"Hope is something you have to earn."
-- Greta Thunberg
When Greta Thunberg first heard her teachers talk about climate change, she was about 8.
"I thought that it was very strange that humans, who are an animal species, could be capable of changing the Earth's climate, because if that was the case, and if it was really happening, we wouldn't be talking about anything else, but that would be our first priority. But no one ever even mentions it. So I started reading about it. And the more I read, the more I understood it. And once you fully understand what it means, you can never go back."
Greta, now 16, is right about that, but when denial sets in, understanding cannot happen and ignorance becomes bliss. Most of us subconsciously operate at some level of procrastination, and certainly do when dealing mentally and emotionally with the possible extinction of our species. Josh Fox, warrior against fracking the earth open for fossil fuels, has said, "Once you know, you can't un-know."
Around age 11, the little Swedish girl became deeply depressed and stopped speaking, barely ate and missed school for about a year while her parents put their lives on hold to care for her. In an interview with NPR's Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now," Greta said, "I was so depressed, I didn't see any point in living, because everything was just so wrong. [And] because I have Asperger Syndrome I work a bit different. I see things black and white ... And I usually don't enjoy participating in the social game that the rest of you seem so fond of. And I don't like lying."
Goodman asked her what changed her outlook on life. "I guess I thought that I could do so much with my life. I can, and what is the point of feeling like this, when I could actually do something good?" Greta said. That may have been the understatement of all time.
Greta had seen how the Parkland, Fla., students had gone on strike and held rallies after the shooting of 17 classmates and thought that might also be an effective way to champion the climate. Starting on Aug. 20 after her country's hottest summer on record, Greta began a lonely three-week daily sit in front of the Swedish Parliament with her hand-painted sign, "School Strike for Climate." After elections, she returned to school except on Fridays, when she resumed her strike. Then others began to join her.
She handed out leaflets and posted what she was doing on Twitter and Instagram, which went viral, and then newspapers and Facebook picked up the story. By November, Greta had given a TEDx talk that should be required viewing for everyone on the planet. She has spoken at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland, the World Economic Conference in Switzerland, and now is a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. More importantly, she inspired the "Youth Strike 4 Climate" marches (fridaysforfuture.org). The first one on March 15 brought out at least 1.5 million kids in more than 125 countries around the globe to strike for their futures. Two Fridays later, more thousands marched to, as some signs said, "give adults an education."
Greta Thunberg answers to people telling her to study so she can solve the climate crisis, " And why should I be studying for a future that soon will be no more, when no one is doing anything whatsoever to save that future? And what is the point of learning facts in the school system, when the most important facts given by the finest science of that same school system clearly means nothing to our politicians and our society?"
Youth efforts on climate issues have been going on in this country for a few years. "Zero Hour" was founded by 15-year-old Jamie Margolin, and the Sunrise Movement advocates political action on climate and has supported the Green New Deal with rallies and sit-ins. Our Children's Trust is the organization behind 21 youth plaintiffs in the Juliana vs. United States case, who have, since 2015, been suing for a constitutional right to a livable planet.
As for hope, Greta says, "And yes, we do need hope. Of course, we do. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then and only then, hope will come today."
Out of the mouths of babes ...
Commentary on 04/02/2019