Greta Thunberg: "Those Answers Don't Exist Anymore. Because You Did Not Act In Time."

[ancianita]

Excerpts from her 2019 Speech to UK's Parliament

...Many people say that we don't have any solutions to the climate crisis.

And they are right. Because how could we? How do you "solve" the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced? How do you "solve" a war? How do you "solve" going to the moon for the first time? How do you "solve" inventing new inventions?

The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth.

"So how do we solve that?" you ask the schoolchildren striking for the climate.

And we say, "No one knows for sure. But we have to stop burning fossil fuels and restore nature and many other things that we many not have quite figured out yet."

Then you say, "That's not an answer!"

So we say, "We have to start treating the crisis like a crisis, and act even if we don't have all the solutions."

"That's still not an answer," you say.

Then we start talking about circular economy and rewilding nature and the need for a just transition. Then you don't understand what we are talking about.

We say that all those solutions needed are not known to anyone and therefore we must unite behind the science and find them together along the way.

But you do not listen to that. Because those answers are not for solving a crisis that most of you don't even fully understand. Or don't want to understand.

You don't listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before. Like now. And those answers don't exist anymore. Because you did not act in time.

Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.

Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfill something, we can do anything. And I'm sure that the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable; we can fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.

We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us and tell us that you really admire what we do.

We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.

[wasupaloopa]

1. Maybe stop building things out of wood. Use recycled material

to make boards. We have a boardwalk near us that is nearly a mile long made out of recycled material made into 2x4s. It is at Oso Flaco lake near Guadalupe, CA

[ancianita]

2. Yep. Small moves make big changes.

[Mike 03]

3. Nobel Peace Prize, please.

[chowder66]

4. K&R. She, and the other children, have inspired me to do more for the climate in my daily life. nt

[MasonDreams]

5. I heard that today may see the largest number of people on the streets in human history.

I'll try later myself, but where's our appreciation for All Gore, Jay Inslee, AOC, Greta, Greenpeace, and RAN?

[ancianita]

6. Let's hope. We need everyone. As I see it, the accolades come after we beat this crisis.

We need to keep adding to their numbers so big money and leaders will finally listen and act.

[smirkymonkey]

7. She is an amazing child.

Greta, I wish you all the luck in the world. I hope people will listen to you because you are wise beyond your years.