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‘We Have to Act Now’
Many young people around the world are growing fed up with the lack of urgent action addressing climate change. That’s why 18-year-old British Bangladeshi environmentalist Mya-Rose Craig recently decided to protest in a way that would catch a lot of attention: by going all the way to the Arctic Circle, where sea ice is melting at an alarming pace. Craig—who is also known online as “Birdgirl” because of her popular bird-watching blog—traveled to her destination by ship from Norway. Once there, she spent five hours on the ice, holding a sign that read “Youth Strike for Climate.” (Craig has participated in Fridays For Future, the global strike movement started by 18-year-old activist Greta Thunberg, in which students skip school to demand action on climate change.) With her Arctic protest, Craig hopes to spur lawmakers to set up ocean sanctuaries—and to inspire other teens to speak up. “I think the climate strikes have been revolutionary in terms of giving young people a voice, to show people in power where our priorities lie,” Craig wrote in a recent opinion article. “We have to act, and we have to act now.”
Jim McMahon