'Beautiful Trouble' Grows With Friday Climate Strikes on Multiple Continents

Young climate strikers march through Melbourne, Australia on May 3, 2019. (Photo: julian meehan/flickr/cc)

'Beautiful Trouble' Grows With Friday Climate Strikes on Multiple Continents

Over 700 strikes set to take place

The momentum for the weekly climate strikes shows no sign of abating as young people in hundreds of communities across the globe are hitting the streets on Friday to make a stand against the environmental crisis.

"We can make a difference," said Matilda Lane-Rose, one of the protesters in Perth, Australia.

The Fridays for Future website has 725 strikes mapped out for the day. They cover the Americas from Canada to Chile; Europe from Norway to Italy; Africa from Mauritania to South Africa; Asia from South Korea to India in Asia; and multiple marches in Australia and New Zealand.

Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who catalyzed the school strikes, said in a tweet that they "will be extra big in Canada, India, USA, Mexico, and Australia."

One of the Australian actions took place in the city of Newcastle. A social media user who captured video of the youthful climate strikers there framed their action as "beautiful trouble."

Images of other rallies are being shared on social media:

The global actions drew cheers from the Sunrise Movement--a driving force behind the pending Green New Deal legislation in the U.S.

New data on levels of atmospheric CO2 backs up the climate protesters' demand for swift action to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

Referring to April's average of 413.2 ppm, meteorologist and Grist writer Eric Holthaus tweeted, "This is an emergency."

On Twitter, follow the hashtags #YouthClimateStrike, #SchoolStrike4Climate, and #FridaysforFuture to follow the day's actions as they unfold.

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