Greta Thunberg Wins TIME’s Person of the Year
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg was named TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year. For this award, she was up against “Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, President Donald Trump, the whistleblower that revealed Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and the Hong Kong protesters,” according to Business Insider. However, they were outshined and outperformed by a sixteen-year-old girl with Asperger’s who led a youth movement around the world calling upon people step up and fight for our planet. What sets Thunberg apart was that out of the contenders her goal is not to be political. Hergoal is clearly to create a healthier planet for all.
She originally started out by protesting outside of the Swedish Parliament building and has only expanded her movement from there, reaching places from the U.S. to Lebanon. She has met with many influential people and world leaders like “Christine Lagarde, the Pope and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Al Gore, President Barack Obama and appeared on Ellen,” as reported by TIME.
When asked about speaking with President Trump on Ellen, Thunberg simply stated “I think it would be a waste of time.” I agree with her that it would be a waste of time because President Trump has already proven that he is not willing to look at the science behind climate change. Thunberg has spoken in front of the United Nations and many other summits, and quite frankly she has much better things to do. The President clearly dislikes Thunberg and is a sore loser because after Thunberg won he tweeted, “Greta must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Thunberg responded by changing her Twitter bio to “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.” Shortly after this, Thunberg then announced that she would be taking a break and stepping back from the spotlight for a time.
Thunberg is the perfect example of how teenagers can create change for the world. Whether a change in lifestyle, environmental activism or both, we should join the movement to create a safe planet.