When you were younger, I gave you a book about Greta Thunberg for your birthday to get you thinking about the environment and caring for our planet. Amazingly, she’s 20 years old today!
What an epic life already, arguably one of the most impactful young persons in human history.
The Swedish changemaker first heard about climate change in 2011, when she was eight years old. She couldn’t understand why so little was being done.
At age of 15 she started spending her Fridays outside the Swedish Parliament calling for stronger climate change action by holding up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet, or School Strike for Climate. She got others involved and organized a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays For Future.
After Greta spoke (she speaks fluent English) at the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, student strikes took place every week all around the world. She had transitioned from a passionate student unknown to a global climate change phenomena.
In 2019 (16 years old) she spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit and World Economic Forum where her passionate soundbites – like “How Dare You?” and “Our House is on Fire” went viral internationally.
She’s a controversial figure, well known for her blunt, straightforward, no bullshit style. Many governmental bodies, individuals and businesses dislike her and try to take her down because she’s hitting them square in their self-serving pocketbooks. It hasn’t worked and it won’t work. She speaks the truth, a truth we all need to hear.
Check out her Wikipedia for an inspiring (amazing) list of activism, accomplishments, impact, music (Fatboy Slim; Pearl Jam; the 1975, among others), documentary films and an epic list of awards including Time Magazine’s Person of the Year when she was 16, the youngest ever to win the highly influential recognition. She’s been nominated for several Nobel Peace Prize nominations and there’s no doubt she’ll get one someday soon.
There’s no stopping “The Greta Effect.” She’s a literal force of nature and an inspiration for us all.
