Global Climate Strike

The climate strike that took place all across the globe this past week came to a conclusion on Friday, September 27th; however, the fight is far from over.

Throughout the week of September 20th, many rallies and protests took place across Victoria and were attended by thousands of people. There were many emotions to be found on the faces of everyone who stood outside of legislature to draw attention to the global climate crisis that we are currently facing. Some were angry, some heartbroken, others were devastated that it had come to this. Looking across the array of faces taking part in this strike was absolutely heart wrenching.

Seeing all these children who should be in school, learning and developing, or outside playing with friends and enjoying their CHILDHOOD but instead were standing outside begging for the government to listen to them, to save the planet so they can have a future, chanting “hey, hey, ho, ho, climate change has got to go.”

All of these children deserve the chance to be children, they deserve the childhood that we were all granted, they deserve to enjoy running around, playing sports outside, hanging out with friends, and they deserve to grow up at the same rate we did. They should not be forced to grow up more rapidly because the adults in this world are so focused on economic growth that they have sacrificed the safety of our planet and every creature that lives here.

No child should ever have to hold a hand-painted sign that reads “you will die of old age, and I will die from climate change.” No young adult should have to reconsider having children because of the fear of what kind of world that child will have to grow up in.

The power is in the hands of those who can vote, and they should not be trying to push that responsibility into the hands of LITERAL CHILDREN. There is no denying that Greta Thunberg is a phenomenal and inspiring speaker, but why might I ask has it come to the point where those who are in charge are looking to a 16-year-old for answers?

Have we not yelled until our voices are hoarse? Have we not pleaded with our politicians? Have we not protested and rallied? Yet, our politicians continue to ignore us, and in that, they have forsaken us. I see so many articles on how climate change is the fault of the individual, the consumer, us, but that is not the truth. One hundred companies are responsible for 71% of carbon emissions. Yes, what we do on an individual level does make an impact, but it is not our fault that this is happening, and we should not feel guilty for the state of our planet.

“We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it”

Please if you are eligible to vote, vote. We can not afford to let our politicians ignore us any longer. These are no longer warning signs, they are signs of what is to come and if changes are not made soon there will be no going back.

The fact that we have had to resort to these protests is terrifying. We need our politicians to take responsibility for what is happening and make rapid and drastic changes. It should not be the responsibility of children to fix what governments and cooperations have broken. It is the responsibility of children to have fun and to be in school.

The next federal election is on Monday, October 21^st. Make your vote count, make use of our democracy, vote for the next generation, vote so these children can have a childhood, vote for our oceans and forests, vote for our wildlife and coastline, vote like the planet is dying because it is.

If you are not registered to vote or are unsure of how to vote or where to vote, please look at the Elections Canada website to answer any questions you may have:

Elections Canada

If you do not know what party you want to vote for here are some links to help you with your research:

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/party-platforms/

https://canada.isidewith.com/political-quiz

https://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&document=index&lang=e