It’s Friday, September 20, and youth climate protesters are taking the globe by storm.
Kids around the world are striking today in the name of climate action. The movement was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager who captured global attention a little over a year ago when she started skipping school every Friday to protest on the steps of the Swedish parliament. What started as a one-girl show has turned into a mobilization millions strong.
While children in the U.S. were still asleep last night, kids on the other side of the world were getting ready to strike. Thousands turned out for a strike in Sydney, Australia. In India, activists posted videos of dozens of kids holding signs in front of their schools. Indigenous activists gathered at the University of the Philippines demanding action. “Dead planet soon, act now!” their banner read. There were reports of 10,000-plus attendees at the climate strike in Newcastle, England. In London, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted there were 100,000 protesters. “How can we sleep while our beds are burning?” a sign read at the protest in Hong Kong.
Stateside, kids took the nation by storm. Thousands rallied in Boston, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and New York. Many marches aren’t even in full swing yet.
It wasn’t just the little ones taking to the streets. Parents, teachers, and adult environmentalists of all backgrounds joined in. For a sense of the scale, 1.4 million people took to the streets today in Germany alone. To see more, check out the hashtag #globalclimatestrike on Twitter. Or, you know, go join your local strike. It’s only the world at stake.
The Smog
Need-to-know basis
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