6 minute read
I am Greta
Journal Review: I am Greta
Photo by Aslıhan Altın on Unsplash
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Charlie and Nicola
Greta Thunberg, a sixteen year-old climate activist, has powerfully shared her views on climate change and what she believes needs to be done before our actions become irreversible. This documentary outlines the key issues of climate change, following the battle of a resilient key activist rallying for a system change and a better future. ‘I am Greta’ follows Greta’s story from her first protest, displaying the struggles she faces when exposed to the media, as well as how factors such as her Asperger’s has enabled her to be the activist she is today.
Arguably, a significant factor that has allowed Greta to become such a leading activist over other environmentalists, is her Asperger’s. In this documentary, Greta’s family explains how her autism allows her to notice more details and have ‘laser focus’ on topics that she’s interested in, in this case, climate change. With a photographic memory, she is able to read and recall details about climate change more easily which is practical for interviews, conferences and protests. Because of Greta’s Asperger’s, acknowledging the suffering that species and habitats face has had huge effects on her. She spoke about how watching starving polar bears on television was so awakening for her, that she fell into a depression and experienced anxiety as a result of her concern about climate change. Greta reflects that her Asperger’s has allowed her to have a clear outlook on what needs to be done and ‘[sees] the climate issue in black and white’, which has been very important in her journey, she feels like ‘it would be good if everyone had a bit of Asperger’s’ so we aren’t as ‘distracted’ by other factors and instead see the issue of climate change as clearly as she does.
Greta has taken substantial action in an effort to encourage others to think more about how their behaviours are affecting the planet. Her first climate strike in 2018 was
a lonely event, but gained such a following that just a year later in September 2019, over seven million people were involved in protesting about climate change. Greta has made a defying choice, her aim to make politicians think twice about their actions and improve the climate situation as it stands today. To Greta’s annoyance, she continues to feel as though she needs to repeat herself to force others to take action. Greta speaks out stating that ‘for more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear’ and that they can ignore her, but not the science. At present, ‘we are living as if we had several earths’. As part of a reflection towards this, Greta set out to sail for two weeks, avoiding contribution to aviation emissions, to the climate summit conference in America. The aim was to prove that she ‘isn’t a person that says something and does something else’ and to also show that living sustainably in the 21st century is possible. Some of Greta’s ideology may be unrealistic as with easier ways of travel, it would be hard to change the way people transport themselves to the extent of sailing instead of flying, for the sake of the environment. However, vast admiration can be awarded to Greta, in that her efforts to speak boldly were mocked in the media yet despite this, she still strives to encourage others to speak up about climate change and to take action; some may even say she’s the activist our generation has been waiting for.
Within the documentary it is demonstrated how Greta speaks frankly, she often criticizes the relaxed approach taken by governments and politicians to the climate crisis. She accuses them of using the climate change crisis as a way of gaining popularity, and promising change for the future, but in the end, they make few changes, and whilst the crisis gets worse, “all they can talk about is money”. At points it feels as though she is in a battle with what she describes as the selfish desires of the politicians, who “promise to improve but never do”. We use 100 million barrels of oil each day, but there are no policies to prevent consumption, despite knowing the detrimental effects it is having on the environment. This is something Greta cannot change, but she fights and protests because there are people who can help but refuse to do so. She highlights her fight is not about her personally, but for the future of the planet and begs the politicians to
Furthermore, she mocks them for “all coming to us young people for hope. How dare you.” Greta likes to make a point of how this climate mess has been created by an older generation, yet it is being left for the youth to clean up. A message like this shows the strength she has to stand up to the politicians who, in her words, ‘are too arrogant or scared to make change’, and now the burden has fallen on the young population. She makes the point that “humanity sees nature as this giant bag of candy, that we can just take as much as we want”, which associates this almost childish image with the selfish actions of governments and politicians, who overconsume the limited resources that there is access to on earth. Overall, you can admire the determination to take leadership in the battle to solve climate change, but similarly, as she puts it, it is something “I don’t want to have to do”, because it is something governments should be taking responsibility for.
A further point that Greta addresses is that many people do not understand the severity of the crisis that we are facing, mainly due to lack of information, or misleading information that has led to false opinions. One segment of the documentary shows a collection of clips of news channels and world leaders, such as Trump and Putin, offering false information about the climate crisis, which would lead to potentially millions of people forming views about the crisis that simply are not true, and as a result there is no urgency in the response to fixing the problem. It is hard not feel some sympathy towards Greta whilst watching people such as the former president, Trump, talk about climate change as “a very expensive hoax”, because no matter how hard she tries, there will always be people who deny that there is a climate crisis and refuse to listen to her or the science. She says it “feels like I’m speaking a completely different language… Is the microphone on? Is my English ok?”. A statement such as this shows us that people do not understand the extent of the crisis, it is something she can see in “black and white”, whilst those she speaks to cannot or will not understand it. As highlighted previously, she wants to take action because “if you deal with the crisis intime, rather than waiting, the problems won’t get as big”, and a sense of urgency from people in power would allow this to happen.
Overall, Greta’s fight for a better future is one that has gained global attention, and with the determination and passion for fixing the climate crisis, she has drawn attention to and started conversations around the world on this matter. Her Asperger’s has allowed her to focus and act, whereas others probably would not have. The attention she has brought to the climate crisis is backed up by her own actions, such as her infamous sail across the Atlantic to a UN conference. The documentary allows an insight into her story from the start and the responsibility she has taken from little actions to large ones, in addressing the future of our planet.
The Habs Geographical Committee
We would like to thank the Habs Geographical committee for their hard work and dedication to this edition. The team have produced high quality and wide-ranging geographical articles touching on a range of issues related to the theme of diversity and change. They have worked collaboratively, even during the remote learning phase of school life. We commend their positive and proactive attitude and hope you enjoyed their articles.
Special thanks, Mrs Edwards and Mrs McCarthy
Ben Callum Charlie Faiz Jared
Joel Kellen Kiran Rayyaan
Neeve Nicola Ria Sarina
