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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2019 18:02:05 GMT
After a 15-day trek across the Atlantic Ocean, Thunberg looked exhausted. Still, the 16-year-old climate change activist knew she had to talk about the meaning and purpose of her unorthodox journey with supporters who greeted her on an overcast New York shoreline. Predictably, the tired, petite Swedish schoolgirl faltered, losing her train of thought briefly before apologising. "I'm sorry," she said, "my brain is not working correctly." The crowd applauded. Energised by the encouragement, Thunberg finished her short speech, where she urged the rest of us to "work together, despite our differences" to avert "the biggest crisis humanity has faced … because, otherwise, it might be too late. Let's not wait any longer. Let's do it now." For me, that distinctly human moment crystalised the appeal of Thunberg - a young woman who, distressed at the world's inexorable destruction, was moved to do something about it. Alone, if necessary. She disdains celebrity. She makes no claim to heroism. She rebuffs efforts to idolise her. She isn't calculating or preoccupied with fame or ego. There is no artifice about her. She speaks plainly, without affectation or embroidery. In words and deeds, Thunberg is the embodiment of philosopher Howard Zinn's admonition: "We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can transform the world." Of course, the marauding swarm of vitriolic right-wing climate-change deniers see Thunberg - not how the prophetic Zinn envisioned her - but as a tiny, pretentious zealot who threatens the existing order. Their order. Their comforts. Their traditional "way of life".
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Post by Admin on Sept 3, 2019 4:36:31 GMT
Greta Thunberg has spoken about her Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis after she was criticised over the condition, saying it makes her a “different”, but that she considers it a “superpower”. Thunberg, the public face of the school climate strike movement said on Twitter that before she started her climate action campaign she had “no energy, no friends and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder.” She said she had not been open about her diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum in order to “hide” behind it, but because she knew “many ignorant people still see it as an ‘illness’, or something negative”. “When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning!” she wrote, using the hashtag #aspiepower. While acknowledging that her diagnosis has limited her before, she said it “sometimes makes me a bit different from the norm” and she sees being different as a “superpower”.
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2019 23:30:28 GMT
Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who has shot to global fame for inspiring worldwide student strikes to promote an urgent response to climate change, took her mission to United States President Donald Trump’s doorstep on Friday with a protest in Washington, DC. Hundreds of mostly young people gathered across the street from the White House to meet her carrying signs that read "People or Profit?" and "Warming!", chanting "This is a crisis, act like it!" and "Business as usual is not enough". Jennifer Morash, a doctoral candidate in plant science, brought her daughter Adeline, aged nine, to the rally after getting permission from her school in neighbouring Maryland. "I just want to make sure we all have a happy future - and for people to take climate change seriously," Adeline said.
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Post by Admin on Sept 18, 2019 18:53:04 GMT
Greta Thunberg has told US politicians that they're not doing enough to combat climate change. "I know you are trying, but just not hard enough. Sorry," said the climate activist, who's inspired young people across the world to protest against the impact of global warming. She told the Senate climate task force in Washington DC to "save your praise". "Don't invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it," she said. The 16-year-old was one of several young activists from around the world invited to address the task force during two days of action and speeches. Their aim is to increase support among US lawmakers for the urgent action on climate change, which Greta and others are campaigning for. In some places, like Victoria in Australia, students and public workers are being actively encouraged to walk out of school and work. "We want our kids to be engaged in the world around them, so we don't think it's fair to criticise students for holding a peaceful protest about an issue as important as this," a government spokesman told The Age - a Melbourne-based daily newspaper.
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Post by Admin on Sept 18, 2019 21:09:24 GMT
An email to staff from Industrial Relations Victoria management said “a number” of Victorian public servants were expected to join the rally. It said they could apply for leave or seek “flexibility around hours” to attend the protest. “Departments and agencies should have regard to their operational requirements in considering applications for leave, to ensure an appropriate standard of service can be maintained,” it said. In a statement, Melbourne School Strike 4 Climate said tens of thousands of school students and workers were expected to join the protest. “On Friday we're striking to build the movement that we need to lead a path out of the climate crisis,” the statement said. The group said more than 100 Australian cities and towns were joining the strike. The Australian Education Union has endorsed the rally. Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said the union told members they should take leave or make other appropriate arrangements with their schools if they planned to attend the strike.
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