This upcoming Friday, Charleston locals will be gathering at Stern Center Gardens from 3:00-5:00 in order to demonstrate the importance of climate action. This international movement was started by a sixteen year old activist, Greta Thunberg.
In August of 2018, Greta began going on strike every Friday. She would sit alone outside of Sweden’s parliament with a sign reading “Skolstrejk för klimatet.” As the media began to discuss this QUEEN of a teenager taking a stand for what she believed in, many people began to join the movement.
The Climate Strike has now reached an international level, and this upcoming Friday, September 20th, the College of Charleston will be holding its own climate strike from 3:00-5:00 at Stern Center Gardens. This date was chosen because it’s three days before the UN Emergency Climate Summit, during which they’ll discuss “concrete, realistic plans” that will take steps towards reducing our carbon emissions and in turn alleviate the impacts of climate change.
Wondering why to go on climate strike? It’s a reasonable question. Although global warming and climate change have been buzz words for over twenty years now, there isn’t a lot of education about what these terms really mean.
To make things simple, global warming is “an increase in the planet’s overall temperature” due to some of the ways the modern world has changed the earth. Climate change is a result of global warming, and it involves the disruption of typical weather patterns over a long period of time.
We need to react to the climate crisis because the increasing temperature is already hurting people around the world. Take Hurricane Dorian and its damage to the Bahamas. The energy used to create and maintain tropical storms is found in the ocean, and “more than 90 percent of the heat [caused by global warming] is being stored in the ocean.” Having more heat in the ocean leads to stronger storms, and the impact of this is seen in the Bahamas. People are already being hurt by the results of climate change, and before these hurricanes get any worse, we need to take action to change our behaviors that are contributing to the climate crisis.
But this doesn’t answer the question of how going on strike can impact climate change. The truth is, it’s important to show up and support topics that are important to you because that’s how policy-makers know what to act on. Policy, like most things, is about supply and demand. If people demand that climate change be addressed, politicians will be forced to supply reasonable solutions or face the consequences.
So please. Join members of the Charleston Community this Friday in the Stern Center Gardens from 3:00-5:00. Show that you care about these issues and want to see a change.
Can’t make it this Friday? Understandable. We all have busy, unpredictable lives. There are still some awesome ways to make a difference! Download the search engine, Ecosia, which is available as an app or extension on any device. Ecosia donates its profit from ads to reforestation projects, and it does not sell any of your personal information. By making searches with this engine, you are planting trees, and trees work to combat climate change!
Another way you can make a difference is by voting. The 2020 elections are coming up, and come candidates have better environmental policies than others. I would suggest using this resource to review the candidates and their plans to combat climate change. Voting for people (of any party!) who prioritize this issue is a great way to make a huge impact!
Additional information about the climate strike can be found at https://globalclimatestrike.net