Greta Thunberg & Climate Justice
Since Greta is not focused on her popularity, she is able to put all her attention into climate justice. As a teenager often a lot of emphasis is placed on peer relationships. It is common for most teenage girls to want to be popular. Not every girl is like this, and Greta does not place her focus on her social group, yet ironically she is massively popular around the world and many of her peers are inspired by her. Perhaps she is less worried about how she appears to her peers which allows her to share her authentic thoughts without too much filtering.
During the Climate Strike in NYC, it was incredible to see Greta’s passionate speech at the strike and how many people were there cheering for her. She was so well-spoken and the people were very engaged with her powerful words.
Greta has talked about her Asperger’s syndrome in many of her speeches in “No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.” In her speech “I’m Too Young to Do This,” she says, “Asperger is not a disease, it’s a gift. People also say that since I have Asperger I couldn’t possibly have put myself in this position. But that’s exactly why I did this. Because if I would have been ‘normal’ and social I would have organized myself in an organization, or started an organization myself. But since I am not that good at socializing I did this instead” (pg. 30). Yet because she does her work independently, she is a big inspiration for young people. Greta has the courage to speak up for climate change whether she’s at a school strike alone, or talking to thousands of people at a climate strike.
I think that this pandemic has shown how quickly the world can adapt to change. During lockdown, everything apart from essential work shut down so quickly. People in general weren’t travelling and commuting to and from work and school. Everything went online very quickly. Planes mostly weren’t flying and the air pollution went down in so many countries. Emissions dropped drastically around the world. I’ve been seeing Greta and scientists say that change needs to be ongoing and not only temporary in order to ensure that we don’t exceed 1.5 C.
"...if a few girls can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school for a few weeks, imagine what we could do together if we wanted to" --Greta Thunberg, 2018.
Greta is an example of a young woman who is able to create great impact in the world. She personifies the title of her book “No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.” Through seeing Greta’s work in her strikes and speeches other girls are moved to act and use their voice which is very powerful. She has become a role model for girls, inspiring many people to work for climate justice and share their own voices in the world.
In No One is Too Small to Make a Difference in Greta’s speech “Our House is on Fire” she speaks about the failures of the media and politics in climate justice. She continues, “But Homo sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands. But until we recognize the overall failures of our current systems we most probably don’t stand a chance” (pg. 20). This quote speaks directly to the title of her book. Her passionate speech inspires thinking because she questions the systems and has a powerful call to action.
“Greta Thunberg is the spark but we are the wildfire.”--Naomi Klein.
Greta is an incredible change maker and inspiration for girls. Since I was a child, I always cared about climate justice and was educated at home and at school about climate change. I would often set up lemonade stands and art stalls to raise money for environmental charities. As I’ve grown up witnessing the climate justice movement and now seeing Greta’s actions, I have been inspired to find ways to create change in my life and who ever I can reach. I am part of a British Youth Theatre company and we have been creating a production about climate justice. We all were given Greta’s book and were inspired to use our voices. We wrote songs and monologues, had discussions and spoke to climate scientists. We planned to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year but have postponed it due to restrictions. I hope that we can film it and share it on the internet and contribute to discussions.
The Washington Post article “Teen Girls are Leading Climate Strikes Helping to Change the Face of Environmentalism” talks about the shift towards more female leaders in climate justice organizations. They said that girls are more likely to be highly concerned about the climate than boys are. In the article they share a quote by Alexandria Villaseñor, a 15-year-old who co-found US Youth Climate Strike and found Earth Uprising. She says, “maybe women can just see things that men can’t… we are more likely to believe in change.” In ancient times, girls and women have often been the visionaries in society. This is a moment when girls and women are trying to envision a healthy and sustainable future.
Photo of Greta Thunberg from Time magazine