Excerpt from article published in Kuranda Paper, May 2019

The world's children are shaming us into action on Climate Change- and the students in the region are part of this mass movement. We congratulate them on their commitment and courage on this urgent issue.

Next event: School Strike For Climate Friday the 3rd of May, 9.00 to 10.30am outside Warren Entsch's office, Mulgrave Rd.

The School Strike 4 Climate say more action needed

Excerpt from article published in Kuranda Paper, April 2019

300 people attended the School Strike 4 Climate in Cairns on the 15th of March joining with an estimated million and half people in over a 100 different countries around the world in a global day of demonstrations.

These strikes have grown from the action started by Swedish student Greta Thunberg who began her strike on her own last year outside the Swedish Parliament, to let her government know they weren’t doing enough to protect this generation and future generations from climate changing pollution.  She told them “I want you to act as if your house is on our fire”.

In Australia alone 150.000 thousand attended rallies in 55 cities and regional centres. They spoke that our government are ignoring the gravity of a humanitarian crisis from the ill effects of climate change. The droughts, bushfires, storms, the rising seas and the destruction of the Reef, with 2019 smashing through the record set for being the hottest summer and year on record.

It is not only the changing climate they were concerned about, but the pollution that is changing our climate is also poisoning our air. The latest report from the European Heart Journal found that 8.8 million people died from air pollution around the world in 2015, which is more than from tobacco smoking.

The Strike issued three demands to the government.

1.To stop the proposed Adani coal mine.

1. No new coal or gas projects and

3.100% renewable energy by 2030.

They held signs saying such things as “Sorry I can’t go to school today because I have to save the world”. “Inactive Government = Student Activism’. “We stand for what we stand on.”

They chanted slogans as they marched through Cairns to the local government offices, “Stopping pollution is the best solution”. “Climate change is not a lie, we won’t let the planet die”. “No more coal, no more oil. Keep the carbon in the soil”.

Many expressed the strong conviction that the fate of the planet depends on them and that the government must aim higher on the climate. Prime Minister Scott Morrison however called for, “more schooling, less activities”. For those wanting to get involved in more activities, local groups CAFNEC and Stop Adani Cairns are also running ongoing campaigns too.