Greta Thunberg on the environment and being on the Autism spectrum

monica More to the point what are you doing about it?

We can all do what we can at an individual level, but it is governments and global corporations who will make the difference that will save the world.

It is only governments who can stop burning the vast swathes of forests that are the worlds lungs.

It is only governments who can rule against the use of fossil fuels and make it easier for renewables.

So much can only be done by power, might and muscle.

I get really frustrated by the lack of any rationale to the current protests.

I do not mean that I do not think that climate change is being treated seriously enough, but that the protests are great for, dare I say it, virtue signalling,but very low on practical ideas.

Why not a campaign from children to show how they are taking action to help reduce energy use. They could look around their schools to see what could be done, remember to turn lights off, doors kept shut, heating controlled so that the school is not kept too warm, demand all bulbs be low energy, walk to school, cycle rather than catch a bus, where both these moves would be practical, hector their parents to be more energy conscious. All this has been very effective in improving recycling rates, why not energy use.

The future lies not in going electric (how will we make all the extra electricity? With oil, gas?). Wind energy is fine, on a good windy day it can provide a third of our energy, Today, a windy day, it is producing almost 20% of our energy. This time yesterday, with no wind, it was down to 3%.

What we have got to find is ways to reduce energy use so that demand falls. It shouldn't be that difficult

Certainly there are plenty of simple housekeeping actions that can save energy and a child could do themselves (like shutting curtains once it gets dark, or sticking foil behind radiators on outside walls.

Greta Thunberg and her supporters talk about it being their lives at stake - and I agree. So what are they doing about it?

Paddyann
How is it our generation that have almost destroyed this world?
I was born in a coal mining village, apart from the pollution caused by this mining, every house was coal fired and nearly every cooker was run on coal gas. Vehicles pumped lead into the atmosphere, waterways were polluted to hell.
Travel to a northern town and the mills were spewing out smoke, chemical works were poisoning the air and we as children were exposed to this throughout our childhood and worse. Did we cause this, or did we bring in the clean air act?
Did we develop lead free fuel for cars, did we get rid of coal gas for cleaner forms of gas (North sea and Omani).
Did we introduce vast swathes of wind farms, and promote solar panels? I could go on.
I know most of my age are the ones who go around litter picking, they have recycled for years, wear clothes until they are worn, eat out of date food and only replace as needed. They are the ones most likely to repair and reuse.
How are we to blame?

Those critical of the young are not only on the wrong side of history, but on the wrong side of the present and on the wrong side of science

The are quite simply

Wrong

we should be getting behind these young people and be very proud of them instead of sniping at the effort put into it by Greta.Our generation are the people who have almost destroyed this world maybe we need to take that into account before dismissing Greta and others like her as being "obsessed" or just getting above their station.I'm on the side of the youth ,an awful lot of them are better informed than many on here .They're doing a good job keeping this issue on our screens .

Just watching channel 4 news.

Wow! just wow!

Some people on here are trying to justify their distain of the message with fake concern about this young woman. What you mean is she should shut up and plaster on the make up and become self obsessed like a “normal teenager”. Malala won the Nobel prize at 16 for speaking out on the importance of girls’ education maybe she should have shut up too.

Thank you Doodle; I take each day as it comes. If we have a good day then I am grateful, if it's bad we soldier on.
What worries me about Greta is that if she thinks she has 'failed' in her mission then what? Most of us would get up and start over but a lot of people with ASD are quite fragile emotionally.
I also agree with eazybee. Being so sure that there is only one answer is not helpful, no room for compromise, little steps, insisting that it's my way or the highway so to speak. I feel that the age of the dictator is here again.

We are not here to negotiate. There is no halfway house between policies that match what the science tells us, and policies that don't. If governments don't maximise their efforts to protect our life support systems, we will combine to vote them out of office.

This isn't bullying,of course because we know we are right, and don't we love telling people what is good for them.

I have to say I know nothing about Autism, so really cannot comment. I am just concerned about a girl who is flavour of the month right now, missing out on teen years and what happens to her when the Media and the politicians have no further use for her, she may as one poster said have a bright future academically but emotionally? Academia is just one part of life, it's not the be all and end all. I admire her for what she is trying to do, but worried for her also. I guess no one sees what I mean.

lois so sorry for you and your family. Autism is not an easy thing to live with. I hope your son’s treatment and counselling helps him.

And that's fine if you want to go along with it. I would like to see a cleaner world, I am just concerned that she is obsessed and that is not good. People who are obsessed don't display good judgement in many cases. And I am sick of people with autism being held up in some pots as being awful and then on the other hand we have the stereotype of ' the mad professor' who knows exactly what is going on.

No we are going along with it because of the enormous amount of scientific evidence stacking up on a daily basis.

Sorry but I don't see that having high functioning autism is an advantage for evolution. My son has gone through a huge amount of emotional pain by having this condition; he doesn't fit in anywhere. He has been badly bullied for the whole of his life and now has anxiety/depression and that has resulted in a need for constant counselling/treatment. Perhaps some are lucky but I would not say that having autism is wonderful. FWIW my husband also has the condition ( as well as other family members) and quite frankly it has not enhanced any of their lives.

How many times do posters on this site say ' Are you sure he isn't autistic ' the minute a man behaves badly or seems to be emotionally out of kilter ? But just because a young woman is telling us all how to behave we are all supposed to go along with it because she has autism?

My son, an environmental scientist, totally backs what Extinction Rebellion is fighting for.

The name calling and abuse I referred to was not about her (I have no idea if she has been bullied or not) but about the average autistic child in school trying to get an education faced with constant and bullying from other children.
lois he may well have a point.

I don't think anyone could dispute her message. I think her condition helps her with clarity of thought and dedication. There is usually an evolutionary reason, by that I mean an advantage, for our diversity as individuals and I see this in her for our human species.

My adult son has high functioning autism and he has no time for her at all! In his opinion she is obsessed as many Aspies are and is unwilling to listen to any other points of view. He feels that because she has autism and becomes obsessed by a topic/cause then she is incapable of taking on board any other points of view/evidence to the contrary and therefore is just bullying people into her way of thinking.

Not sure what others think about that but that is how he sees it!

The girl has certainly not lacked education. Her knowledge about climate change and her articulate use of English is something that many children in the U.K. would struggle to emulate.

She will almost certainly go into academia. no problem for her future

So its fine Doodle to have no education? Do you not think the name calling and abuse will have nothing to do with Aspergers but everything to do with her being thrust into the limelight like this? What happens to this girl when the limelight fades, as it will?

Not all Autistic children have normal teenage years. At least if she’s not in school she may miss out on the bullying, name calling and abuse.

This girl is being paraded about and exploited. Im sorry, but if it were my daughter Id want her in school getting an education. From what I observe, she has been thrust into the limelight and sadly it wont do her any favours. I think she will end up lonely as she will encounter problems with being away from school for so long. I think there will be some resentment from her peers. What are her parents thinking? Of course the politicians are happy to parade about with her, they all have their own agendas. Im actually very concerned that this girl is missing out on her normal teenage years.

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GeorgeMonbiot
@GeorgeMonbiot
I've returned from the Oxford #ClimateStrike rally emboldened and delighted, inspired both by the young people who lead and organise the strike, and by the older people who now stand in solidarity with them.

We are not here to negotiate. There is no halfway house between policies that match what the science tells us, and policies that don't. If governments don't maximise their efforts to protect our life support systems, we will combine to vote them out of office

How impressive today is with all the young throughout the world fighting to save the planet.

Greta Thunberg has done good?

Bother, here's a better link

www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/0e9e80de-62cb-4782-a26f-1cd480d28f26

Heading - Five Teens Who Changed the World