GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Several climate activists are planning climate strikes Friday as part of a global protest calling on world leaders to better address climate change.
"This is a much bigger problem than politics or whatever they think it is, it's our futures," said Siena Ramirez.
The 14-year-old freshman at Kent County's Northview High School is the student organizer for Sunrise Movement GR, which is putting on a climate strike in Grand Rapids Friday. The protest is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Westown Commons Park near Grand Valley State University's Pew Campus.
The group will then march to the local office of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters to pressure him into supporting the Green New Deal, which would focus the U.S. economy on renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.
"We're the generation that climate change is going to affect directly, and even though we're not the ones making the laws, we can send a message to politicians and put pressure on them," Ramirez said.
Michigan is hosting around 20 climate strike events Friday, including demonstrations in Holland and Allegan, according to the Global Climate Strike page. Organizers believe millions of people will participate in the strike.
"It doesn't matter if you're rural, if you're in the city, in the Upper Peninsula or Lower Peninsula, people are recognizing this crisis," said Nicholas Jansen, Michigan state director for Sunrise Movement.
Organizers will be offering voter registration help to protesters at the Grand Rapids strike.
"[We will] show up in the streets and demand to politicians, 'If you want our votes in 2020, you gotta stand up for us in this climate crisis,'" Jansen said.
Several West Michigan school districts, including Northview and Grand Rapids Public, are allowing students to participate if they go through proper attendance procedures.
Skipping class for this is part of the message, Ramirez said.
"Without the strike we won't be sure that we'll even be able to go to school in the future," she said. "We won't have school if the climate keeps progressing how it is."
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