US climate activists to livestream Earth Day due to virus

As coronavirus causes shut-downs across U.S., a coalition of youth-led organizations that h planned massive marches for 50th anniversary of Earth Day next month are w planning a three-day Livestream event inste, organizers said Tuesday.

“ Earth Day Live ” will happen April 22-24 and will include speakers, voter registration, protests against financial institutions that support fossil fuel industry, and entertainment. event will be accessible on computers and mobile devices in hopes that it will encour engment and action among people who are secluded at home and who may have planned to march in Washington and or places.

“It’s a time to really rethink our strategy,” said Katie Eder, 20-year-old executive director of Future Coalition , one of nine youth-led organizations that are coordinating event. “We are really looking at this as a way to reimagine what a social movement can look like in a digital .”

first Earth Day, brainchild of late Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, happened in 1970 and sparked an environmental movement that led to creation of Environmental Protection ncy and many laws to protect water, air and wildlife.

While led by youth organizations, including Sunrise Movement, Zero Hour and Amazon Watch , invent is intended to be intergenerational, with an eye on building on momentum from a massive global climate march in September.

Members of se groups said y are very much focused on crisis at hand — coronavirus — but y say climate change also will affect vulnerable populations most.

“It’s t just about environment and climate,” said 17-year-old Naina Agrawal-Hardin, of Sunrise Movement. “It’s also about building a society and an ecomy that’s going to take care of people who’ve been affected by this crisis, people who are on front lines of this crisis, wher that’s through health care efforts or ecomic efforts.”