Greta Thunberg is now in the middle of the Atlantic, amid storms of criticism and ridicule. Meanwhile the Arctic is on fire and the Amazon Basin is being consumed. AnniversaryOne year ago, 20 August 2018, a Swedish 15 year old nobody had ever heard of did not go to school. Instead, carrying a crudely drawn placard and a few hand made leaflets, she sat outside the Reichstag, the Swedish parliament. Every day until the coming national elections Greta Thunberg sat there. Then after the elections she sat there every Friday. One year later, known – loved or hated – world wide, she is sailing to America on a yacht. NowSo this week I've been following in the world media this latest episode in the Greta story. I've read both praise and ridicule. In The Guardian on Monday (19 August) I read this selection of ridiculing criticisms collected by Julian Baggins: 'As Greta Thunberg sets sail across the Atlantic to the United Nations in New York, the backlash against her has been as vicious as it is has been inevitable. According to the Australian conservative climate-change denier Andrew Bolt, she is “deeply disturbed”, “freakishly influential” and “strange”. In a nasty, brutish and short tweet, the former Ukip funder, Arron Banks, simply said, “Freak yachting accidents do happen in August …” Controversialist columnist Brendan O’Neill wrote that there was “something chilling” about Thunberg, who “increasingly looks and sounds like a cult member”.' All this is classic argumentum ad hominem – argument against the person rather than against the case being presented. I think that indulging in this is equivalent to saying 'I've lost the argument.' Leading with your chin
Get behind the scienceWhatever one makes of the yacht trip, there is no doubt that Thunberg's example and her advocacy of the need for climate action has been hugely precipitous in awakening the world. Youth is alarmed and active. Leaders of all sorts now talk about climate change. It features on TV and radio news. Greta has brought issues out into the public. I've followed her story since I first heard about her last August. She has always said "It's not me. It's the science." I like her for that. And is the climate getting warmer? Well two areas of the world are afire as I write. Evidence can be seen – the arctic is ablazeAylin Woodward wrote in Australia's Business Insider this week, Wednesday August 21 The Arctic is known for its icy expanses, frozen tundra, and massive floating glaciers. Not blazing wildfires. But in the midst of a record-breaking summer, the Arctic is burning. Last month, megafires razed the northernmost parts of Russia and Greenland. In Alaska, meanwhile, 2.4 million acres of forest have burned this year. In June and July, plumes from the Swan Lake fire engulfed Anchorage. Amid the smoke on July 4, the city experienced its hottest day in recorded history: 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). These blazes were big enough to be seen from space: On July 24, colossal pillars of smoke were visible above Russia, Alaska, and Greenland simultaneously. As of today, parts of British Columbia, Canada and Alaska are still burning, while more than 13.5 million acres of Siberia are ablaze. In the Amazon tooLast evening I watched TV picures of thousands of wildfires burning in the Amazon. And this morning I received an email from Avaaz. Readers of this blog will know what Avaaz is – the biggest protest organisation in the world. Here's the first part of the email. Dear Friends We have never seen anything like this before! Right now, THOUSANDS of wildfires are burning down the Amazon, with black smoke plunging entire cities into darkness... The lungs of our planet are choking, but now Brazil’s far-right President Bolsonaro has come under massive pressure to act-- let’s use this moment to make sure he protects the forest, before it’s too late! Sign here and share with everyone you know. It's horrifying! Nearly half a BILLION trees have been lost in the Amazon in the past year. Right now, Amazon champions in Brazil's Congress are considering sweeping new protections, and indigenous groups are calling for international pressure to help save the forest. Let’s build a massive show of citizen support and stand up for the Amazon! Sign now: I read the rest of the letter then clicked the 'sign now ' and so my signature has gone to join more than a million and a half of others. Anyone can do it. Just go to the Avaaz link, (see below) find the Amazon section and click. HopeGlobal warming does seem to be making areas such as the Arctic and the Amazon more vunerable to devestating deforesting fires. And that deforestation is a worry in itself. Fewer trees. So I hope that Greta Thunberg and the huge numbers of young people around the world will be successful in perusading people in power to move thoughtfully yet quickly to effect manageable change. I hope publicity – good or bad – over her yacht trip to America will bring the climate emergency to the attention of people who have been reluctant to consider it. There is a world wide need to act. John McInnes Friday 23 August 2019 ########## References Avaaz Amazon petition Avaaz website home page Greta storm of abuse Greta attacks and the danger of sanctification Offer – particularly to readers outside New Zealand. If you would like to receive an email each time a new post is uploaded to this blog, please send an email, with 'free subscribe' in the subject line, to <[email protected]>. This will save you from having to calculate when 'after 4 pm New Zealand time' is in your local time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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