ATLANTA — Atlanta is one of hundreds of cities around the world participating in the Global Climate Strike, which may be the largest day of climate action in history.
Protesters are asking people to leave their jobs and take to the streets to demand action on climate change three days ahead of the UN Summit on Climate in New York City.
The "Global Climate Strike" events ranged from a gathering of about two dozen activists in Seoul using LED flashlights to send Morse code messages calling for action to rescue the earth to demonstrations around Australia that organizers estimated were the country's largest protests since the Iraq War in 2003.
In Paris, teenagers and kids as young as 10 traded classrooms for the streets. The demonstration took on a festival-like feel as bands played and kids danced in a park.
Marie-Lou Sahai, 15, said she skipped school because "the only way to make people listen is to protest."
And in Washington, several thousand young people marched to the Capitol building carrying signs reading "There is no Planet B" and "This can't wait until I finish high school."
"Basically our earth is dying and if we don't do something about it, we die," said A.J. Conermann, a 15-year old sophomore. "I want to grow up. I want to have a future."
The protests were partly inspired by the activism of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who has staged weekly demonstrations under the heading "Fridays for Future" over the past year, urging world leaders to step up their efforts against climate change.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered outside the State Capitol in Atlanta for the protest.
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