The World’s Youth Revolt Against Climate Change Inaction: Is This A Revolution In The Making?
Presenter: John Pope
November, 2019
They are learning about it in school. They are seeing it on TV. It’s all over the social media. Youth around the world are aware of the state of planet Earth.
Greta Thunberg is a symbol of youth defiance over the lack of leadership and action on climate change. She says that world leaders today should be ashamed that all that they offer is hope, but little action.
Our discussion will involve your ideas about what the future has in store for the for the world’s youth – the possible scenarios that could either save or eliminate our species.
It’s surprising that the world’s religious leaders did not express greater concern when it was announced that there is a movement to not have children because the future is so uncertain. Signers of this pledge agree to not have children until government ensures an environmentally safe future: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/no-future-no-children-pledge-1.5286721
The Extinction Rebellion seems to be the most notorious and active climate action group. Read up on their concerns and demands: https://rebellion.earth/.
This Lancet report peers into the future of the planet. An unprecedented challenge demands an unprecedented response. It tracks the relationship between health and climate change across five key domains and 41 indicators: http://www.lancetcountdown.org/2019-report/
Here’s how Lancet Report’s conclusions affect future generations: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13112019/health-children-infants-climate-change-impact-pollution-heat-lancet-countdown-study
QUESTIONS
Will student protest strikes begin to subside, or will they escalate and become more violent?
Have these environment protests had any immediate effect?
What are the chances of Homo Sapiens becoming extinct because the changes to the Earth’s environment?
If you had to wait for hours in traffic to get home because there was a climate action on the road, would you be angry at the protesters? Does this kind of disruptive action raise awareness of the issue?
Is inconveniencing or annoying the public the best way to raise awareness if you believe the public media is not getting the word out about the seriousness of the issue?
Is direct action justified and inevitable?
Related Articles:
The climate striker’s web page: https://globalclimatestrike.net/
The recent relentless rise in CO2 shows a remarkably constant relationship with fossil-fuel burning, and can be well accounted for based on the simple premise that about 60 percent of fossil-fuel emissions stay in the air: https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/24/graphic-the-relentless-rise-of-carbon-dioxide/