COLORADO SPRINGS — Across the world on Friday Global Climate Strike rallies took place to bring awareness to issues with climate change.
One of those rallies happened in Colorado Springs with hundreds of students, parents, and community members filling the steps at city hall. Their common goal - to stand with youth across the world who fear they won't have a future if action isn't taken.
"What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!"
That was the cry of the crowd early Friday afternoon.
"We are young, but we're not dumb! We are young, but we're not dumb!"
Amy Gray, volunteer coordinator with 350 Colorado, said, "The youth, Greta Thunberg, and all the youth across the world called the adults to stand with them and strike with them on September 20th."
The strike spurred about 100 students from Palmer High School to walk out. One of them was Taylor Saulsbury who said, "We are protesting and we are standing up for a future that we cannot have currently...it is so scary and I'm terrified. I am deathly terrified that I will not have a future. That is why we are standing up."
Her request to local leaders is to move toward 100% renewable energy.
Freshman Raven Burks said, "This is my chance to show that I am afraid and I will not give up what I believe in...I don't want this world to be full of heat and despair. That's not what I want and I am terrified to know that that might be my child's future."
In the fight to rid the world of fossil fuels she's asking people to "walk, take a bicycle. If it's a short distance don't take a car."
People at the rally said one of their big goals is to decommission the Martin Drake Power Plant which has been an issue Colorado Springs City Council has been working on for years.
