Hunger strike to save the planet

When was the last time you saw a hunger strike in the US?

Sitting in the sun across the street from the White House, 18-year-old Ema Govea holds a black and yellow sign saying she is on a hunger strike to demand action against climate change.

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She and four other activists from Sunrise Movement, an environmental advocacy group, began their protest on Wednesday. They say they will not eat until President Joe Biden follows through on his campaign promises to enact meaningful measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and transition the US to a green economy.

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The hunger strikers want Biden to push for the full $3.5 trillion in his proposed social spending agenda that includes measures to cut carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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“It’s clear that he wants to be a climate leader. But at this point, it is all talk, no action,” she said.

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Earlier this week, several US agencies released reports highlighting the adverse impact that climate change is expected to have on global stability and US national security.

But activists say there is a gap between the administration’s rhetoric and actions.

Kidus Girma, one of the hunger strikers, slammed the president for negotiating with Manchin and Sinema behind closed doors instead of calling them out publicly to back his agenda.

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Activists say this year has been a turning point in the predicted physical effects of climate change becoming a reality in the United States. Droughts, floods, enormous wildfires, deadly heat waves and hurricanes have struck the country in alarming frequency and intensity.

Julia Paramo, a 24-year-old activist, said her hometown of Dallas is still feeling the “trauma” of the unprecedented cold wave early in 2021 that caused widespread power outages across Texas leading to 210 deaths in the state.

“Us or Exxon,” Paramo had written on her forehead in a message against the fossil fuel industry. Like other hunger strikers, she was sitting in a wheelchair to conserve her own energy.

  alJazeera

The strike began on October 20.

Drastic

The Kennedy clan is joining a hunger strike

In all sincerety, I'm surprised - and impressed. I know the Kennedys are known for their civic mindedness - modern day noblesse oblige - but a 24-day hunger strike - that's pretty radical. And Ethel - this could be her last act on earth.

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy, has announced that she is joining a hunger strike in protest against President Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.

The 90-year-old human rights advocate will participate in the "Break Bread Not Families" hunger strike. The protest was organized by several activist groups, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights nonprofit, and a number of prominent people are participating in the strike.

Nearly 40 other Kennedys have joined the strike as well.

The fast started on Sunday and is set to go on for 24 days — symbolizing the approximately 2,400 migrant children that have been separated from their parents. In place of the meals participants would have eaten, organizers ask that protesters instead donate money to help migrant families.

  The Hill

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.