, a teacher, or anything in between.
Refuse to accept the status quo. Raise awareness about the effects of climate change in your community. Help start a dialogue to find solutions. Join one of the many groups protesting new pipelines and mines or the banks that fund them. Stand up against the oil companies fuelling the climate crisis. We can all take part in various ways.
Of course, we can’t all leave work or drop what we’re doing on Friday. 350.org has a list of ways you can participate, such as hosting a lunchtime discussion with colleagues. Business as usual is no longer an option.
Big Events Planned
This week, climate protests are being planned in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, India, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
These events are in addition to what already took place last Friday. More than 4 million people around the world took to the streets demanding that world leaders at the UN climate summit finally step up.
They chanted things like “you had a future, and so should we,” and “save our planet.”
And they seemed to help spark some change.
The New York Times says Germany has since unveiled a $60 billion package of new climate policies. And in the US, the Trump administration is now being sued by California and 23 other states in a fight to set stricter regulations on dangerous tailpipe emissions.
But, so much more needs to be done.
Our Future
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Greta Thunberg is our future. The 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist helped launch this latest call for climate action.
She’s the founder of Fridays for Future, a movement that has seen millions of student climate strikers leave their classrooms every Friday.
In an emotional speech at the UN climate summit in New York on Monday, Thunberg told world leaders inaction has led to ecosystems collapsing and people all over the world suffering and dying.
“How dare you continue to look away and come here saying you are doing enough,” she told them.
She is one of 16 children to file a legal complaint on Monday with the United Nations. The complaint accuses France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey of not doing enough to fight climate change.
Our House Is On Fire
Thunberg and millions of other youth are trying to send a clear message: the climate crisis is an emergency. Our futures are at risk. Oil, coal, and gas companies are adding fuel to the fire.
They’re calling on the world to act fast; we need to move away from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy.
We cannot wait; we need to act now.
So, I’ll ask one more time: what are you doing on Friday?