In light of recent events, climate change has grown to be one of the leading topics on the minds of politicians, global citizens, and most importantly–young people around the world.

September 20th marked the start of the first ever Global Climate Strike across the world. With the total strike lasting seven days, around 7.6 million people took part in this event, making it “the biggest climate mobilization in history.” (https://globalclimatestrike.net/). The Global Climate strike involved students skipping school on Friday September 20th, and marching in local cities and towns in efforts to encourage adults to take action towards saving our planet. Strikes took place across the world, and continue to take place throughout the nation each Friday. Many students created posters and signs with bold messages to promote their message.

Of these young activists involved in the climate movement, Swedish teen Greta Thunberg has become a driving force behind these movements. At 16 years old she has spoken at conferences, lead protests, and truly made her voice heard. Thunberg’s activism has served as an inspiration to younger generation individuals striving to get involved and make a change. Check out this video of one of her most famous speeches in regards to climate change:

Locally, Boston held their own climate strike on September 20th surrounding City Hall. Franklin High School student and passionate climate activist Olivia Curreri took part in this event and told us about her incredible experience.

“City hall was filled with people of all ages devoted to making a better future for the next generation. It was inspirational to be apart of a day that will go down in history and a movement that will make real change for the better,” she says.

It has been debated if this message is truly being taken into account by our leaders and politicians, as many would argue that despite these tremendous efforts to protect our planet there is very little being done about the issue.

“I think the message was heard by politicians, especially after the climate summit and Greta Thunberg’s moving speech, which was widely covered by the media, said Curreri. However I believe that there is still work that needs to be done in order to get politicians to enact real change and policies.”

Curreri says she will continue to support this cause through her activism. But how can FHS students get involved?
“Students can support the climate movement by joining Green Team, as well as limiting their consumption of single use plastics,” she says.

For more information on limiting plastic use and your environmental footprint, check out this article: https://franklinpanthers.us/news/2019/05/16/going-green-environmental-solutions-at-fhs/

As students and the next generation of leaders, we are the ones who have the power to build our own future, but to do this we must ensure that our planet is taken care of.