On Friday, September 15, youth from across Eugene will walk out of school at lunchtime and gather at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza at 1:15pm in a school strike to demand that politicians take meaningful action on the climate crisis and end the era of fossil fuels. This strike will be one of many occurring around the world and throughout Oregon on the same day, with thousands of students taking to the streets in Eugene, Portland, and Bend.
We are experiencing the climate crisis. This is not a future problem; it’s happening now. After the deadly disaster in Maui, the suffocating smoke from wildfires, inhospitable heat, ocean temperatures off Florida hitting 101.1°F and killing coral, severe flooding from a hurricane in California, and many other catastrophic events around the world, we must take action now.
President Biden has approved more oil and gas drilling permits than his predecessor. We demand that Biden declare a national climate emergency and use his executive authority to shut down the Willow Project, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure. At the state level, we call on Governor Tina Kotek to shut down Zenith’s CEI Hub in Portland and oppose new fossil fuel projects. We demand that Treasurer Tobias Read divest the $6 billion that the State of Oregon has invested in the fossil fuel industry, including coal. At a local level, we’re calling on EWEB to utilize federal funding to build more public power and expand electrification incentives for electric heat pumps, water heaters, and stoves.
The strike will begin at 1:15pm with high school students across the district marching from their schools to Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. There they will rally as a community and list out their demands, hear from guest speakers, deliver testimonials, and eat together in solidarity (free food and drinks will be provided).
We encourage everyone (of all ages, including adults) to take a stand and join us!
TIMELINE:
12:30: South Eugene High School (SEHS) students will begin marching from their school.
12:50: Students from other high schools will congregate at Eugene Station.
12:55: SEHS students will join up with the march at the Eugene Chamber of Commerce.
12:55 - 1:15: Continue march from the Chamber of Commerce, past Funk/Levis, and arrive at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza.
This action is hosted by Sunrise Eugene (a local youth-led climate organization fighting for a Green New Deal, good jobs, and a livable future) and 4J Climate Justice Team (a coalition of high school climate clubs) in collaboration with 350 Eugene, Portland Youth Climate Strike, Fossil Free Eugene, Divest Oregon, Extinction Rebellion PDX, and Fridays For Future.