A student-to-student overview of Greta Thunberg, the Climate Crisis and Fridays for Future.

by D. Dixon

This is the girl, who, in 16 months, went from a lone protester in front of the Swedish Parliament to the leader in an international activist movement that has gained the audience of the United Nations.

The Girl

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish girl who turned 17 on January 3rd, and she has a fire burning inside her.

Back when she was 8 years old, Thunberg found out about climate change for the first time. Her teacher showed the class one of the most well-known faces of climate change: the starving polar bear that you’ve likely seen, despite its debatable origins. She viewed other effects of climate change, such as storms, fires, etc. As she says, “I kept thinking about it and I just wondered if I am going to have a future… I became very depressed and stopped going to school.” She finally got around to telling her parents, whom she soon realized that, much like other adults, didn’t know just how serious climate change is. She goes on to say, “And how I got out of that depression was that I thought: it is just a waste of time feeling this way because I can do so much good with my life.” She learned that with enough persistence, she could convince her parents to switch to a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Her strike began in August of 2018, where she decided to sit outside of the Swedish parliament in her call for more action from the government instead of going to school. It was a simple set-up: a girl in a yellow rain jacket over many layers of warm clothing with a handmade sign that read, “SKOLSTREJK FӦR KLIMATET,” meaning ‘school strike for climate.’.

Thunberg was diagnosed with Asperger’s several years ago, and she admits to often overthinking. But she uses this passion for good, even calling it a “superpower.” It’s this passion and strength of the heart that brought her before the United Nations.

The Globe

Many factors call environmentalists like Greta Thunberg to action, such as increased wildfires and heat waves. Man-made climate change can be summed up to this: more greenhouse gases trapped in our atmosphere from use of fossil fuels are causing temperatures to rise worldwide. Sea levels are rising. Heatwaves, such as those in Europe, create conditions that lead to the devastating wildfires like those in Australia and California. This is exactly what people like Thunberg are worried about. Things like this, if they continue to increase in intensity following the recent trend, can destroy civilization.

The activist returned to the UN for their Climate Conference Dec. 13th (despite some other protestors being kicked out). As stated by Vox, “she described the COP in an address as ‘an opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition.’” They go on to say that the mass gathering of world leaders yielded very few improvements, save for the EU unveiling their plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. They also want to reduce emissions 50% by 2030.

Beyond that, she has also had several encounters with President Trump on Twitter, all which we were met with witty comebacks. Thunberg has met with the Pope, former President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and, of course, featured on the Ellen Show. Her Twitter @GretaThunberg is a great place to see what she’s up to.

Another tweet from her on Dec. 13th features her at a student strike in Italy; earlier that day before she went to the Madrid UN gathering:

The Goal

As you may have seen, Thunberg’s fame in the mainstream is labeled as “Fridays for Future.” Students skip school on Fridays to instead peacefully protest in front of government buildings and streets. You, as a student, may be thinking, “I’d like to skip out on school.” As a student, I myself would agree, but as a logician, I have to disagree. Most people (like myself) that want to skip to protest will find that we are rather unqualified to do so. Greta Thunberg has spent much time researching her topic. If you skip school to say you're protesting, this won't change our world.

One teacher says that she supports Thunberg, but “she has educated herself on the issues of climate change. I believe all students should do their part in sustaining the environment.” Most teachers suggest that instead of skipping school, you “do your part”. How?

Here’s a list of great ways to do things to help our planet:

• Use less water.
• Turn off lights and devices when not in use.
• Stop littering (!)
• Recycle (!)
• Carpool more.
• Eat less red meat. Cattle farming amounts for a lot of greenhouse gas emissions (via cow burps) and pollution of water sources via cow manure runoff.

And here’s a collection by the New York Times regarding climate change in 2019: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/13/climate/year-in-review.html

Greta Thunberg is a great role model for all young people in saving the environment and the human race, as well as a great source for information on global warming. She also inspires us to do something, big or small, to save the Earth.

Sources

Alter, C., Haynes, S., & Worland, J. (2019, December 10)“TIME 2019 PERSON OF THE YEAR: GRETA THUNBERG.” Time. Retrieved from: https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/

Evans, H., Collins, D., Rowett, C., & LaCasce, J. (2019, December 16) The climate emergency, military emissions and Greta Thunberg. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/16/the-climate-emergency-military-emissions-and-greta-thunberg

Fountain, H. (2019, December 5) Climate Change Is Accelerating, Bringing World ‘Dangerously Close’ to Irreversible Change. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/climate/climate-change-acceleration.html

Irfan, U. (2019, December 14) UN climate talks in Madrid have stalled. Countries are blaming the US. Vox. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/2019/12/13/21020192/cop25-greta-thunberg-un-climate-change-meeting-madrid

Vaughan, A. (2019, March 13) Greta Thunberg: Why I began the climate protests that are going global. New Scientist. Retrieved from: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132213-400-greta-thunberg-why-i-began-the-climate-protests-that-are-going-global/

Watts, J. (2019, March 11) Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: ‘Some people can let things go. I can’t’. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/greta-thunberg-schoolgirl-climate-change-warrior-some-people-can-let-things-go-i-cant