Climate Strikes Across Idaho and Washington Occur Before U.N. Climate Summit

High school students skipped school for the day to voice their concerns. Photo: Willow Tree

The international climate strike inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg occurred Friday the 20th. with marches and rallies occurring in Spokane, Idaho Falls, Sandpoint, and Boise. Hundreds, mostly students and teenagers, gathered at each event to protest against what protesters are calling a lack of initiative on the part of representatives to mitigate climate change effects.

 One such student of Gonzaga University, Amelia Boone, skipped class earlier in the day to attend.

“I’m angry at the de-regulation,” Boone said, “It’s difficult to have so many people verify climate change is happening and then have the administration fail us by saying ‘Hey but we don’t believe in it. They’re supposed to be listening to us, to basic science.” 

In Spokane, the event began in Riverfront Park followed by an impromptu march to the Spokane River, shutting down traffic in the process. 

Hope Henning shares her thoughts about climate issues. Photo: Willow Tree

Teenager and member of the student environmental group Sunrise Movement, Hope Henning, introduced speakers, including the Governor of Washington Jay Inslee, and was awarded the title of being the Most Inspirational Washingtonian of the day by Inslee. 

Members of Native American tribes Tohono O’odham and Sioux of Standing Rock spoke, read poetry, and sang at the event. 

Photo: Willow Tree

“We are connected through all our relations, not just through humankind but to all kind…They are with us and it is time that we advocate for them, for those that can’t speak, those that can’t be here today, your ancestors. Would they be proud of where we are today?” one member of the Sioux tribe said.

The strike came the weekend before the U.N. Climate Summit Monday, to which the United States expressed no commitment to reducing their contribution to climate change. 

In the U.S, there have been a total of 85 environmental policy rollbacks from lessening restrictions on the auto industry to loosening the protection of habitats under the Endangered Species Act (of which 17 states have taken action of suing the Trump administration to prevent), many having been in place since the Clinton era.

Photo: Willow Tree

2019 has been the first year Idaho has become a part of the global conversation on environmental concerns. Gov. Brad Little stated his belief in climate science during the annual Idaho Environmental Forum in January. Idaho’s first hearing on climate change occurred a few weeks later. However, legislation specific to climate change has yet to be passed in Idaho. 

A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was also released in a news conference Wednesday, concluding the world’s cryosphere and marine ecosystems are in danger from increasing temperatures as ocean acidification worsens. The report states the estimated 670 million people in mountainous regions and coastal areas who depend on those resources will suffer the most profound consequences. Among the most vulnerable are the additional 65 million on developing islands and four million in Arctic regions.

Following the strikes, 16 youth climate activists, including Thunberg, are suing Turkey, Argentina, France, Germany, and Brazil on the grounds that their environmental practices are violating their rights as children to life, health, and peace in accordance with the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by 194 nations, not including the United States. 

In addition, the plaintiffs say these countries are not acting in alignment with the Paris Agreement and are knowingly polluting the environment, posing a threat to their wellbeing. 

The United States has already made clear their intention to pull out of the Paris Agreement in 2020. 

In total, more than 150 countries and over four million participated in the strike around the world, making it the largest climate demonstration in history.