herzfeld initially got involved in the 2019 global climate strike scene through her internship work at 350 colorado. 350 is an international grassroots organizing group that tackles climate issues. after developing skills with 350 colorado and collaborating with 350pdx, the portland, oregon, branch of 350, herzfeld played an instrumental role in getting reed college students to attend the portland climate march. her objective: get as many reed college community members as possible to participate in the climate strike and show up to the climate march. 

herzfeld spearheaded a petition that circulated reed’s campus and called for the college president to shut down the school in recognition of the climate strike. she, along with other students, managed to obtain 676 signatures, equivalent to nearly half of the students currently enrolled at reed college, in support of the petition. other organizing that occurred in the weeks leading up to the event included plastering the campus in posters, coordinating transportation to the strike, and banner and poster making for the march itself, among other logistical details to make the day of the march smooth sailing. 

herzfeld felt compelled to join the movement and help organize due to her increasing anxiety about climate change.

“i was going to school and learning about all the problems in the world—politically and economically and environmentally. and i was learning about all these problems but i was so busy with school that i wasn’t doing anything. so i was locked in on-campus learning things that were making me extremely depressed and terrified, with no outlet and no time to actually do anything about it. so over the course of last semester, i got increasingly anxious and [was] just in a really, really bad place–to the point where there was one night that i had like a six-hour panic attack,” herzfeld said.

herzfeld took all this energy and applied to the influential 350 colorado internship the day following her panic attack. speaking up and helping out really was not a choice for herzfeld; it was an obligation. 

“we don’t have time, we have to,” she said. “this is a moral responsibility. this is the future of the planet. what else is there to fight for? you know?” 

the organizing does not end with the end of the climate march for herzfeld. 

“i’m really excited about the future. i’m honestly finding it really hard to even concentrate on schoolwork at this point because all i want to do all the time is just organize,” she said.

she plans on connecting all the colleges in portland to create a coalition of environmental organizers to try and organize and share ideas and resources. she wants it to become “the cool thing for colleges to do—declare a climate emergency,” in hopes that their statuses as institutions can help influence the climate change conversation to get some much-needed change happening. 

the climate strike not only brought newcomers to the movement, but it also inspired people already informed on the movement to stay involved and motivated. 

“after the climate strike i’m a lot more hopeful about the future of the world than i was before the climate strike,” herzfeld shared. “i feel like there’s a global revolution/renaissance that’s building and that people all over the world are feeling more connected by this global existential threat that connects us in a way that we’ve never had before. we’ve never had a crisis like this where everyone is to a degree complicit in it in some way. as a planet, we can’t really shift the blame because it’s kind of all of us…we’re all the enemy. but we’re also all able to be a part of the solution.” 

when she’s not organizing petitions and protests or studying in her interdisciplinary major of political science, sociology, and economics with a focus on network theory, herzfeld can be found watching films, painting, and attending metal shows around portland.

“it’s a good way to get the angry energy out — especially around climate change and politics” 

she’s excited to keep organizing however, and she’s excited with what the climate movement will lead to. 

“i think that the nature of this problem is going to lead to a really, really awesome global movement that we’ve never seen before,” herzfeld said. “that’s what i hope. that’s what i believe. and that’s what i’m working towards so i’m really excited to see what happens.”

in a series of climate strikes across the globe on sept. 27, montreal had a larger turnout than any other city in the second week of striking. more than 500,000 people, many painted with green paint and adorned with handcrafted flower crowns, took over the city. 

the montreal transportation system, stm, was made free for the day to encourage people to attend and allow them to come regardless of financial restraints. the bixi bike system was also free for six hours of the day. as bixi bikes piled up along the field, droves of people began to collect in the remaining patches of the heavily crowded field. french chants and drum beats echoed off the buildings and statues surrounding jeanne-mance park where the march began. avenue du parc was shut down, along with other main roads, as half a million people left their prior commitments to march toward their hope, greta thunberg. 

several demonstrations and protests happened away of the marching. members of mcgill university’s student organization climate justice action, cjam, protested on the steps of the arts building. they urged people not to go to class and for mcgill to listen to the demands they curated in hopes of combating the climate crisis. 

hanna and sophie, both 20, and daan, 19, held a hand painted sign that read, “people over pipelines.” they explained their list of demands, including that mcgill divest from fossil fuels. their hope for the strike was to raise awareness to the public and, as sophie said, “see the youth rise up.” they hope to see a movement that will only grow.

when asked what greta thunberg represented to them, hanna said, “the youth collective as a whole.”

“she represents hope,” another said.

back in jeanne-mance park, the monument to sir george-Étienne cartier loomed over the crowd as people climbed the human sculptures and dressed them in fitting green garments. a young quebecois woman named maye stood with her sign at her feet as she rested against a tree.

maye said she believes that, “if we all come together we can change the system.” 

like many people there, she was optimistic that the climate strike would draw the attention it needs to prompt crucial change. when asked what greta represented to her, she simply and quickly said, “hope.” 

just across the street from maye, an older woman sat on a simple set of stairs that was crowded with eager people. debbie, 62, is also originally from montreal, but now she resides in san diego. she came from california for the climate strike. she was driven by her worry for her children and grandchildren. she fears we are too close to the “tipping point.” she wants action at the municipal level. she wants better accessibility to biking, especially in the winter. she admits though she is losing hope in the provincial and federal level. however, to her, “greta represents the hope.” 

back on the main road, the rowdy, cumbersome crowd shifted onto avenue sherbrooke. stilt walkers, drummers, and chanters entertained. people hopped in and out of local cafes and cheap pizzeria shops to sustain their journey to the end of the march. children clung on to their parent’s shoulders and people proudly hoisted their witty, empowering, and occasionally crude signs high above the crowd. people climbed lampposts and traffic light poles to be higher than anyone else. groups on apartment building roofs waved and stared wide-eyed at the sea of people below.

winding around city streets, with police surrounding the mass, the crowd finally arrived at its destination. a small stage awaited the 500,000 where the bonaventure expressway normally empties a monstrous amount of cars into the city. people continued to chant and elevate their signs.

when greta came on the stage around 4 p.m., nearly four hours after the march officially began, the crowd erupted. each sentence she spoke seemed to move the audience and lift their spirits after a very long walk. she said that canada reminded her of her home, sweden. she compared both countries being “alleged” climate leaders, and how they are both doing too little. she presented scary statistics and accused international leaders of “empty words.” as she announced, “change is coming” people cried and screamed.

having yearned for a change for so long, many people are beginning to see it on the horizon because of greta. it was astonishing to see such a small girl captivate people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and political backgrounds. maybe it comes after seeing how she maturely handles being mocked by prominent political figures and media “talking heads.” maybe it is because young people see themselves in her, and older people see their children in her. maybe it is because she stands for science at a time when it is more crucial than ever to believe. whatever the reason, she represents hope; and people need hope.

double majoring in political science and french at texas tech university in lubbock, texas, warrior is a political activist for climate change. today she is a part of the 2019 global climate march at one of three strikes held in lubbock. as i interviewed her in the park on the corner of a busy intersection adjacent to the college, chants from other marchers intermingle with the din of traffic in the background.

“what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now!”

q: why are you here today?

a: i’m here today to support a strike and be a part of the movement to help the next generation live. i recently became president of the tech student democrats on campus and found out about the event through a speaker we met with. our future depends on being politically active and making changes.

q: do you think that climate change and environmental issues have a negative connotation in west texas?

a: (my hometown) has an oil-based economy. lubbock is the same. a lot of people rely on the oilfield as a source of income. we’re a part of that spectrum, but we need to go to other forms of energy. it’s hard for people to accept a shift away from it, but there are little things we can do like recycle and decrease the use of cars.

q: how long do you think it will be until we begin to see noticeable changes?

a: i believe that it will take at least 10 years to decrease carbon emissions, but i believe that with everyone on board we can get there faster.

q: when did you become politically active?

a: i became involved in politics during the last election and became more conscious of decisions in relation to the climate when i realized my own faults during my first year of college. i started realizing how much waste we produce as individuals and as an entire population.

q: what do you see as the most pressing issue in regards to climate change today?

a: the most pressing issue, in my opinion, is the rising temperature levels and extreme weather. 

q: how do you think we can help this particular issue as well as any others that we face?

a: we can start by taking on industries that control single use plastic. we can speak to our representatives and increase regulations that will fight to curb our effect on the planet.

the interview ended, and warrior touched up her sodden sign with a permanent marker. as she made her way back to join the other protesters, the sun began to peek through the clouds and the downpour weakened into a drizzle. adding her voice to the chants of the group, warrior held her sign up proudly.

it was an unseasonably warm and sunny friday, feb. 15 – good weather for youth climate strikes across the united kingdom. before the main gathering strengthened in bonn square, the main site of oxford’s strike, a banner for the youth climate strike was unfurled off of the bridge of sighs, one of oxford’s most iconic landmarks.

by the time i arrived in the late morning, the plaza was filled with protestors of all ages, mostly school children who were skipping school to participate in the demonstration but also university of oxford students, parents, and more elderly community members.

most protestors held pickets and posters with handwritten slogans following the theme of the protest movement that the older generations have left the younger generation with a climate crisis they must fix. the subject matter of the signs overall covered an impressively broad range of climate change topics, including, “our planet is not like your actions, it’s not rubbish”; “stop climate changing before it changes the world”; “if the earth were a bank, it’d be bailed out”; and “there is no planet b.” there was also “no pollution is the only solution”; “i’d rather miss a day of school than see my planet die”; and even “harry potter and the deadly climate change” (it was oxford, after all).

the protesters’ emphasis on clever and often humorous signs contributed to the overall upbeat (or positive) atmosphere of the event.

the size of the constantly growing crowd was so great that people repeated different chants at opposite ends of the plaza. one of the more popular ones was the call and response chant of “what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now!”

after striking in bonn square for a while, the majority of the protestors left and made a procession through oxford city centre and back around to bonn square, a trip they repeated several times over the course of the day. in addition to the convening and march, the event organizer brought in a number of speakers, including an environmental journalist and a student who did spoken word poetry. the strike as a whole was executed as a very peaceful and minimally disruptive protest without any outside intervention.

i was curious about the environmental interests of the participants, so i posed a few questions of martin parker, a student from leeds, u.k., studying math in st. catherine’s college at the university of oxford. when i asked him why he attended the strike, martin said, “i find it inspiring watching the youth strikes….and seeing it on the news. i think it’s a very exciting movement. i’m inspired by the global aspect as well. i think it’s really motivating that people are getting together across the country and across the world.”

although the interview was challenging because the crowds’ chanting was deafening, i asked martin how long he has been interested in environmentalism.

“all my life i’ve been aware and conscious of the issues facing the planet. i’ve never been involved in activism until recently,” he said. “i think it’s the same case for a lot of people, that they’ve seen movements like this coming up a lot recently and are just getting involved now.”

as a planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 and student of environmental journalism, i was interested in what the participants of the strike thought about the importance of sharing climate stories through public communication. surveying the scene, i spotted a woman wearing a name badge, which upon closer inspection was a card which read “ask me anything, i’m a climate researcher.” she was dr. michelle cain, a science and policy research associate at the university of oxford environmental change institute. i asked her about what impact she thinks environmental storytelling has on people’s understanding and interest in the current climate situation.

“i think storytelling is very powerful and everyone can…engage with a good story,” she responded. “there are only so many articles you can read, but the ones that really grab you are the ones that are telling a good story.” covering climate events and people’s personal perspectives and experiences can encourage increased focus on and participation in global efforts to facilitate change.

today’s young people will need to contend with the implications of climate change exponentially more so than older generations, and i am proud to have witnessed youth standing in such unity for justice against what will be the greatest challenge during their lifetimes.