Parker: Youth should be leading charge on climate
Joanne, an acquaintance seen regularly during a morning visit to the Trenton Transit Center, offered this opinion, after hearing climate change marches were being driven by young people.
“Isn’t everything,” she said, before she entered the fray of commuterrush and disappeared. Perhaps.
More than willing to hand over climate initiatives and Earth control to many youth graced with energy and blessed with knowledge about saving the planet.
Several thousand people joined a rally Friday on JFK Parkway near City Hall in Philadelphia as sun splashed streets and spirits. A malfunctioning microphone did nothing to stymie emotions as mini-rallies and shouts erupted throughout the area. Youth flamed the protest as they overwhelmed a protest that eventually stymied traffic on several streets.
Priscilla, a mother from Egg Harbor Township, attended with her home-schooled girls Ainsley and Sydney. Priscilla admitted being comfortable with her girls and other youth being the voices for climate issues.
“Individual action is only 30-percent of the cause of climate crisis. 70-percent is from government, military or corporations,” Priscilla suggested.
“We need a system change. It’s a youth movement and we should be ready to place this issue under their influence. I know my girls are ready to lead this mission. They’ve helped in making our home a net-zero environment. We’re making all the individual actions that we can but we need a broader approach, need further action. But I’m impressed by what I see here. The turnout is phenomenal.”
Net-zero building means that the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to or less than the amount of renewable energy created on-site.
Climate change rallies around the U.S. and world occurred days before The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit held at United Nations Headquarters in New York Sept. 21-23. Adults were part of the mosh pit in Philadelphia as they joined a call for immediate and sustained action to rescue a planet.
Our attendance and voices yielded to youth as many teens offered concerns about having a safe planet to live on as they move toward adulthood. .Many adults were observes who recalled pasts that connected with Vietnam war protests, marches for civil rights and gender equality.
The climate rally produced thousands of memories as a diverse group of humans found a common cause to embrace and move forward. Most attendees understood that people across the world enlisted for this significant opportunity to fight for initiatives that save our planet.
First save the planet and then maybe we should push for world peace, termination of human trafficking, equality for all humans, animal rights, etc.
As Sting croons for The Police musical group — One World (Not Three) is enough for all of us.
Power to the people, the climate movement and Planet Earth.