On Friday, September 20th around 150 countries took part in the Global Climate Strike. Estimates say up to 4 million people participated around the globe. These numbers reflect a growing international fear for our planet’s future. Climate change is an issue that refuses to leave anyone, anywhere untouched.
Here in Memphis, I carpooled with my friends and arrived outside city hall an hour before the protest was set to begin. As I was chatting with some of the organizers, it became clear that even an hour before they expected anyone to show, they were already pleasantly shocked at how many people were turning out for the cause. People were handing out dark green t-shirts and encouraging protesters to grab a cardboard sign from stacks that were made beforehand.
Some signs from outside Memphis city hall. Many strikers donned these green 901 shirts.
What I quickly noticed was the diverse mixture of people who attended. This further showed that climate change is a problem that everyone is forced to feel the consequences of. More specifically, I was interested in how many older people showed up. I had picked up through social media that this latest climate movement seemed to be led by the younger generations. Looking around, I realized that the silver-haired strikers had been fighting for a sense of urgency their whole lives. This movement is the first sense of a truly global panic concerning climate change they have witnessed. An issue they initially brought to deaf ears is just now starting to take hold on the world stage.
Some of of the younger Memphian protesters seen on Friday.
It’s clear that simply using metal straws and taking shorter showers – while helpful – will not turn the (literal) rising tides of climate damage. We must stand up to large corporations and demand the large-scale change that must happen if we want our children to have a future. Global Climate Strike and Fridays for Future is inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg, who in August 2018 skipped school to sit outside of Swedish parliament and demand that Sweden’s government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Flash forward a year, and up to 4 million people are standing up with her to fight for our shared home, because there is no planet B.