Global Climate strike

One of the reasons I started this blog was to practice talking more about global warming, and about actions I’m taking to reverse it. I hope that by doing this I can educate and inspire others to also act, and encourage and support those who are also already doing what they can. This crisis needs all hands on deck, and a diverse set of solutions.

Along the way, I’ve been inspired by the youth climate movement, starting most recently with Greta Thunberg’s school strikes and her wonderful speech at the UN Climate Change Conference last year. I agree with her and many others that the more we talk about and make visible the crisis, the easier it will be to continue to reverse it. Later this week, we all have a chance to take a stand, by participating in the Global Climate Strike. The youth have invited everyone to join them in striking on Friday September 20 and 27. As the web page says, “This is a global moment to show politicians everywhere that our movement is growing from strength to strength and we won’t stop until we get climate justice for everyone.”

There are two dates because two different organizations started organizing larger strikes, and the decision was made to keep both dates to keep the momentum going. This Friday’s date is being held three days before a UN Climate Action Summit being held in New York City. Next Friday’s date is called Earth Strike. You can participate in either one by visiting the Strike links I’ve included here and find an event in your area.

If you’re in tech, there’s another way you can participate. 350.org and others have coordinated to encourage companies and organizations to participate in a Digital #ClimateStrike. There are several ways you can show your support and participate.

1. Sign the tech worker pledge to show you care about the climate crisis and will call on your employer to support the Global Climate Strike movement.
2. Post on social media or YouTube.
3. Green your site with just one line of code, found here (Scroll down to “Sites: “go green” with a digital strike). There is also a WordPress plugin (which I’ve activated for this blog!)
4. To be inspired further by what other companies are doing, check out this announcement from Atlassian – if they can do it, maybe you can convince your company to participate as well!

If you are a tech worker and would like to learn more about what’s happening in the intersection of tech and climate, check out ClimateAction.tech. I joined the slack group a few months ago, and have found it to be an inspiring group of people.