‘Kids do care’: Teen climate change activists aim for change with weekly protests – by Mike Hager (Globe and Mail – August 30, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Inspired by the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, students around the world are pressing for environmental action every Friday. Groups in Abbotsford and Calgary are particularly dedicated

After weeks of demonstrating outside Abbotsford City Hall, the teens have learned not to take it personally when they trigger an outburst of hostility.

So, when a middle-aged driver spots their banners calling for action on the global climate emergency and shoots his middle finger out his window, shouting “I like my car,” Angie Calhoun, 14, doesn’t miss a beat and continues chanting for change.

Up to a dozen other teens have been joining her in this conservative Vancouver suburb for more than five months as part of Fridays for Future, a worldwide movement pushing all levels of government to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees to avoid catastrophic environmental change.

About 60 strikes were scheduled this Friday across Canada, according to the website where the decentralized activists can advertise their actions, and the Abbotsford group is one of the smallest but also one of the most dedicated.

Angie says she and her four younger siblings convinced their parents to let them and two of her friends participate this spring after watching a viral YouTube speech by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who jump-started a worldwide movement of teens cutting class to mount protests outside government offices.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-kids-do-care-teen-climate-change-activists-aim-for-change-with/