Protesters flood downtown for climate change strike
‘Greta’s army’ warns of catastrophe if greenhouse gas emissions are not radically reduced by everyone
Sunshine at high noon, an infectious drum beat, and the communal spirit of hundreds of people of all ages, including a woman on stilts: Friday’s gathering in Gore Park would have had a carnival feel, if not for the ominous reason for it.
“I don’t want to die.”
“The world is on fire.”
“The time to panic is now.”
Slogans on signs, most hoisted by teenagers and children, warned of global catastrophe, if pollution influencing climate is not radically curtailed by citizens and those pulling the levers of political and economic power.
Some slogans struck an especially dark note: “Inaction is mass murder.”
The “climate strike” protest in Hamilton, calling for action on climate change, was one of many held across Canada, and in 170 countries worldwide.
An offshoot of the protest ultimately spilled out of the park to city hall, with some activists occupying the building, where Mayor Fred Eisenberger addressed the crowd.
The climate strike is the third such protest — the first was in March — and follows the United Nations emergency climate summit, at which 16-yearold Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gave an impassioned speech.
Thunberg spoke at an event in Montreal on Friday, and her presence was palpable even in Gore Park: “Stop disappointing Greta,” read one sign, and: “Greta’s army.”
It’s an open question if the global protest represents a watershed in the growth of the climate change movement, or if it will have impact beyond
the passion on display.
On the one hand, in Thunberg, the movement has found a face and moment — her UN speech — to rally around.
She even drew a barb from U.S. President Donald Trump, whose mockery — “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future” — she quoted as her new Twitter bio.
“Greta is inspiring, how she has been able to take the flak,” said McMaster University student Mackenzie Mercuri-Rivers, as she made a protest sign at Odds on James Street South, that read: “Create solutions not pollution.”
Mercuri-Rivers rejected the notion that climate change warnings unnecessarily create a generation of anxiety-ridden children.
“How can I not worry? It’s our future and we need to make sure the planet is in better shape for our kids … We can’t rely on the older generation, so we are standing up for our lives because it’s going to affect us the most.”
Also sign-making at Odds was Max Kerman, the Mac grad and frontman of Arkells, the Hamilton band that often lends its name to social causes.
“Young people have always had a history of getting worked up about the future of the world, and for good reason,” he said. “And they can make real change, when politicians and leaders of industry see people in the streets.”
How much alarm to impart to her own kids is a dilemma, however, said Amanda Martin, who attended the protest, and is a manager at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation.
“They should be kids and not worry too much, but at the same time (climate change) is a reality and it’s up to them to have their voice heard.”
“You don’t want them to be too upset,” said Monika Skarratt, who had her two young daughters at the protest. “But this is possibly extinction we’re talking about … I want them to have hope.”
One speaker at the climate protest inadvertently underscored one of the hurdles the movement faces.
That is, the desired goals, depending on who is expressing them, can sound so broad as to defy definition.
The speaker referenced attacking the vestiges of colonialism, and capitalism, and consumerism; of building better infrastructure in Hamilton for public transit and helping the homeless; of cyclist safety and “getting as many cars off the road as possible.”
She assailed the “rich who speed through our neighbourhoods to get to Ancaster,” drawing cheers.
In this sense, the movement lacks the simple clarion call of an antiwar movement, for example.
On the other hand, when narrowed to reducing pollution, the message is easier to understand, and more democratic: it’s difficult for the average person to feel they can stop a war, but anyone can feel they are doing their small part toward a cleaner planet.
Paul Billone, in Gore Park with his sons, suggested a change in paradigm is necessary: to think less about society’s economic interests, and focus on reducing pollution in every way possible.
“In our political context, with things like the carbon tax, there should not be any debate around that, that’s a given.”
A carbon tax in Canada, with a population less than California, might seem a drop in the climate change bucket in the global context.
“No one will change if you don’t do something,” he said. “We have the ability to be a beacon of hope and change.”
Beside him, his three-year-old, Theodore, held a little sign, that read: “If the earth dies then we die.”