On September 20-27th, over 7 million people in 185 countries took to the streets to strike for climate action.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, climate change is defined by a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Scientists predict that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, temperatures will climb as much as ten degrees by the end of the century. This can cause irreversible damage, according to climateactionreserve.org
The protests were timed around the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The purpose of the summit was to advance climate action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees.
Among young people, the worry about the future is high.
“I think the worst part about it is that our future generations are going to be left to deal with our irresponsible actions, and there’s nothing they can do about it,'' sophomore Mallorie LaGard said.
Even older citizens are concerned. “It’s obvious that it’s happening right now- just look at the ice. People say we shouldn’t spend the money to do something about it, but we’re spending billions to fix storm damage every year,” explained 71 year old Steve Dewey.
Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg is the face of many of these protests.
Thunberg believes “This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. This is not something you can like on Facebook.”
In August 2018, Thunberg began spending school days outside of the Swedish parliament to call for action in climate change. Soon, other students began to follow her leadership and protest in their own communities.
A protest in South Bend happened outside of the Morris Performing Arts Center, consisting of hundreds of people. Citizens walked out of their workplaces, colleges, and high schools to voice their opinions.
Thunberg has received praise all around the world for her actions. She spoke at the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and many people have said she deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.