(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kevin Leecaster with Fridays For Future, Utah Youth Environmental Solutions, and other partners strike for climate action and in opposition to UtahÕs final oil and gas lease sale of 2019 that will auction off public lands and further fossil fuel development during a rally on the steps of the Utah Capitol on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.
Hundreds of students marched throughout the Utah Capitol on Friday, stopping outside the governor’s office and demanding that he address climate change.
“Today we strike because our representatives are failing us,” declared Tess Carson, a student at Park City High School. “They are allowing our public lands to be exploited and in the process denying us a future.”
More than 300 people took part in the rally — part of an international youth movement — according to a news release sent out by the groups that organized it. The Utah students focused on protecting public lands in the state from drilling. They carried signs that said, “There is no planet B," “Stand up to big oil," and “Eco not ego."
The demonstrators delivered nearly 4,000 letters to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, explaining their views. At first, his office declined to open the doors — per protocol — but later let two student representatives inside.
The kids waiting outside wore face masks to protect against the inversion smog filling the Salt Lake Valley. And they filled multiple floors of the Capitol.