Crisis
It has been 15 months since Greta Thunburg initiated her Strike for Climate Change.
My social media accounts have been exploding with posts of her speeches, strikes for climate change around the world, and calls to action.
I have been attempting to figure out what to say about all of this.
Sadness for what we have had to come to.
Fear for what’s to come.
Confusion about why it took so long.
Shame and guilt for not taking more action myself.
The truth is, I cannot come up with adequate words to describe my feelings. Only a few words come close.
Shock. Fear. Sadness. Guilt. Action.
In the end, that’s all we can do.
Action.
Every little thing matters right now.
If you haven’t heard, I will explain to the best of my ability.
Greta Thunburg is a 16-year-old girl from Sweden. She had been learning and researching climate change on her own, being shocked by the scientific facts that she was learning about (which I will go over in a minute). Being on the Autism spectrum, she was concerned that she did not have what it took to start a social movement, empower the masses, and create change.
Little did she know, she was exactly what the world needed.
In August 2018, Greta held her own strike by skipping school on Fridays to sit in front of the Swedish Parliament Building with a sign that called for stronger climate action.
15 months later, she is still on her school strike, hoping the world will follow.
While sitting outside of the parliament building, a local photographer captured her powerful call. This picture went viral.
School-aged kids from all over the world started “Fridays for Future,” also started striking every Friday for stronger climate action. These students are still striking on Fridays today.
Most recently, a strike was held on September 20, 2019 throughout the world. With the next strike scheduled for September 27th.
Numbers showed over 4 million people took action in 163 countries, which is the LARGEST climate protest in history.
The scientific facts that Greta and the rest of the world are reporting are these (found at 350.org):
It is estimated that the Earth’s climate will be 1.5C warmer by 2030. This has many dangerous side effects for our complicated ecosystems.
The rapid rising of temperatures correlates with greenhouse gas emissions that we are producing. We are at over 415ppm of CO2, but we have a goal of 350ppm.
The top 5 major oil companies spent a combined $1 billion on false lobbying and false advertisement to prevent climate action. This started back in the 1970s.
Grain yields have decreased by 10% from heatwaves and floods.
Over 1 million people have had to relocate from the coast due to rising seas from ice melt and stronger storms, with more expected in the near future. The difference between 1.5C and 2C of temperature rise could mean over 10 million more migrants from the coast from these causes as well.
Animal populations have fallen by an average of 60%, with the majority of species on the verge of extinction. We are in a mass extinction event.
Half of our natural ecosystems have been destroyed.
The timing for this strike was a key factor.
Monday, September 23, 2019 was the UN Climate Action Summit.
Greta gave an extremely powerful speech to the climate leaders demanding change and action.
There has been no news yet on the outcome of this meeting or Greta’s speech, but the world continues to strike for stronger climate action.
The reported “fixes” (or more what needs to be done) for our environment are these:
Keep fossil fuels in the ground.
Initiate a quick transition to 100% renewable energy.
Halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 at the very least.
““People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you.””
Take action.
Do every little thing.
Recycle, but know about your area’s recycling rules.
Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
Don’t use plastic bags for your fruits and vegetables.
Drive less; bike or walk more.
Consume less meat and dairy.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are so many reliable articles out there to help you learn about the impacts you have on the environment. Read them, take them to heart, create change.
Remember that even though you are just one person, think of it as a ripple effect, and start the wave.
Rach
