To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
In this world, where everything and everyone is for sale, we must sustain independent media we can trust. If you believe independent journalism is critical to protecting democracy and the common good, please support Common Dreams this Giving Tuesday! We wouldn't exist without you.
Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg speaks at a climate protest outside the White House in Washington, DC on September 13, 2019. - Thunberg, 16, has spurred teenagers and students around the world to strike from school every Friday under the rallying cry "Fridays for future" to call on adults to act now to save the planet. (Photo: Alastair Pike/AFP/Getty Images)
A week ahead of the planned youth-led global climate strikes, 16-year-old environmentalist Greta Thunberg rallied with other young activists outside the White House Friday to protest the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda and demand that world leaders take transformative action to avert ecological catastrophe.
"We're seeing natural disasters happening on every corner of the planet," youth organizer Jerome Foster II told the crowd of dozens of student climate strikers at the protest. "We're seeing entire communities being decimated by the climate crisis. That's why we strike here today, that's why we strike here every Friday."
"Our future is a right," Foster added.
Thunberg arrived at the rally shortly after it began, joining the crowd in chants demanding climate action.
\u201c"Never give up!"\n\n@GretaThunberg gives a speech before hundreds of other climate activists rallying in front of the White House against global warming inaction\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1568393976
Demonstrators then marched to the White House and held an 11-minute die-in to highlight the number of years left to reduce carbon emissions in line with targets set by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The White House rally comes one week before millions of people in over 150 countries are expected to take to the streets on Sept. 20 for what organizers say could be the largest climate action in history.
"This is not a one-time action," said one student activist during Friday's demonstration. "We will be here week after week demanding action, and I encourage you to come out there with us."
\u201cAmazing and inspiring pics from the weekly #ClimateStrike with @GretaThunberg & many other young people - who are doing it in front of the White House this week!\u201d— Sierra Club (@Sierra Club) 1568389977
Thunberg, whose activism inspired the youth-led Fridays for Future movement and the global strikes, arrived in the U.S. last month after two weeks of sailing across the Atlantic.
The 16-year-old activist has not had kind words for President Donald Trump since her arrival. "My message to him is just to listen to the science, and he obviously doesn't do that," Thunberg told reporters last month.
Watch a livestream of the rally:
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
A week ahead of the planned youth-led global climate strikes, 16-year-old environmentalist Greta Thunberg rallied with other young activists outside the White House Friday to protest the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda and demand that world leaders take transformative action to avert ecological catastrophe.
"We're seeing natural disasters happening on every corner of the planet," youth organizer Jerome Foster II told the crowd of dozens of student climate strikers at the protest. "We're seeing entire communities being decimated by the climate crisis. That's why we strike here today, that's why we strike here every Friday."
"Our future is a right," Foster added.
Thunberg arrived at the rally shortly after it began, joining the crowd in chants demanding climate action.
\u201c"Never give up!"\n\n@GretaThunberg gives a speech before hundreds of other climate activists rallying in front of the White House against global warming inaction\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1568393976
Demonstrators then marched to the White House and held an 11-minute die-in to highlight the number of years left to reduce carbon emissions in line with targets set by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The White House rally comes one week before millions of people in over 150 countries are expected to take to the streets on Sept. 20 for what organizers say could be the largest climate action in history.
"This is not a one-time action," said one student activist during Friday's demonstration. "We will be here week after week demanding action, and I encourage you to come out there with us."
\u201cAmazing and inspiring pics from the weekly #ClimateStrike with @GretaThunberg & many other young people - who are doing it in front of the White House this week!\u201d— Sierra Club (@Sierra Club) 1568389977
Thunberg, whose activism inspired the youth-led Fridays for Future movement and the global strikes, arrived in the U.S. last month after two weeks of sailing across the Atlantic.
The 16-year-old activist has not had kind words for President Donald Trump since her arrival. "My message to him is just to listen to the science, and he obviously doesn't do that," Thunberg told reporters last month.
Watch a livestream of the rally:
A week ahead of the planned youth-led global climate strikes, 16-year-old environmentalist Greta Thunberg rallied with other young activists outside the White House Friday to protest the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda and demand that world leaders take transformative action to avert ecological catastrophe.
"We're seeing natural disasters happening on every corner of the planet," youth organizer Jerome Foster II told the crowd of dozens of student climate strikers at the protest. "We're seeing entire communities being decimated by the climate crisis. That's why we strike here today, that's why we strike here every Friday."
"Our future is a right," Foster added.
Thunberg arrived at the rally shortly after it began, joining the crowd in chants demanding climate action.
\u201c"Never give up!"\n\n@GretaThunberg gives a speech before hundreds of other climate activists rallying in front of the White House against global warming inaction\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1568393976
Demonstrators then marched to the White House and held an 11-minute die-in to highlight the number of years left to reduce carbon emissions in line with targets set by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The White House rally comes one week before millions of people in over 150 countries are expected to take to the streets on Sept. 20 for what organizers say could be the largest climate action in history.
"This is not a one-time action," said one student activist during Friday's demonstration. "We will be here week after week demanding action, and I encourage you to come out there with us."
\u201cAmazing and inspiring pics from the weekly #ClimateStrike with @GretaThunberg & many other young people - who are doing it in front of the White House this week!\u201d— Sierra Club (@Sierra Club) 1568389977
Thunberg, whose activism inspired the youth-led Fridays for Future movement and the global strikes, arrived in the U.S. last month after two weeks of sailing across the Atlantic.
The 16-year-old activist has not had kind words for President Donald Trump since her arrival. "My message to him is just to listen to the science, and he obviously doesn't do that," Thunberg told reporters last month.
Watch a livestream of the rally: