Thousands gather to hear Greta Thunberg speak at Iowa City Climate Strike
Greta Thunberg came to Iowa City in October and over 3,000 gathered to hear her and the other Iowa City climate strikers speak
October 6, 2019
More than 3,000 protesters, packed together like sardines, cheered with joy as Greta Thunberg, a prominent 16-year-old climate activist, as well as many City High and Iowa City community members, marched to the stage to talk about climate change.
Thunberg made a speech about how climate strikes have grown worldwide to over seven million people in over 180 countries.
During her speech, Thunberg said, “We have reached a tipping point, where enough people have had enough and together we are unstoppable.”
She then explained that she is fed up with world leaders ignoring the demands of the people and how they need to take responsibility.
“We teenagers and children shouldn’t have to take responsibility, but right now the world leaders keep acting like children and somebody needs to be an adult in the room,” Thunberg says.
This connects to Iowa City because of a local issue on the output of coal emissions. Right now, Iowa City, and specifically the University of Iowa, has some of the oldest coal-fired power plants in Iowa. This has led Iowa City’s total energy dependency to be more than 50 percent on coal, far over the national average for coal emissions. By consistently participating in strikes and protests, like the one on Friday, members of the Iowa City community hope to encourage a clean energy community for the university and surrounding areas in Iowa.
The next global climate strike is on November 29. Many City High and community members will be taking part.
“Together, we are unstoppable,” Thunberg said.
