Awareness
This site quickly turned into reddit-style bandwagoning and downvoting stuff you disagree with, huh
The issue of climate change is routinely one of the most important issues for young people, so perhaps she played a role in that.
The question itself is pretty useless because how could we possibly quantify a single activist’s contribution to a global issue?
That’s simple. We just locate the nearest parallel universe where she doesn’t exist and compare the future series of climate data from our universe to that one.
Interdimensional science is going to revolutionize the fields of sociology and economics.
Awareness is oversimplifying it but it’s a necessary first step for any major movement/revolution. What can one hope to achieve if people won’t acknowledge the problem? Greta highlighted the importance of climate change to many people around the world, and I’m sure she’s a role model to many as well. Many more people are plant based/vegan now compared to 5 years ago. Companies are profit driven so every little change from people makes a difference. It’s the power of awareness that can push people to change for their new found beliefs.
We had awareness in the 70’s but we had action then too. We had the clean-air act passed, the clean water act, the EPA created and I’m sure around the same time coutnry’s in the rest of the world also did similar things. Spreading “awareness” today is just self-aggrandizing and benefits no-one but yourself as the figurehead.
I think I see your point, awareness alone might be just as you asked, but for some she also gave the courage to act on that awareness, to commit themselves to take steps towards progress and away from practices that harm an entire planet while benefiting very few, by supporting public policies focusing on such and raising more awareness. I’ve certainly benefited from having a personal vehicle and modern industry but those that profit immensely from them should be held responsible with proper regulation and responsibility to cleaning up messes and compensating the lives and environments ruined as a result. Too many weak and corrupt individuals have again and again taken the attractive “deal with the devil” to look the other way in order to secure something they desire. We are all capable of corruption and we are all capable of integrity. I have hope for the future because of people inspiring me like, civil rights leaders; MLK and Bernie Sanders, abolitionists; Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, and finally who I see as everyday people like; Greta Thunberg and Daryl Davis.
At bare minimum its to show that there are still groups willing to oppose mass polluters in the hopes that at some point someone with power will make the right call and save the planet.
Is it naive? Quite a bit, but sad complacency isn’t helping much either. As many of these groups are quite young many including Greta may also go into actual politics later in life, then these past incidents serve as proof of authenticity, similar to the pic of Bernie Sanders getting carried away.
Think it was very brave of her to stand up and say that, to say she wants the right to life, to not be forced to inherit a dead planet, and that’s a very bold and self aware statement for a teenager to make. It’s one that obviously made a lot of people uncomfortable because it shoves what we’ve all been complacent in in our faces. To have a child tell us to our faces that we’re all responsible for killing the planet (and especially those in charge) and that it’s their lives we’ve ruined - well that takes a lot of guts. (and it needs to be said)
