Today, three days before the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City, young people — and adults! — will strike all across the U.S. and world to demand transformative action be taken to address the climate crisis.
If you’re in New York City, you’re in luck, because future Nobel laureate (I mean, is there any doubt?) Greta Thunberg is in town, having sailed to the U.S. earlier this month on an emissions-free racing yacht. Thunberg is the sharp-as-a-tack Swedish teenager who launched the global school-strike movement. The event with her starts in Foley Square, near City Hall, and the schedule is as follows:
- 12 p.m.: Assemble at Foley Square
- 1 p.m.: March to Battery Park
- 2:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Rally in Battery Park
Click here to RSVP. (You can attend without RSVP-ing, but it’s always helpful to event organizers to know how many people plan to go.) And, yes, you have to leave work early to do this. That’s the whole “strike” part. Disrupting our daily routine shows that we think that an environment that’s conducive to human life is an urgent issue. Of course, not everyone can leave work, but if you can, you should. I mean, come on. Folks with salaried jobs in graphic design, and marketing, and corporate law, and jewelry design — we do good work but no one is going to die if we cut out for a FEW HOURS to do something with moral importance. A lot of people will die if we let greedy politicians and corporations take the damage to our environment past the point of no return. So join for at least an hour. You’ll be proud of yourself after.
You’ve also got an opportunity to flex your activism muscles on Saturday. You know how we all see the mass protests in Hong Kong and Puerto Rico and London and ask each other, “Why aren’t we marching in the streets of D.C.?” “Why isn’t the Women’s March happening all the time?” Here’s your chance to walk the walk with the We the People March.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WE THE PEOPLE MARCH ON D.C.
I’m hoping to be in D.C., assuming I can drag myself to the 4:30 a.m. bus I have to take! If I miss that (and I sure hope I don’t), I’ll be at the solidarity march in New York. As with the Women’s March, there are sister marches all over the country. Find one close to you here.
Lately, a few people have told me they have trouble participating in activist movements because it’s too stressful to think about all the big issues. I promise you this: Life won’t get less stressful if our rights are stripped away by a lawless fascist government in a world that’s on fire! Denial isn’t going to save you from that. Doing something will save you. And doing something surrounded by other people who have taking positive action is the best stress relief there is. Try it. You’ll like it!