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‘Now is not the time to be selfish’: Hundreds gather in Richmond Hill for global climate strike

"Adults need to step up and stop leaving the burden of the climate crisis to our children and future generations," organizer says.

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 2, 2019
Sheila Wang

Hundreds of people across York Region took to the streets in Richmond Hill on Sept. 27 to join to the global efforts to demand climate action.

Waving homemade signs and chanting slogans about climate, more than 200 concerned residents --toddlers, high school students, and seniors --marched along Major Mackenzie Drive from Bayview Avenue to St Mary's Anglican Church in the sunny afternoon.

“Climate action! We need it now,” said Brent Kopperson from the Windfall Ecology Centre in Aurora who took part in the walk with five others holding colourful signs that they made to deliver the strong message.

The protesters were greeted by drivers along the route who honked their horns in support and incited cheers.

They were among the millions of people worldwide who participated in climate strikes on Sept. 27 calling for “climate justice” to be an ethical obligation and not just an environmental issue.

The global strikes were inspired by #FridaysForFuture, a movement following Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s call for students to strike. More than 4,000 events were scheduled to take place in 139 countries, according to Thunberg.

“We’re all working together because this is all one problem,” said Carrie Tai with Neighbours for the Planet who was one of the organizers of the Richmond Hill rally.

The Drawdown Richmond Hill group, Extinction Rebellion Richmond Hill and St Mary's Anglican Church all helped make the local rally a reality.

As part of the climate strike, a number of speakers were invited to speak about the impact of climate change and the urgency of action to a crowd of people outside St. Mary’s Anglican Church.

“Now is not the time to be selfish,” said Simon Leonidis, a Grade 12 student from Holy Trinity School in Richmond Hill. “As a race, humanity has been selfish for thousands of years. It’s already cost us the chance to avoid climate change completely.”

Leonidis deplored the inaction on climate by the world politicians and urged people to do their part to help fight climate change.

He noted climate actions --such as eating less meat and paying more for gas --can make people “uncomfortable,” or “challenge your perspective,” because it is a fight “against the very way we live our lives and conduct ourselves.”

Leonidis was one of dozens of students who walked out of schools and participated in the climate strike in Richmond Hill, including Bayview Secondary School, Toronto Waldorf School and Alexander Mackenzie High School.

They rallied in the Richmond Hill event to join the global youth-led movement to show the world that there was more to be done to address climate change.

The protest was organized a few days after the UN emergency climate summit on Sept. 23 where Thunberg warned the current plans to tackle the climate crisis do not take it seriously enough.

So, why climate strikes are so urgent?

A UN report released in May states extinction is looming over one million species of plants and animals, due to factors including pollution, overfishing and habitat degradation.

Meanwhile, new climate models suggest that average temperatures could rise 6.5 to 7 degrees Celsius by 2100, which is about two degrees higher than what was previously projected, according to two leading research centres in France.

“We all need to start conversations about the climate crisis and talk to our family, friends, neighbours and co-workers. Adults need to step up and stop leaving the burden of the climate crisis to our children and future generations,” Tai told the Liberal.

The organizer said they were going to focus on the federal election to make sure voters are well informed about the climate platforms for each of the federal parties.

The upcoming events: