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Interviews with news makers and discussion of topics important to Southwest Michigan. Subscribe to the podcast through Apple itunes and Google. Segments of interview are heard in WestSouthwest Brief during Morning Edition and All Things Considered

WSW: The Fridays For Future Movement At Kalamazoo Central High School

This has been a busy summer for climate activists in Kalamazoo. They’re eager to mobilize amid warnings that the world faces catastrophe if it doesn’t drastically cut carbon emissions, and soon. For Kalamazoo Central High School teacher Josh Gottlieb, and rising senior Chloe Carlson, that means bringing the movement to school. 

They'll kick off a year of "Fridays for Future," following the example of 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, on September 20. That's also a global day of action on climate change. The event at Central is one of several planned for Kalamazoo.

On this edition of WestSouthwest, Gottlieb and Carlson explain why they'll be reaching out to Stryker and Pfizer this year, how they plan to "deliver the United States to Greta" by growing the American climate-centered youth movement, and whether they subscribe to the idea that climate activists should be upbeat in their messaging to avoid scaring people. 

Sehvilla Mann joined WMUK’s news team in 2014 as a reporter on the local government and education beats. She covered those topics and more in eight years of reporting for the Station, before becoming news director in 2022.
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