1. To keep the pressure on the government & keep raising awareness and urgency
The main reason: to advocate for action against climate change!
Repeating protests have a role in keeping the pressure up and letting your government know you care. They can also keep the issue at the top of voters' minds. Climate change is a political problem, not a scientific one.
If you have a particular issue you care about, like preserving the rainforests, you can put that on your sign, or you can keep it simple and demand climate action.
2. Because it's easier than you think
If you want to participate in Fridays For Future, all you have to do is find a public spot, like a government building, a community hall, or your school or workplace and spend some time advocating for the climate, whether that's chanting or talking to people or bringing a sign. Here's me with my sign - for five of my weeks, I did it alone, so I just sat there with the sign and people came up to me! Before that I didn't even know you could just sit in front of government buildings and campaign - or that people would actively come over to learn more without you even having to say something to them.
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| Thank you to Kenji Hayakawa for the photo! |
People seem to think it's a big time commitment, but for many people it's not. if you can only come for a few minutes during your lunch break, come! Contribute whatever you can. If you can't make the main 1-2 pm slot, then go for a while at a different time! Many of my weeks have been at other times, like 2-4 pm or 11 am - 1 pm. In a way it's even better to keep it going around the clock.
You can do it.
3. To find community, and because everyone is welcome
People are incredibly welcoming at the 1-2 slot in Dublin, and it's great to be surrounded by other people who care about the climate. Seeing everyone's Tweets from around the world about their protests is brilliant - humans need community.
I had someone ask me recently if only students can go to the strikes - the answer is no, anyone can! The School Strike for Climate was indeed started by an incredible student, Greta Thunberg, but we both need and want everyone who's interested to join in. You don't need to be officially striking from something, either - you can do it on your lunch break if that's what you can contribute.
I haven't even been going for that long and I've already seen people of all ages there, from primary school kids to people in their seventies. Student, engineer, translator, retiree...it doesn't matter, your presence is welcome. And think - if you're a non-student and your friends also think this, maybe seeing you join will make them realise they're welcome too!
You may also discover that the public are more receptive than you'd think. People frequently come up and give a thumbs up or encourage us to keep going. We get lots of beeps when the 'beep for climate justice' sign is up. People are friendly! I was definitely scared at first, and it still can be scary when I first get there and sit in front of everyone - but in my experience, it's honestly fine.
You definitely don't need to be a climate scientist or know every climate model off the top of your head - if you live on Earth, you deserve a say. (That includes you, ISS astronauts.) You don't need to be a member of any group.
Oh, and no - you don't have to be a perfect paragon of recycling to come. If you stay home out of shame that you're not a perfect example of virtue, all you've done is stay home. We all cause carbon emissions by virtue of existing in the world, but that doesn't mean we can't fight to make things better!
4. To get involved and learn
For the longest time, I was worried about climate change but felt completely powerless so did nothing. This protest is a manageable thing that you can, if you wish, use to meet people and build on to join or start new initiatives. Maybe you'll prove to yourself that you can handle more than you think.
I used to spend ages considering donating to environmental charities, but then get sidetracked considering all the different choices and what would make the most impact. Now I've realised that what we need is action. Just start. Learn as you go.
You can learn from your fellow activists. I've been blessed to meet people with such a wealth of knowledge, who've been involved in environmental movements since before I was born. It also makes sure you keep thinking about it but in a positive way, because you're doing something, not just sitting there worrying. That means you can get ideas - I find they don't come until you prove you're receptive to them by taking action!
5. Because everything matters
What if your protest doesn't make a difference? Well, what if it does? You have nothing to lose and a world to save. Each degree of warming matters, each centimetre of sea level rise, each hurricane, each protest, each person.
I live in Ireland, and sometimes people say there's no point protesting here because we're too small to make a difference, and there are worse polluters out there. But small countries can still make a difference! Ireland, for example, is massively missing its emissions reduction targets, and we have obvious places we can improve - we have a huge amount of animal agriculture, and a large fraction of our land surface is covered in peat bogs that need protection to allow them to sequester carbon (peatland covers 3% of the Earth but stores 'twice as much carbon as all standing forests'). Plus, many people living in countries with high carbon emissions live under repressive governments, so those of us lucky enough to live in freer places should use that privilege.
Give it a go this Friday.
There are loads of other important climate and environmental protest movements, but this one is a great way to get involved. If you've been feeling hopeless or thinking 'what's the point, there's nothing I can do' - this post is for you.
Action begets action begets hope.
'Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action.' - Greta Thunberg.
P.S. The next big global strike is coming up soon - November 29th!
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