Students participated in a Global School Strike Friday, Sept. 20, to rally in favor of Climate Change recognition in government policy.
Nearly 1,000 young people marched two blocks from Atlanta City Hall to the capitol building Friday afternoon in downtown Atlanta, according to 11 Alive news. The event promoted students and employees alike to attend in order to emphasize the urgency of addressing climate change in the upcoming elections.
Crowded on the steps of the capitol building, students pushed for government regulation of corporation pollutants, the eradication of the use of fossil fuels and the importance of instating environmental education in schools. Students also emphasized the danger of ignoring the disastrous results of a changing climate.
“Our politicians are bought and paid for by fossil fuel companies,” current U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff announced over loudspeakers, initiating loud cheers from protestors. “We must force them to listen to us, especially with all eyes turning to Georgia in the 2020 election.”
Students carried posters with slogans such as “There is no planet B,” “Don’t be a fossil fool,” “No war on science,” “I’m missing school to teach you a lesson” and “You’ll die of old age, but we’ll die from climate change.”
Members of the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club, a grassroots organization working to protect communities and the planet, spoke as well.
“We are the future — we are the ones we all have been waiting for,” one member said. “In order to change everything, we need everyone.”
While KSU students are always encouraged to go to class, nearly 1,000 young people across Atlanta made fighting for climate change a priority.
Atlanta was just one of many international cities participating in the strike. Other cities included New York, Berlin, London and Los Angeles, making the protest the largest organized environmental event in history, according to NPR news.
Vox News reported that over 4 million students worldwide participated in the protest, including the several hundred in attendance in Atlanta.
The student climate change movement has been led by Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who initiated the international youth strike. Her leadership has inspired students to hold politicians accountable for their lack of attention to global warming through protest, according to the Washington Post.
Another climate protest is planned for Friday, Sept. 27, in Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The event is expected to host large crowds whose goal is to bring attention to the United Nations Youth Climate Summit, which is held the next day.
