![]() Those who would come to call themselves environmentalists in the aftermath of Earth Day were concerned about pollution, public health, fossil fuels, government action, corporate responsibility, and the future of the planet. ![]() ![]() Greta Thunberg, 350.org, Climate Strikes, and the many other manifestations of the present climate movement are rooted in the environmental politics that emerged around the first Earth Day held 50 years ago.Ī Greta Thunberg sculpture used in a September 2019 climate strike in Düsseldorf, Germany.Īlthough it might seem that there is little comparison between today’s climate crisis and the environmental concerns of the 1960s and 1970s, the parallels are striking. The intended goal of this weeklong series of events, which was planned as a lead in to the United Nations Climate Summit, was to forge a new environmental coalition in support of phasing out fossil fuels and reducing global carbon emissions in order to avoid a set of dire consequences: rising seas, more erratic weather, stronger storms, extreme heatwaves, widespread drought, food insecurity, large scale migration, and social, political, and economic upheaval. Organized with the help of 350.org, a grassroots organization formed by writer and environmentalist Bill McKibben, an estimated 7.6 million people turned out the week of September 20 to participate in 6,100 strikes in at least 185 countries. In fall 2019 Thunberg’s school strike evolved into a Global Climate Strike to protest government and business inaction. Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg catapulted into public view when she began skipping school to sit on a bench in front of the Swedish Parliament, handing out flyers that read, "I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future."Ĭhanneling more than a decade of warnings by prominent scientists, environmental policy makers, and a growing cadre of climate activists, Thunberg has emerged as a spokesperson for a diverse global movement to combat the climate crisis following a spate of well-publicized environmental disasters.ĭemonstrators at a 2019 Italian Fridays for Future climate protest.
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