WEEKLY LISTENING - Week 3

“We Are Striking to Disrupt the System”

An Hour with 16-Year-Old Climate Activist Greta Thunberg

In this Interview the Guest is Greta Thunberg. Greta is a Swedish climate youth activist who has received worldwide recognition for her efforts to fight climate change. She first became known for youth activism in August 2018, she began spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on climate change by holding up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for the climate).Her protest spread and hundreds of thousands of school kids around the Globe participated in their local school strikes. “My role is to be one of many, many activists who are pushing for climate action. I don’t see myself as a leader, or icon or the face of a movement.” -Greta Thunberg

WHO IS GRETA THUNBERG?

Since her strike began in 2018, Greta has become a leading figure in the climate justice movement.

Greta was only 8 when she first learned about the climate crisis. She began climate activism at the age 15. She decided to work on her own, it might not work but it can have an impact. She battled depression. She stopped talking and eating for almost a year. The biggest reason was no one cared about such issues and no one was working for it. People did consider this an issue but no one wanted to change and work out. She soon realized she can do things, she shouldn't wait for others. As it is said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Matama Gandhi. She began skipping school every day for first three weeks and protested outside the Swedish parliament but later on she and other school strikers came up with Fridays For Future, they started protesting only on Fridays. Thunberg has also traveled the world, meeting with global leaders and speaking at assemblies to demand climate solutions. 

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPER POWER
Greta is diagnosed with Asperger's and she refers it as her super power. She didn't let it affect her self-confidence. It helps her to see things in a way others don't. Greta believes everyone acts, thinks, looks and do the same but she isn't like everyone and that's what make her different and proud. As P.T Barnum said, "No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else"

CLIMATE ACTIVISM 
Thunberg refused to fly because of the carbon emissions of airline industry. She is also a vegan. She do not buy new things or clothes, do not use animal products because of the ethical, environmental and climate reasons. She travels by bus, train, sailboat or an electric car. She even shared her experience of travelling by an emission-free race sailboat. Greta enjoyed the journey, without feeling seasick. "It felt very good to be disconnected, to not have contact with people outside" said Greta. 

MESSAGE TO THE GENERATION 
"My message to the young people of the world is that right now we are facing an existential crisis, I mean, the climate and ecological crisis, and it will have a massive impact on our lives in the future, but also now, especially in vulnerable communities. And I think that we should wake up, and we should also try to wake the adults up, because they are the ones who — their generation is the ones who are mostly responsible for this crisis, and we need to hold them accountable. We need to hold the people in power accountable for what they have been doing to us and future generations and other living species on Earth. And we need to get angry and understand what is at stake. And then we need to transform that anger into action and to stand together united and just never give up" - Greta Thunberg