KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WWJ) -- A teacher in southwest Michigan says he’s on a one-week hunger strike outside his school to draw attention to climate change.
Josh Gottlieb, a teacher at Kalamazoo Central High School says he took a week off without pay to sit outside the school as he sheds light on the growing crisis, according to a report from MLive.
Gottlieb has gone without eating since Saturday, Oct. 23 and says he won’t eat again until Sunday, when the United Nation’s climate summit begins in Scotland.
The teacher says while his hunger strike and demonstration may not solve the world’s climate issues, he hopes it will bring attention to what he says will increasingly affect his students’ lives.
“I need to follow their lead, the lead of the young people, and show support and solidarity from not only teachers, but adults in general. We’re not pulling our weight yet,” he told MLive, referring to a younger generation of students that have a growing awareness of the crisis.
The teacher has been sitting outside the school with a sign that reads "climate change is an emergency." Many students and fellow teachers have stopped by to show their support for Gottlieb, many with signs of their own.
One student had a sign that said "We need to act now... we are called 'Gen Z' because we are the last generation."
Part of Gottlieb’s decision to go on his hunger strike lies in President Joe Biden’s much-debated infrastructure deal. Gottlieb wants politicians to restore critical greenhouse-gas emissions measures to the bill, according to MLive.
“He said it’s unacceptable to cut those initiatives under pressure from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who the New York Times reported has a vested financial interest in the coal industry,” the story says.
“He does come from a coal-focused state, but that’s really short-sighted because there, when you get rid of coal, there are new industries that take its place, and you can still employ people in good paying jobs without coal. But people are afraid of change, obviously,” the teacher said, per the story.
Related
A focal point of Biden’s plan to combat the climate crisis is a clean energy plan that’s designed to reward power providers who use clean energy source and penalize those who don’t. That part of the deal, however, was scrapped when Manchin objected to the plan and because Republican lawmakers fully oppose the president’s nearly $2 trillion package, the president needs the support of every Democrat in the Senate.
Gottlieb is worried that political conflict in the U.S. means President Joe Biden won’t bring much to the conference.
Related
