From the 11th to the 15th of march, in more than 1000 cities all over the world, a protest against climate change took place . Many people joined, including various year, 8 and 9 students, who spent part of their day supporting a noble cause. The protest, called Global Strike for the Future, was first launched by Greta Thunberg, a 16 year old natural activist, who has recently become a symbol for the fight against climate change.
All over Rome students shouted phrases like “Why should we study for a future when there will not be any?” or “Don’t contemplate, educate”, trying to make people see the impending downfall of our climate. The protest was completely peacefully, but some people refused to clear the streets, eventually forcing some exasperated policemen to carry them away.
This is only one of the many cries for help launched by students and activists, desperately begging for men of power in the world to do something, to react to the impending downfall of our planet. As if this wasn’t enough, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has recently stated that humans have no more than 12 years to limit climate change, avoiding for temperatures to rise more than 2C. If they don’t the rise in temperatures could make the amount of floods, droughts and high temperatures worse, possibly causing mass extinctions all over the world. Forest fires and heat-related deaths would increase, and the ocean levels would rise, affecting millions of people. If the temperature is kept at 1.5C or less, the amount of people in the world having food and water problems would be significantly lower. Unfortunately, not all politicians agree with science, and refuse to make changes, fearing it would negatively affect their country’s economy.
And what about you? Do you believe climate change exists and should be prevented? And, most importantly, do you believe there is still time to do so?
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLq2jQf0U6w
Article by Ginevra Pucci, Y9