How Dare Us

Disclaimer: If you haven't heard Greata Thunberg's address to the UN climate summit please do so here: https://youtu.be/-Gq5Gk_qZqg

Greta Thunberg: activist, influential speaker, child. Recently named one of the world’s most influential teens by TIME magazine due to her lead-by-example philosophy. What began as a one-person school strike lead by Thunberg in Stockholm, Sweden has grown to a worldwide movement protesting for action on climate change (1). Thunberg has even been vetted by former president Barack Obama as “one of our planets greatest advocates." However, conservative commentators on television and social media are not so moved (2). As though the detrimental effects of climate change weren’t troubling enough, Thunberg’s address and its lack of cohesiveness paints an even more troubling picture of society. It seems we have entered an era of blue versus red, or you versus them.

The argument presented in Thunberg’s speech is that as individuals we cannot do much to save the world from climate change disaster while corporations and governments focus on “eternal economic growth” rather than environmental sustainability. While it is true that our individual actions alone aren’t enough, refocusing efforts to another portion of the problem wont be either. The idea of protesting for change as opposed to implementing change seems to be an attempt to switch our concentration from personal responsibility to that of our governments and corporations. When in reality, the responsibility for enacting environmental reform is equally on corporations, consumers, and legislators alike. The fact of the matter is capitalistic incentives and profits are and always have been the primary driver in corporate America; therefore the consumer is more influential than ever in pushing corporations towards a more sustainable, environmentally friendly, direction. Therefore, as consumers we have the power to shift the paradigm of consciousness by utilizing our spending power to purchase goods and services that reduce our carbon footprint , simultaneously demanding corporations and governments follow suit and holding them accountable when they don’t by means of boycotts or petitions (3). Protests and actions must go hand in hand. No longer can we accept thoughts and prayers, only policy and change.

As relayed by Thunberg, the science behind climate change and its effects has been clearly presented to us for more than thirty years. Meaning the decision to enact change has been up to society as a whole for more than thirty years, yet we have collectively sat on the sidelines waiting for someone else, anyone else, to enact the change we all seek. We choose to continually contribute to our own demise for what purpose? To maintain an unsustainable lifestyle forced up on us? Or is it due to an unconscious obedience to unrealistic political ideologies? Why do we place our future in the hands of entities that do not have our best interests in mind? The answer is as unclear to me as it is unique to each individual. What is clear is that society tends to place propaganda and ideologies over fact and reason.

It seems to me we all lack the maturity necessary to hold ourselves accountable as much as corporations and governments for the lack of respect we pay our earth, our home. How dare us. If we continue to believe that as individuals we do not have the power to make a change and consequently choose to do nothing. How dare us. If we continue to act as if our cars, decisions, daily purchases, fast food, fast fashion, use of plastic, and more don’t have as much of an effect on our planet and future as the entities promoting them. How dare us. How dare we continue to ignore fact and reason allowing business to go as usual for so long. How dare we continue to rest under the surface of consciousness. Where are we to look for hope if it’s not ourselves? This is our future at stake and we all need to begin taking responsibility for our own actions before we can hold others accountable for theirs. Change begins from within your own span of influence; say it with me, “We cannot change the past but we can change our habits”.

1 T.E.D. (n.d.). Great Thunberg climate activist. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/speakers/greta_thunberg

2 Zraick, Karen. (September 25, 2019). Greta Thunberg, after pointed U.N. speech, faces attacks from the right. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/climate/greta-thunberg-un.html

3 Novak, Jake. (September 24, 2019) How 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s rise could backfire on environmentalists. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/24/how-greta-thunbergs-rise-could-backfire-on- environmentalists.html