Greta Thunberg, Billie Eilish Attend Youth Climate Strike At Los Angeles City Hall
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Greta Thunberg and singer Billie Eilish were among hundreds in attendance at a youth climate strike at Los Angeles City Hall Friday.
The climate activist and the singer marched with Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles against fossil fuel production in California, plastic pollution, and "worsening water scarcity and contamination of our drinking water."
Thunberg, a 16-year-old with Asperger's and autism, gained global recognition after urging world leaders and politicians to take action against climate change.
She recently sailed to the U.S. in a zero-emissions sailboat and has been gradually making her way across the continent.
Earlier this week, she visited the area where the Camp Fire burned more than 153,000 acres last year and met with survivors of the fire.
"Street after street with no houses left, I heard heartbreaking stories," Thunberg said. "We can see the wildfires happening just around the corner. Everywhere around the world we can see these horrible environmental feedbacks that countless people are suffering and dying from."
The event began with a rally in the Civic Center before the swarm of protesters marched several blocks to Gov. Gavin Newsom's downtown Los Angeles office before returning to the steps of City Hall.
Thunberg spoke at the event saying, "The scientists have been repeating the same message over and over again, and yet, they are still not being listened to," Thunberg said. "Why are the people in power still pretending that everything is fine and we can just continue to live ... as if there was no tomorrow? Well, there is a tomorrow -- it is a tomorrow where we, the young people, will live and we need to fight for that tomorrow as if our lives depend on it, because it does."
According to researchers, with hotter and more frequent wildfires and hurricanes getting more devastating every year, children are being afflicted with a new worry called "eco-anxiety."
Shannon Ravii said she came to the climate strike with her two daughters, ages 2 and 5, who don't quite understand the gravity of the situation, but she said he wants them to grow up in a home that respects the environment.
"I wanted to show my girls another child who's involved in saving their future," Ravii said. She also said she tries to stay involved in environmental issues as much as she can."
Thousands of participants attended a strike led by the Los Angeles Youth Climate Strike on Sept. 20.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
