“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg wore her signature double braids as she greeted attendees of the United Nations Climate Action Summit with a grim picture of the future of the planet if environmental action is not taken. Her speech, which lasted about four minutes, held the audience captive because of how emotional she appeared in front of them. She inspired her listeners and riled the room up as she berated the torn down governmental leaders who, in her eyes, were taking no action to stop the impending doom of planet Earth.
Thunberg’s rise began a year ago. She was just one kid outside of the Swedish Parliament with a simple sign demanding action for climate change. Today, she is one of the most well-known climate activists. Recently, she made headlines when she made a two-week voyage to America on a sailboat from Europe.
In September, right before the United Nations Climate Action Summit, Thunberg led a global “Thunderberg’s Future For Friday” campaign with other youth climate activists. Students from 150 countries protested in front of their cities’ and countries’ government capitals to gain awareness of greenhouse gases and the fate of the world as negative environmental consequences continue to come to light.
This was not the only protest led by Thunberg. She started the hashtag “Fridays For Future” to raise awareness for climate change with the idea that if climate change measures are not taken, there will be no reason for schooling. It also echoes her independent protests last year in 2018 when she would skip school on Fridays to protest in front of the Swedish Parliament. Young people all over the world began to strike their local and national governments on Fridays as a way of gaining more traction to create stricter bills for environmental protection. The idea is that school is not so important if there is not a future for the next generations. With over 30 countries participating in the Fridays for Future protests, there is a lot of ground being covered.
In the United States alone, Thunberg has participated in multiple school strikes, including those in Iowa and Colorado. Other strikes have reverberated off of these events in states like Massachusetts, where students of all ages walked out of classes and marched to the State House.
At a climate strike held in Denver, Thunberg spoke at the event saying, “This is a movement with millions upon millions of people telling world leaders to act on the science. And we are demanding a safe future for everyone.” She was cheered on by students from the Denver area, who came together at the Denver Civic Center to protest climate change — also during school hours.
Thunberg’s fight for climate change has sparked international conversations. Mainly the talk has been about what can possibly be done now to affect the future of climate change. Younger generations have realized that their voice may be the end-all-be-all to getting older generations to finally take action.
For days after her United Nations address, she was both mocked and praised by politicians, late night hosts, celebrities, and everyday people. Thunberg has become the face of the climate change movement, whether the object of laud or ridicule.
Outrage towards Thunberg’s attack on older generations has flooded the American Republican community. President Donald Trump even mocked Thunberg after her speech in a Tweet saying, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”
Some politicians even used her mental disability, Asperger syndrome, as a sign that she did not know what she was talking about or that she was being used by her parents for their political agenda.
However, despite mockery and disbelief, there are many who support her. She has become the face of young and old environmentalists all over the world. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio, Camila Cabello, and others have shown her support via social media. She has also paved the way for lesser-known young environmentalists who are making a change in their communities like 16-year-old Isra Hirsi, the daughter of U.S. Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. Though Thunberg’s view of the future is somewhat pessimistic and grim, her urgent message has done a lot to jumpstart public demand for climate action, particularly in younger generations, and opened their eyes to the detrimental effects the human footprint has left on the world.