In order to retain the natural balance on planet earth, when the political and societal leaders refuse to take action against the climate crisis, streets all over the world are filled with protesters, mainly teenagers and young adults, who thirst for tangible actions against an imminent dark future. The September strikes are not the first, and not the last strikes that were organized by teenagers in contrast to their elders’ negligence on the climatic crisis. 

The Climate Strikes were convocated by the student-led organization, “Fridays for Future” which was initiated by Greta . Thunberg is a sixteen-year-old Swedish girl, who started protesting against the negligence of addressing the climate crisis, by not enforcing the laws set in place for its regulation. Thunberg protested by herself outside the Swedish Parliament and more students followed. The movement had begun. Promptly, students all around the world joined her cause. 

Students from Argentina, Ukraine, Tunisia, and all over the world, people from all ages, mainly teenagers, reprimanded the government for their lack of involvement. 

Waltham participated in the September Strike as well. On September 20th, the strike took place in Boston, approximately 7,000 people attended and marched to the State House in Boston Common in order to raise awareness over the impending crisis. Beyond the magnitude of the crisis that the planet faces, something that may spark interest in people, especially those who do not consider climate change a problem, is the amount of teenagers interested in the movement.

“Adults are not going to fight for it, I realized it after talking to the school’s administration,” said Lisa Nguyen, the student in charge of the climate strikes at Waltham High School. Nguyen urges young people to get involved. She insists that this is a very urgent crisis and that students should not “be penalized for going to the strikes.” Nguyen emphasizes that adults prefer to look the other way “because climate change is not going to affect them, as much as it is going to affect us.”

In order for the strikes to cause a relevant reaction from lawmakers, the movement has to keep growing. It is about a collective pressure, not one person protesting by themselves, but thousands upon thousands of students, young adults, those who care about their future, those who care about having a planet to live in. One person can make a big difference, if no one thinks their assistance is crucial, the movement is going to die, and so will the planet.