‘They can’t stop all of us’

Bill Knight column for 9-19, 20 or 21, 2019

It was somewhat of a joke when people proposed gathering Sept. 20 at Area 51, the secret but real U.S. Air Force base in Nevada, but then 2.1 million people on Facebook said they intend to “Storm Area 51.”

It’s neither a joke nor a secret that human activities contribute to the climate emergency, and also on Friday – three days before the UN Climate Summit in New York – youngsters have invited (for the first time) adults to join them in a global protest to demand action.

Organized in this country by the Youth Climate Strike coalition of nine youth-led climate groups, the mobilization (https://globalclimatestrike.net/ or https://strikewithus.org/) could be the largest in human history.

“The climate movement has a new tactic: disrupting business as usual,” said Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature” and the new “Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?”

Although called a strike, “no one is demanding better wages,” McKibben said. “We are demanding better conditions, in the most literal sense.”

The demonstration demands five responses: passing a Green New Deal, respecting indigenous land and sovereignty, promoting environmental justice, protecting and restoring biodiversity, and implementing sustainable agriculture.

Worldwide, millions of young people have protested the existential crisis weekly for months.

“We are at a crossroads,” the coalition said. “Are we going to choose money or power, or the future?”

McKibben added, “It began in schools. Young people around the world were striking for days at a time. Their logic: If the institutions of our planet can’t be bothered to prepare for a world we can live in, why must we spend years preparing ourselves?”

The protest is inspired by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg, who in the last year spoke in London and Rome, to lawmakers in Italy, the EU and UN, and met with Pope Francis.

“We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules,” Thunberg said.

Partners in Friday’s protest include:

* environmental groups (Sierra Club, Greenpeace, National Resource Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund);

* scientists (Union of Concerned Scientists, Science Alert, Physicians for Social Responsibility);

* workers (the Teachers union, SEIU, the San Francisco Labor Council, plus trade unions in Germany and South Africa). At Amazon, workers plan to walk out and issued a statement: “Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon. We have dedicated sustainability teams who have been working for years on initiatives to reduce our environmental impact.”

* social advocates (Moms Clear Air Force, Public Citizen, Black Lives Matter, MoveOn, the Hip Hop Caucus, Oxfam); and

* religious affiliates (Jews for a Renewable Future, Global Catholic Climate Movement, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ’s Council for Climate Justice, Quakers’ Earthcare Witness, and the evangelical Christian Sojourners). “Genesis is clear that we have been entrusted by God with the keeping of all God’s creatures and Earth itself (Genesis 1:26). Yet we have too often confused dominion for destruction,” commented evangelist Jim Wallis. “Christians are called to climate action on behalf of caring for other people. Jesus is clear: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 22:35-40).”

Thunberg said despite key issues of justice (“Those who have caused the climate crisis the most are those who often are going to be the least affected,” she’s commented), it’s common sense.

“Unite behind the science,” she said. “We need to listen to the scientists.”

In Illinois, about 20 protests are set Friday, from more than a dozen in Chicagoland to actions in Carbondale, Charleston, Normal, Peoria, Rock Island, Springfield and Urbana.

“Sept. 20 will not be just one day of demonstrations,” Wallis said, “but the start of a movement that will emphasize the importance of climate action throughout the 2020 U.S. elections.”

Friday is an invitation, organizers say, “to choose the kids, choose humanity, choose the future.”

Bill Knight was honored with an award for 2018 General Commentary from the Society of Features Journalism, whose annual convention was in Detroit this week.