Student Strikes for Climate Change

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Tue, 2019-09-17 01:20

jerrym

I posted this elsewhere but I feel it is important enough to merit here as well as global warming has become the number problem of the 21st century.

September 20-27 will be a week of student strikes for climate action around the world.

There are already 3,395 student strikes for climate action scheduled globally for the Sept. 20-27th. The following map shows their location on every continent, including Antarctica.

https://fridaysforfuture.ca/event-map/

This set of student strikes is expected to exceed the 1.5 million student strikers for climate action that occurred on March 15th.

The global mass day of action will take place on Friday 20 September, three days before the United Nations climate summit in New York.

It follows strikes in March this year in which 150,000 people marched in Australia and 1.5 million took part worldwide.

Organisers expect next week’s global strikes will be bigger and, this time there will be a much stronger presence from unions, workers and companies that have signed up to strike in solidarity with the young activists.

Here’s a guide to what’s happening.

Where will the strikes take place?

Strikes are planned in 120 countries across the world including almost 100 locations across Australia. ...

“This massive day of action is going to be fundamental towards advocating for more efficient action on climate change,” Evan Meneses, a 17-year-old organiser for the Adelaide strike, said. He said this was especially the case for Australia “given there is very little concrete evidence to suggest we’re achieving what was laid out in the Paris agreement”. There’s something that really connects with people when people as young as eight or 13 are advocating for action on the climate crisis because people that young are not the ones who should be having to [do so].”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/14/going-to-the-streets...

Tue, 2019-09-17 01:20

jerrym

Aware that Montreal has been one of the world's strongest cities in supporting Student Strikes for Climate Action, Greta Thunberg, the autistic 15 year old girl who started what started a global movement in August 218 by protesting outside Swedish Parliament alone about political inaction on climate change (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg), has agreed to attend Montreal's student strike on September 27th.

"The young activist has previously expressed support for activism in Montreal during the 'student strike' demonstrations back on March 15. "The Montreal march was one of the largest demonstrations in the world during the Friday for the Future Global Walkout, with more than 150,000 students taking part. " (https://www.mtlblog.com/news/canada/qc/montreal/greta-thunberg-wants-to-...)

Quebec Solidaire co-leader Mannon Massé has asked that Thunberg be allowed to speak to Quebec's National Assembly, although the Speaker has not ruled on the issue.

Climate change is now the number three issue in the 2019 Canadian election campaign 29%, behind only the cost of living at 35% and health care at 34%, according to an Abacus poll this month. (https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/climate-change-canada-election-2019_...)

16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg holds a placard reading "School strike for the climate" during a manifestation against climate change outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm, Sweden November 30, 2018.

Young activist Greta Thunberg says she is coming to Montreal. The Swedish 16-year-old is set to attend a scheduled climate protest on Sept. 27 to call on governments to take concrete action to combat climate change. ...

Thunberg had praised Montreal on social media for its large-scale turnout in the previous global demonstration back in March. ...

Thunberg has made headlines around the world by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a zero-emissions sailboat to attend the United Nations climate summit on Sept. 23 in New York.

Manon Massé, co-head of second opposition party Québec solidaire, has already asked that the activist be formally invited to address elected officials in the National Assembly. The speaker, François Paradis, will have to decide on the issue. "Greta, Montreal and I are waiting for you with open arms," Massé said on Twitter Sunday evening.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/greta-thunberg-1.5275586

Quebec climate action group La Planète s’invite au Parlement has invited Thunberg to attend the Montreal event on Sept. 27 that will encourage people to walk out of work and school to march for the environmental cause. ...

“She is one of the loudest voices we have to call attention to the degrading environmental condition and emergency we have on the planet,” said Clarkson. ... “(Thunberg) represents simple plain common sense that only a young person that hasn’t been disciplined enough to tow the line can bring,” said Clarkson.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5825359/greta-thunberg-climate-march-montreal/

Thu, 2019-09-19 15:02

Pogo

This is a great speech. We need to look past climate change as a tool to fix our political system.

And the science doesn’t mainly speak of “great opportunities to create the society we always wanted”. It tells of unspoken human sufferings, which will get worse and worse the longer we delay action - unless we start to act now. And yes, of course a sustainable transformed world will include lots of new benefits. But you have to understand. This is not primarily an opportunity to create new green jobs, new businesses or green economic growth. This is above all an emergency, and not just any emergency. This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/greta-thunberg-congress-speech-climate-change-crisis-dream-a9112151.html

Thu, 2019-09-19 23:24

jerrym

Since Tuesday of this week the number of Student Strikes for Climate Change scheduled from September 20-27th around the world has grown from 3,395 to 4,118 in more than 150 countries. This set of student strikes is expected to exceed the 1.5 million student strikers for climate action that occurred on March 15th.

Student Strikes for Climate Action come just before the United Nations meeting for the Climate Action Summit which will be held on September 23, where countries are supposed to ramp up their ambitions to dramatically cut greenhouse gases under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. A second worldwide strike is planned for September 27.

Sat, 2019-09-21 18:11

jerrym

Rabble outlines the reason for Canadians to strike for climate action:

Here's why we strike:

Because anything less than system change means jeopardizing the future of our planet.

Because Canada owes the rest of the world a massive climate debt.

Because Canada needs a Green New Deal.

Because workers deserve a just transition to clean, good jobs.

Because climate justice is migrant justice is racial justice.

Because we need to build a new economy that is based on caring for each other and our Earth.

Because air pollution alone contributes to more than 7 million respiratory-related deaths annually around the world.

Because Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and there can be no reconciliation without climate justice.

Because we believe in a better world and just future for all.

Because austerity logic has harmed teachers, domestic workers, artists, educators, students, and other people who already work in low-carbon industries -- and it's time to reverse that logic.

Because our universities and institutions are invested in the fossil fuel industry.

Because our prime minister just bought a pipeline.

Because real coverage of the climate crisis requires independent, activist-fuelled media.

Because we need sustainable food systems.

Because climate change is a top concern for Canadians going into the election and our political parties aren't listening.

Because a carbon tax just isn't enough.

Because we need massive investment in fully free, excellent, and universal public services, including health care, pharmacare, child care, and transit.

Because climate change isn't a single issue, it's every issue.

Because it's climate justice now, or eco-fascism later.

Because the time is up.

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/views-expressed/2019/09/20-reasons-strike

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:32

jerrym

In Vancouver 100,000 marched in the Student Strike for Climate Action. I attended the protest there were many chants of

"No Trudeau Pipeline, Not Now Not Ever" and

"What do we want?"

"Climate justice"

"When do we want it?

"Now."

Vancouver police, who estimated the crowd downtown at 100,000 people, said no major incidents were reported. ....

Holding signs that read “rise up before the ocean does,” and “the planet is hotter than my boyfriend” were Nikola Toma, 13, and Aaron Albindia, 12. They took the day off from Kwantlen Park Secondary in Surrey because they are concerned about environmental issues, such as plastic waste and rising sea temperatures.

“I have a lot of dreams and ambitions that I’d love to live out but the way the world’s going now, I can’t see many of them happening,” Nikola said. “That’s definitely a big bummer so I think we should say something.”

Tens of thousands attended the Global Climate Strike at Vancouver city hall Sept. 27 before marching over the Cambie Street Bridge into downtown. Photo Dan Toulgoet

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/live-vancouver-demonstrators-jo...

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:35

jerrym

More than 300,000 people attended the Montreal Student Strike for Climate Action march. Trudeau was heckled extensively for buying the Trans Mountain pipeline and his brown/blackface costumes in the past.

An estimated 315,000 people took part in the Montreal march.

Waves of Canadians led by global climate change fighter Greta Thunberg marched the country’s streets Friday to demand leaders take action to put a halt to rising temperatures. ...

In Montreal, Indigenous teenagers and Ms. Thunberg arrived about 20 minutes before the last stragglers left the starting point of the city’s walk. Marchers spilled into side streets along the planned route, taking over much of the downtown. The 4.4-kilometre continuous stream of humanity defied precise counting, but the city’s emergency services estimated 315,000 people were there.

Teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who is spearheading a climate change strike in Montreal, said on Friday that people want to 'silence' her because she and other young activists are 'becoming too loud.'

The Liberal Leader joined the Montreal march for a short time as he campaigned for re-election Oct. 21. The reception was hostile as protesters marched near him yelling “No pipeline” and heckled him for his history of wearing brownface and blackface before he entered politics.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadians-take-to-streets...

Sun, 2019-09-29 00:36

jerrym

Greta Thunberg has received heavy criticism, been called mentally ill because she is on the autism spectrum, including from Canada's Maxime Bernier, and even had death threats from extreme right-wingers in her fight against climate change. She is not the only young person being attacked because of their support of climate action.

This url describes the death threats against Greta Thunberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChDcw09QCk

On the morning of August 25, 11-year-old Lilly Platt tweeted a video clip of a Brazilian Amazon tribe speaking out against deforestation. Awareness of the Amazon wildfires was already at a fever pitch, and the tweet exploded. Then, within an hour, a swarm of troll accounts started flooding her mentions with porn.

Shortly after the attack, her mom, Eleanor Platt, made an online plea for help: “Dear Friends of Lilly, this is Lillys mum she is being targeted by revolting trolls who are spamming her feed with pornography. There is only so much i can do to block this. Please if you see these posts report them.” Over the course of the day, some of Lilly’s nearly 10,000 followers did just that. ...

Personal attacks have always been a part of the climate denial playbook, even as fossil fuel companies secretly funded campaigns and researchers to question the scientific consensus on climate change. The most famous incident, 2009’s Climategate, involved scientists getting their emails hacked and then facing death threats. ...

The clearest example of this is what's happening today with climate activism’s biggest star, Greta Thunberg. The 16-year-old Swedish crusader single-handedly launched the climate strike movement last year and has become the biggest target for attacks on climate activism online. Climate science deniers, right-wing media pundits, and politicians are the most high-profile figures fixating on everything from her braided hair to her Asperger’s to the motivation behind her strikes. ...

On August 14, as Greta set sail across the Atlantic for a packed trip involving multiple strikes, testimonies to Congress, and the United Nations climate summit in New York, former UK Independence Party funder Arron Banks tweeted that “Freak yachting accidents do happen in August.” Shortly after Greta’s arrival in the US, Maxime Bernier, a Canadian politician associated with extreme far-right groups, wrote: “She should be denounced and attacked.” A viral tweet from conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza after the global climate strike hit at another recurring theme: comparing Greta to children in Nazi propaganda. On Monday, a Fox News guest called her “mentally ill,” a jab at her Asperger’s diagnosis, prompting the outlet to issue an apology. Shortly after the UN summit, President Donald Trump tweeted sarcastically, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” ...

Meanwhile, upward of 5,000 tweets by suspected bots have mentioned Greta, according to an analysis by Bot Sentinel provided to BuzzFeed News.

But it’s not just Greta. Other young girls in the movement are facing a flood of online abuse. It’s less clear where those attacks are coming from, but they involve a mix of regular accounts, trolls, and bots. While the youngest activists are often shielded from this, due to constant monitoring of their social media by their parents, there’s no filter for many of the teens. Jamie Margolin, a 17-year-old climate activist in Seattle, described how it felt experiencing a recent Twitter swarm: “You start getting so much anxiety.”

“The ugly truth is that these girls are subject to the deepest darkest evil side of social media on a daily basis,” Bethany Edwards, mom of 8-year-old climate activist Havana Chapman-Edwards, told BuzzFeed News in an email. Havana, who is black, has gotten racist messages, death threats, and was contacted by one man who the family later discovered was a registered sex offender.

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University said she adds someone to her Twitter block list “on average at least once a day, if not more.” For Hayhoe, as the voices of the climate teens grow louder, there is increasingly a target pointed squarely on their backs. “They will attack anyone who is perceived as being effective,” she said. “The more effective we are, the greater the attacks.”

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/greta-thunberg-climate-t...

Sun, 2019-09-29 13:25

Paladin1

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

Is she a "prophet" like David Suzuki suggests? Or is she being catapulted to stardom by a society that's always looking for the next new young face to obsess over for a couple weeks or months before moving on to the next in thing? I'm sure Greta Thunberg is being bombarded with sponsors. Under armor and Nike fighting to see which brand they can try and show her wearing on TV. What brand of shoes does Greta Thunberg wear? I need to own the same ones. And it's entertainment to see who this 16 year old girl calls out, did you see what she said about Trump? lol

I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

Sun, 2019-09-29 15:25

(Reply to #9) #10

Aristotleded24

Paladin1 wrote:

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

She and her generation understand that, unlike many of us who have had a chance to live lives, get jobs, travel, get married, have children etc that they may never have those chances or those chances, on the current trajectory, look very different than what we have experienced. For most of us, it's theoretical. For her and her generation, it's personal.

Paladin1 wrote:

I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

Did you see the crowds in the streets all over the world on Friday? The big success of this movement is that it actually got people off Facebook and into the streets, which is where change happens. This was built on the first climate strikes that hit last March, and will only grow bigger from here.

Mon, 2019-09-30 01:52

(Reply to #10) #11

jerrym

[quote =jerrym]

This url describes the death threats against Greta Thunberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChDcw09QCk

The url below describes the attacks, including death threats, on Greta Thunberg and some of the other young Student Strikers for Climate Action that are part of an organized campaign that includes the use of thousands of bots by the extreme right-wing.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/greta-thunberg-climate-t...

Paladin1 wrote:

Is Greta Thunberg just another example of our Reality TV syndrome?

Every time I see something about Greta Thunberg I read that "she's young!". "She's 16!". Okay...That's the big hook? We know there are people who have devoted their adult lives to fighting climate change and pushing others to recognize it for the danger it is, but they're boring. They're not "a 16 year old girl!". They're ignored.

Don't get me wrong. I think she's pretty awesome and I think she's doing an amazing job, but I can't help but think about the mechanics behind it. Excluding me I'd guess members here know more about climate change than she does. So why her?

Is she a "prophet" like David Suzuki suggests? Or is she being catapulted to stardom by a society that's always looking for the next new young face to obsess over for a couple weeks or months before moving on to the next in thing? I'm sure Greta Thunberg is being bombarded with sponsors. Under armor and Nike fighting to see which brand they can try and show her wearing on TV. What brand of shoes does Greta Thunberg wear? I need to own the same ones. And it's entertainment to see who this 16 year old girl calls out, did you see what she said about Trump? lol

I hope her stardom is more than a fad and people become more involved in fighting climate change than going to a protest and posting their selfies about it on facebook.

You are trivializing both what Greta Thunberg has helped activate in terms of fighting global warming and the massive assault, including death threats on her and other young well-known protesters by the extreme right. You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence, which is the same strategy employed by the fossil fuel industry (https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-denial-machine-how-fo...), its climate denying researchers like Willie Soon who the oil companies paid over $1,200,00 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Soon), its PR flunkies hired from the cigarette industry (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tobacco-and-oil-industries-us...), and the alt-right (https://jewishcurrents.org/what-happens-when-alt-right-believes-climate-...).

Mon, 2019-09-30 08:12

#12

Misfit

This is what I am referring to:

There is nothing wrong with him attending the demonstration and making a political speech, but the optics of this are just awful.

Mon, 2019-09-30 08:58

(Reply to #12) #13

Paladin1

Aristotleded24 wrote:

She and her generation understand that, unlike many of us who have had a chance to live lives, get jobs, travel, get married, have children etc that they may never have those chances or those chances, on the current trajectory, look very different than what we have experienced. For most of us, it's theoretical. For her and her generation, it's personal.

Aristotleded24 I appreciate you taking my post seriously thank you.

Those are very uplifting things to say. I hope you're right. Without trying to sound too disparaging, her generation also see something on the internet and race to try and and be included. Like the crazy youtube challanges we keep seeing. (hot peppers, biting tide laundry soap pods, choking each other until someone passes out, swallowing spoons of cinnamon, little older generation getting out of moving cars to dance).

I mention that because I'm hessitant to fall into this "they're so woke, they get it! We have to listen to teenagers!" following. I

Quote:

Did you see the crowds in the streets all over the world on Friday? The big success of this movement is that it actually got people off Facebook and into the streets, which is where change happens. This was built on the first climate strikes that hit last March, and will only grow bigger from here.

I did and it's pretty damn awesome to see. I couldn't believe how many people got involved, again it's a very uplifting thing to see. I wouldn't agree it got people off facebook, people just logged in, streamed and facebooked from the protest but I get what you mean. It got people out of the house and 'doing something' so that's a huge win.

But what comes next? What's the next step? The Liberals declared a climate emergency, which everyone cheered about. Then they bought a pipeline. I'm excited to see what happens next. I hope there's some kind of plan to move from marches in the street to governments actually doing something. Know what I mean?

Mon, 2019-09-30 09:27

(Reply to #13) #14

Paladin1

jerrym wrote:

Greta Thunberg has received heavy criticism, been called mentally ill because she is on the autism spectrum, including from Canada's Maxime Bernier, and even had death threats from extreme right-wingers in her fight against climate change. She is not the only young person being attacked because of their support of climate action.The url below describes the attacks, including death threats, on Greta Thunberg and some of the other young Student Strikers for Climate Action that are part of an organized campaign that includes the use of thousands of bots by the extreme right-wing.

Yea. It's fucking disgusting how people treat each other online. Hell I've had someone here tell me they hoped I stepped on a land mine. I have young kids in my house and I'm constantly vetting Youtube and online content. People think it's funny to take a kids show or kid videos on YouTube (how to make slime) and splice in porn or swearing or dead animals. My daughter wanted to make her own youtube channel to stream an online kids game she plays- not a chance.

I don't think Greta is being singled out because of her views per say, getting death threats online seems to be the standard for our society now. Again, it's super disgusting. You'll get death threats whether you're a Liberal, Conservative, NDP or Green party. Pro-life, pro-choice. Hunter, non-hunter. Climate change advocate, vegan, Muslim, Christian, Xbox or Playstation, you name it. That doesn't make it okay or acceptable. How do you combat that?

I certainly hope I'm not. If I am it's not my intention. Depending on how you characterize what constitutes as achievement she's surely did more "for the world" than I have. I really respect what she's been able to do.

Quote:

You accuse her of trying to make money through corporate sponsorship off the Student Strike for Climate Action campaign without a shred of evidence

That's not what I said at all. I never accused her of looking for corporate sponsorship. I do think companies are like blood hounds and the minute they see someone like Greta pop up in the news they're climbing over each other to try and put a logo on her. Nothing to do with her but says a lot about or corporate and materialistic society.