Greta Thunberg: Wonder Child of 2019

Exclusive | Shaun Britton pays tribute to the girl who took 2019 by storm and the powerful impact she has had for environmental justice. | Journal Exclusive

Photo by Anders Hellberg, Creative Commons

Seventeen-year-old Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg gained global awareness after a protest against lack of response to climate change at her school, catapulting her onto the world stage.

Her refusal to attend school since August 2018, using her placard baring the slogan "Skolstrejk for Klimatet" to spread her environmentalist message has marked the birth of the Climate Strike which has since spread across the world, with young people in 125 countries walking out of their educational institutions since 2018 to try and make their societies wake up to the threat of climate change.

Her trailblazing eventually led to her addressing the UN in 2018, and again in 2019. Her speeches echoed the sentiment of countless people who are angered by world leaders' inaction on this important issue:

"You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake. You are not mature enough to tell it like it is."

Perhaps the most striking thing about Greta is not just her activism but the example she sets for other young people. She is vegan, and avoids air travel due to its effect on the environment, choosing to travel to the 2019 UN Summit............... | Read More...

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