Teenagers and young children around the world are speaking up to call for immediate action to reverse global warming and decrease the use of fossil fuels. That movement, dubbed a “Global Climate Strike,” made its way to Hartford just outside the state Capitol Friday.
On the Capitol steps protesters carried signs, sang, and rallied around a simple message: after years of inaction, climate change has become a weight that’s pressing on the shoulders of today’s youth.
“But we are here today to get rid of that weight,” said fifteen-year-old activist Sena Wazer. “To tell public officials that even though they may think the kind of climate action we are asking for is impossible, we know that it is not only possible, but necessary.”
Wazer said it’s up to her generation to step up on climate and inspire others.
Friday’s rally featured banners declaring “Skolstrejk för klimatet,” or "School strike for climate."
That's the slogan Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg used when she started skipping classes once a week to protest climate change.
Thunberg's stand inspired students in more and more nations, making her an international activist. She is expected to speak at the U.N. Climate Action Summit on Monday.
Students in countries around the world skipped school to take part in Friday's rally. The purpose was to call out corporations and make the demands of protestors heard to politicians.
Loomis Chaffee Senior Kelly Eng said that individual students can make changes in their everyday lives, too.
“When you come into your dorms, don’t bring dozens of plastic water bottles into your room,” Eng said. “Maybe you can buy a water bottle and just use water fountains around campus. These small actions can really make a big difference.”
From those small actions of climate awareness protestors hope larger change will blossom. Changing how we live day-to-day, the choices made by those in power now, and in the future.
This post contains reporting from the Associated Press.
