For decades many of us have protested, marched, and written innumerable papers (killing our fair share of trees) to say that the actions governments are taking to protect the environment are not enough. As politicians and the powerful keep watering down what is necessary to protect the environment and trying to placate opposition with weak accords, we are seeing the impacts of climate change become increasingly devasting. Young people around the world are absolutely right to ask why go to school if we may well have destroyed the planet by the time they are finished being “educated,” and what good is education if no one is listening to the educated anyway.
This is where the global student strikes for climate come in. Greta Thunberg started the actions in 2018 by striking in front of the Swedish parliament, eventually protesting every Friday to demand that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement. The movement has grown and now, on March 15, there will be sister strikes around the world as students around the world strike for the climate.
In Canada from Inuvik to St. John’s, in cities and towns in every province, students are joining the global student strike for the climate on March 15. Click here to find a map which lays out many of the March 15 actions. Find out about the action near you and get involved.
In Canada, the first climate strike action was in Sudbury in November 2018, when 11-year-old Sophia Mathur joined #FridaysfortheFuture and went on a climate strike. Then for the second strike, on December 7, 2018, youth in nine Canadian cities joined Greta Thunberg and went on strike from school. The strikes continued to grow and the Canadian Fridays for the Future group has announced that May 3, 2019 will be the national Canadian student strike for the climate. In the lead up to the Canadian student strike, the Activist Toolkit has contacted student organizers across the country and will be amplifying what they are doing.
Maya Bhullar is rabble’s Activist Toolkit Coordinator. The Activist Toolkit Blog is the place to catch up on what’s new with the Toolkit. With roundups of newly added tools, highlights of featured tools and extra multimedia content, you’ll get up to date info on grassroots organizing.
Image Credit: Rise and Resist/Facebook
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