Tag: Greta Thunberg

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Activism

February 15, 2019 – school strikes…

Seven very long years ago, on this day, February 15, 2019,

“On Friday 15 February 2019, around 15,000 young people in towns and cities across the country walked out of school in protest at government inaction on the climate crisis. A month later, as part of a global strike, they did the same again – this time in more than three times their previous number.”

Whatever Happened to the UK Youth Climate Strikes? | Novara Media

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 411ppm. As of 2026 it is 428ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The broader context was that we’ve been expecting children to redeem our skanky adult asses for decades (or centuries).

The specific context was that the IPCC’s report had come out. Greta Thunberg was holding her school strikes in Stockholm. “Change” was in the air.

What I think we can learn from this is that without organisation, these things go up like a rocket and come down like a stick. They’re like a fist when you open your palm.

But we forget, we “hope” and, well, rinse and repeat…

What happened next: You could do worse than read this and weep –

Whatever Happened to the UK Youth Climate Strikes? | Novara Media

See also 

School climate strikes: what next for the latest generation of activists?

Extinction Rebellion says ‘we quit’ – why radical eco-activism has a short shelf life

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Also on this day: 

February 15, 1995 – Australian Financial Review editorial, gloating in the aftermath of the defeat of a small carbon tax proposal, groks Jevons Paradox

February 15, 2011 – Lenore Taylor’s truth bombs

February 15, 2013 – the carbon bubble, will it burst?

Categories
Activism

September 28, 2021 – Greta Thunberg and “blah blah blah”

Four years ago, on this day, September 28th 2021, Greta Thunberg gave her “blah blah blah” speech 

Greta Thunberg has excoriated global leaders over their promises to address the climate emergency, dismissing them as “blah, blah, blah”.

She quoted statements by Boris Johnson: “This is not some expensive, politically correct, green act of bunny hugging”, and Narendra Modi: “Fighting climate change calls for innovation, cooperation and willpower” but said the science did not lie.

Carbon emissions are on track to rise by 16% by 2030, according to the UN, rather than fall by half, which is the cut needed to keep global heating under the internationally agreed limit of 1.5C.

“Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah,” she said in a speech to the Youth4Climate summit in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. “This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.”

‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg lambasts leaders over climate crisis | Climate crisis | The Guardian

And here’s a video

‘Blah Blah Blah’: Greta Thunberg Dismisses World Leaders’ Climate Rhetoric

Kayfabe, innit?

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 416ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.

The broader context was that Thunberg’s “school strikes” had started in late 2018, and caught the public imagination.

The specific context was the “world saving” Glasgow COP was about to happen, and the bullshit and hopium levels were rising to a dangerous level.

What I think we can learn from this is that “blah blah blah” is a pretty good soundbite. Greta’s got game.

What happened next – we kept blah blah blahing.  Greta has added Palestine to her short list of causes, to her credit.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

References

Xxx

Also on this day: 

September 28, 1977 – John Mason being an idiot again. – All Our Yesterdays

September 28, 1997 – Australian denialist spouting tosh to his US mates.

September 28, 2000 – Liberal MP goes full cooker on Kyoto as threat to sovereignty.

September 28, 2007 – Bush invokes “technology” to fix climate. Like morons everywhere.

September 28, 2008 – “Wake Up Freak Out” posted online

Categories
Activism

August 20, 2018 – Greta Thunberg’s first protest

Five years ago, on this day, August 20, 2018, Greta Thunberg did her first school strike.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 408ppm. As of 2023 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was Greta Thunberg was the daughter of a famous Swedish opera singer and her very supportive dad. She had been in severe emotional mental distress because of climate change, not eating/agoraphobic etc. You can read about it in her book and I recommend you do.

It was a simple straightforward protest that has become mythology-sized and some people want to believe that she is the pawn of a globalist movement and everything is mediated and manipulated. And they find “proof” of this, to their own satisfaction. And on and on we go.

What I think we can learn from this is that the media latch on to to young people and ‘odd’ “people as the “stars” of a movement…

 Greta is very smart and very very funny.

What happened next

The climate movement went up like a rocket and has come down like a stick because it doesn’t know how to do anything other than marches and rallies and sleepovers.

There’s an impressive amount of Just Stop Oil action, but the broader movement doesn’t have a granular capacity… Oh well, too late now anyway.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Categories
Activism New Zealand

March 15, 2019 – New Zealand school strike launched, called off.

On this day in 2019, three years ago, inspired by Greta Thunberg, school students in New Zealand launched a school strike but had to basically call it off because of the Christchurch mosques massacres.

Thunberg had started her solitary school strikes in 2018 these as a tactic spread very quickly simultaneously with the rise of Extinction Rebellion. 

What’s interesting about the Christchurch killer’s manifesto is it incorporates standard eco-fascist tropes into his justification for the mass murders that he committed

What happened next?

The school strikes came and went . XR rose and fell – up like a rocket down like a stick.

And here we are. 

For the avoidance of confusion – I am not saying do nothing. I’m saying do something different or do the same thing differently. But there’s this utter utter unwillingness to innovate, and a comfort in just keeping on bleating out renditions of “Beasts of England”