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• Youth vs. Apocalypse, a network of young climate justice activists in the San Francisco Bay Area, is planning a three-day youth-led digital strike this year for Earth Day.
• How can donors provide support for youth climate activists during this time?
• Read why youth climate activism isn't going away.
If you’re reading this, you know today — April 22, in case you needed a reminder of the date — marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For some, this would have been a day to take to the streets, if it weren’t for the stay-at-home orders in place across the United States and the world to control the spread of COVID-19.
"We were planning on having something very similar to Sept. 20, where we were hoping to have ... tens of thousands people demonstrating in the streets," said Sarah Goody, a youth activist who is part of the lead circle for Youth vs. Apocalypse, a network of young climate justice activists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Youth vs. Apocalypse's original plan was to hold a demonstration in San Francisco that would have been similar to the Global Climate Strike last September, when it was estimated that millions took to the streets all over the world to demand action on the climate crisis. (Other youth-led organizations had the same idea, announcing a three-day strike back in January.)
But Goody said while social distancing has made on-the-ground demonstrations this week impossible in most places, it was still important to hold a strike digitally, which is in line with Earth Day Network's call to mark the anniversary via online channels.
"Earth Day is a time to celebrate all the work we've been doing and all the efforts we've made in order to fight for a just future and for a just planet," Goody said. "I see it as the chance to come together as a global community and show our government, our leaders, the people who are in charge, how important recognize recognizing the climate crisis is to us and finding viable, just solutions."
Read the full article about youth-led Earth Day by Deonna Anderson at GreenBiz.