Teens gather to demand climate change actions
WASHINGTON — Ahead of a global strike for climate action, Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg joined fellow young advocates and Senate Democrats to draw attention to the peril of global warming.
Although she did not speak at a Tuesday news conference organized by Sen. Edward J. Markey, DMass., and other Democrats, a representative for Thunberg said the 16-year-old was there to lend her support. She has, however, planned a blitz of activity around Capitol this week that will culminate in the global climate strike.
At the news conference, Nadia Nazar, a 17-year-old Baltimore resident who is co-founder of the youth-led climate organization Zero Hour said her resolve to demand climate action was strengthened last year when relatives in India and friends in Ellicott City, Md., grappled with catastrophic floods.
“My story lies next to the girl that drowned in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian; my story lies next to the indigenous people laying their lives down in front of bulldozers to protect their land; my story lies next to the elderly person who died in the California wildfire,” Nazar said.
An increasing number of global catastrophes exacerbated by the effects of a hotter Earth has prompted more young people around the world to call for action by their leaders. The young activists say their generation will feel the impacts of climate change more than the current generation of lawmakers and government officials.
Thunberg is slated to appear before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Wednesday and later speak on the steps of the Supreme Court.
The 16-year-old has gained global attention for her climate activism and for crossing the Atlantic to the U.S. on a sailboat, avoiding air travel and its attendant carbon emissions. She arrived in New York on Aug. 28, helping to drum up more attention to the climate strike.