Amidst the growing voices warning of climate change, one voice in particular has stood out in the past few years. That voice is Greta Thunberg’s. Born in Stockholm, Sweden on January 3, 2003, this 18-year-old has become the global face of the climate change crises.
Greta first heard about climate change when she was 8 years old and was distressed that little was being done about it. She displayed symptoms of depression and by the age of 11 stopped talking and eating. She was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) during this time.
She began to think of the problem of climate change and how she could help solve it. In August 2018, at the age of 15, Greta began striking in front of the Swedish Parliament with a placard that read ‘school strike for climate’. Her small act snow-balled into the biggest climate change movement that the world has seen. Millions of children and activists around the world started striking during school hours in a bid to get their governments to listen to their message.
Greta has incorporated personal changes in her life that reduce her carbon imprint. She is vegan, has given up flying and advocates recycling and alternative energy sources. Her speeches have garnered worldwide interest in climate change. She spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 and to numerous political leaders and at public gatherings. Her influence globally has been described by newspapers as ‘the Greta Effect’.
She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times and was included in the Forbes list of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ in 2019.
She is also responsible for raising awareness about Asperger syndrome, which is now considered an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by abnormalities in social interactions (as in classic autism) but with normal intelligence and language development.
She is a living example of the adage, “Be the change you want to be”.
Picture Credit : Google
