Hawaii students ‘strike’ to combat climate change

Students as young as age 12 took turns at the mike at the “Hawaii Youth Climate Strike,” rallying a crowd of more than 200 Friday at the Capitol to take action to preserve the planet.

“You know climate change is happening, and it’s on the way to destroying human civilization,” declared a 12-year-old from SEEQS charter school whose first name is Mahdi. “You know that you can do something about it. So why aren’t you?”

Students in more than 100 countries walked out of their classes Friday, pouring into the streets in an effort to grab the attention of policymakers to combat climate change. The Hawaii event ran from 3 to 5 p.m., making it easier for students to attend, and attracted people of all ages.

“Every single event of all the 123 different events, including the one in Antarctica, all of them were led by youth,” said Kawika Pegram, a 17-year-old junior at Waipahu High School who organized the local rally.

He and others organizers took their lead from 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who started a solitary protest outside the Swedish parliament on Fridays last year. She used a #FridaysForFuture hashtag that has snowballed and prompted #schoolstrike4climate.

Pegram had a similar epiphany. This was the first time he had organized a rally. He heard about the “Youth Climate Strike” via Twitter and discovered no one had yet stepped up in Hawaii. So he did.

“We’ve got to do all we can to protect the aina,” he said. “We want people to accept that climate change is real. And we need legislation to bring us a more sustainable future and a greener future and a happier future, not only for the United States of America, but also the rest of the world.”

The words “RIP” and “Our Future” were painted on a mock coffin at the front of the podium, along with tombstones representing bills that had died at the Legislature. But the gathering gave some in the older generation hope.

“You are here because you have decided to own your future,” climate scientist Chip Fletcher told the crowd. “Because of your action I have hope for my future and my children’s future.”

Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua-Kaneohe), one of several legislators to speak at the rally, also took heart from the global outpouring.

“It’s going on all over the world — it’s just wonderful,” she said in an interview. “And, you know, the kids get it. The people in power, who are the adults, many of them just are in denial or are ignoring the fact that we’re an island state. We’re going to be hit by climate change. We’re going to be hit by sea level rise.”

Along with U.S. Youth Climate Strike, co-sponsors of the event included 350 Hawaii, Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Occupy Honolulu and Young Progressives Demanding Action.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was inspired by the student climate strikers to call a special summit in September to deal with “the climate emergency.”

The 350.org website featured video and photos of students filling the streets and plazas, from Luxembourg to Lima, Peru, to Vancouver, British Columbia. The environmental organization estimated that more than 1.4 million people took part.

Fourteen-year-old Tyler, a home-schooled student in Honolulu, had a pointed message when she stepped up to the podium.

“Act now like our lives depend on it,” she told the crowd, “because they do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.