Thunberg set sail on Wednesday on her two-week journey aboard the 18-meter (59-feet) elite racing yacht, the Malizia II, with two professional skippers, her dad, and a documentary filmmaker. The Malizia uses solar panels to power its underwater turbines.
In a speech before she set sail, Greta said she was dedicated “to do everything I can” to tackle climate change which was a “very big problem.” Addressing whether her message is changing people’s minds, she said: “even if it’s not enough, and not fast enough, that’s something, it’s not for nothing.”
“No, I’m not that special,” she said, responding to a question on whether she could influence U.S. President Donald Trump on climate change, reports CBC Canada. “I’m not that special. I can’t convince everyone,” she said. “I’m just going to do what I want to do and what will have the most impact.”
Greta Thunberg is a media phenomenon
In an interview in February with NBC News, Greta said her new-found status as a climate activist has taken her by surprise. “I don’t think anyone saw this coming, least of all me,” said Thunberg, who has appeared on the covers of newspapers and magazines, the latest being GQ.
The teenager’s current role as a climate activist began in 2018 and marks a dramatic shift from the crippling depression she fell into around the age of 11 that left her not eating much or speaking. Greta is exceptionally bright. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with Asperger’s.
Having learned about the impacts of climate change at the age of eight, Greta turned her thoughts and energy toward the environment and climate change. And when Greta found she had a purpose, she finally got out of her depression, saying, “it is just a waste of time feeling this way because I can do so much good with my life. I am trying to do that still now.”
The movement started after Greta and her peers heard about the Parkland School shootings in Florida. The students were impressed with the students’ walk out of classes in protest of the lack of action on gun control after the shooting that left 17 people dead in February 2018.
Thunberg began skipping class to sit outside Sweden’s Parliament, holding placards saying climate change had reached a crisis point. This one act on her part started a movement that has reached around the globe and morphed into mass weekly classroom walkouts that halted traffic in cities from London to Melbourne, Australia.
“I don’t see myself as a role model — it’s a position I didn’t aspire to being,” Thunberg said. “I’ve never been normal. I’ve never had, like, close friends to hang out with in my spare time. I always just been home, by myself, reading or whatever. So I don’t know how a normal teenager behaves.”
Miss Thunberg can certainly be forgiven for not knowing how a normal teenager behaves. Young people, and oldsters like this journalist, are inspired by her activism and dedication to a cause that has evolved into an emergency of gigantic proportions. Without a doubt, Greta will get a very warm welcome from her many supporters in the U.S.
