Dear John,

September 20th, 2001, then-President Bush declared a “War On Terror” after the 9/11 attacks. That war has destroyed millions of lives and continues to wreak havoc today. Now, I’m working with other young people who are organizing to declare another war; a war against catastrophic climate change.

Tomorrow - 18 years after the phrase “War on Terror” was coined - youth organizers are calling on people of all ages, life paths, and political ideals to strike from their school or place of work to demand action in the face of increasing extreme weather events and climate collapse.

The following week, people like are you being asked to join and build the momentum to pressure power holders to take swift and decisive action to make a just transition reality. Here's the scoop from DC:

There’s no time left for business-as-usual; the climate crisis is here. Answering the call from youth leaders from around the world for a climate strike we are going to shut down DC on September 23rd.

We will block key infrastructure to stop business-as-usual, bringing the whole city to a gridlocked standstill. Parents, workers, students, and everyone concerned about the climate crisis should skip work and school to join us. Click here or visit Strikedc.org to join us - and share this message on #ShutDownDC and #StrikeWithUs.

This is the mass uprising that everyone with climate anxiety has been waiting for. This is an uprising for life itself, fighting back against the forces of destruction. This is your chance to take action to save the people, plants, and animals you love.

See you in the streets!

Lena Rodriguez
Power Shift Network Digital Fellow