Fridays for Future US have released a film featuring bleak footage of climate change effects set to California’s state anthem, ahead of the global climate strike on Friday 23 September.
Wildfire season in California is historically between July and October. But today, California experiences wildfires throughout the entire year, due to shorter wet seasons and higher temperatures. There was even a wildfire in January this year.
In 2020, around 9,600 fires in California killed 31 people. In just over a month, the poor air quality may have contributed to up to 3,000 excess deaths of over-65s. And the fires emitted more than 100 million metric tons of CO2 – roughly 30 million metric tons more than California emits annually from power production.
‘I Love You, California’ uses footage of wildlife devastation throughout the state to highlight the very real effects of the climate crisis. The anthem is performed by Kiyomi Morrison.
Fridays for Future was launched in August 2018 by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who led school strikes for climate change awareness. The movement has since spread to more than 100 countries.
