The US Time magazine recently announced the 2019 "Person of the Year" and 16-year-old Swedish environmental girl Greta Thunberg was elected.

The US Time magazine recently announced the 2019 "Person of the Year" and the 16-year-old Swedish environmental girl Greta Thunberg was elected.

Time magazine has chosen Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate crisis activist, as Person of the Year.

《Time magazine introduced that Greta Thunberg has launched a series of "strikes" campaigns to call on adults to fight climate change in August 2018. Now the campaign has aroused 4 million people participating around the world, thus setting off the largest environmental demonstration in "human history".

Greta Tombery also won international attention for criticizing leaders at the United Nations.

Tunberg criticized world leaders in his speech in the United Nations

Time magazine commented:

For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year.

She sounded the alarm to see the predatory relationship between human beings and their only homeland. She brought a voice beyond background and borders to the fragmented world. She showed us what the world will become under the leadership of a new generation. Therefore, Greta Tombery is the "People of the Year" of Time magazine in 2019.

Who is Greta Tumbery?

16-year-old Swedish girl Greta Tumbery was born in a family of performing arts. Her mother is an opera singer, her father is an actor, and her grandfather is an actor and director.

According to the Guardian, Greta first heard of the word "climate change" when he was 8 years old. At that time, she was shocked by the fact that adults did not take this seriously.

At about the age of eight, when she first learned about climate change, she was shocked that adults did not appear to be taking the issue seriously.

After this, she became very depressed. The Guardian reported that adults' indifference to climate change may be a significant factor that affects her mood.

In Greta's view, Asperger's syndrome is not a disease, but her "superpower" and she wrote it in her social media introduction.

In order to pay attention to climate change, she persuaded her parents to change their lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions, such as not eating meat or taking planes.

She discovered she had remarkable powers of persuasion, and her mother gave up flying, which had a severe impact on her career. Her father became a vegetable.

In the summer of 2018, Greta received widespread attention for calling for a "climate strike".

At that time, she decided not to go to school and held a sign at the gate of the Swedish parliament every day to call for a "climate strike" until the Swedish government conscientiously implements the Paris Agreement.

Thunberg first became known for her activity in August 2018 when, at age 15, she began spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on global warming by holding up a sign saying (in Swedish) "School strike for the climate".

According to Time magazine, not long after, Greta's actions spread to many countries such as Europe and North America, and young people in many places organized the "Friday for Future" climate strike parade.

Since then, her singular action has spread into an international climate movement, organized by young people around the world.

In August 2019, the famous Greta was invited to attend the UN Climate Action Summit held in New York in September.

In order to show his environmental stance, Greta refused to take a plane.

According to French 24-hour TV, she rode a rowing equipped with solar equipment and went to the United States from Plymouth, England after two weeks of sea voyage.

The Malizia II racing yacht left Plymouth in southern England on August 14 for a two-week voyage in order to enable the Swedish teen to attend a UN summit on zero emissions in September in New York.

But her environmental journey, which claims to be "zero emissions", has also been questioned by many people, believing that she is not really environmentalism, but just a show.

Because, in order to retrieve the row she was riding, the staff had to fly from Europe to New York and then fly back, causing greater pollution and waste of resources.

Several people would fly into New York to help take the yacht back to Europe.

At the UN Climate Action Summit (2019 UN Climate Action Summit), she criedly criticized global leaders for inaction on climate change, accusing them of stealing her childhood and dreams with empty excuses, and asked, "How dare you do this!"

speech excerpt

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. We'll be watching You. You stole my dreams and childhood with empty words. We will stare at you.

People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapse. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! People are suffering, dying, and the entire ecosystem is collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and you are talking only about fairy tales about money and endless economic growth.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you. Everyone's eyes are looking at you in the future. If you choose to let us down, I will say: We will never forgive you.

Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg (2nd from right) speaks as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (3rd from left) and other young climate activist listen at the start of the United Nations Youth Climate Summit which is taking place in advance of the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations at United Nations Headquarters in New York, US, on Sept 21, 2019. [Photo/IC]

Greta's speech at the United Nations has won praise from politicians and media in many countries, but there are also many criticisms.

In October this year, Russian President Putin said at the Energy Week energy forum held in Moscow that she was very kind girl and very sincerity, but she was being manipulated to serve others' interests.

Putin criticized her for being very ignorant because the modern world is complex. What should people living in Africa and many Asian countries do if they want to live the same life as the Swedish people? Putin criticalised her as "poorly informed": "No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and people in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden."

On December 3, she traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Spain to attend the 25th UN Climate Change Conference. At the meeting, she once again criticized the world's leaders for not doing enough to stop the ecological crisis.

She said on the forum that the strikes in the past year have been ineffective and climate change is still ignored by those in power.

"We have been striking for over a year, and basically nothing has happened," she told activists at the talks. "The climate crisis is still being ignored by those in power, and we cannot go on like this."

In the past year, Greta has traveled to many European and American countries, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European and American countries, calling on people to participate in climate parades and pay attention to climate change.

Foreign media: Too much praise for character

"Time magazine" rated Greta Tumbery as the Person of the Year also caused some controversy.

Although many Western politicians praise this loudly, such as former US Secretary of State Hillary:

I can't think of a person of the year who is more suitable than Greta Tombelli. I am very grateful for everything she has done to improve environmental awareness, and also for her willingness to tell the cruel and inspiring truth. Just like what she said today: "Changes are coming, whether you like them or not."

But there are also media who hold different opinions.

The Independent commented bluntly for criticizing Times’ tendency to advocate character design and despise specific actions when choosing “person of the year”.

Greta Thunberg is selected as Time magazine's Person of the Year and will not stop the climate crisis: such an award will not make us act because of lamenting a dying earth, but will numb us thinking things are moving faster and in a better direction

Comment:

This transformation of Thunberg by publications like Time from activist to influencer has gone a long way in voiding her politics, instead putting focus on her personality.Drawing from media like Time magazine, Tombelli transformed from an activist to an internet celebrity, in which her political demands became empty, and her focus shifted more to her personality.

comments also believe that people are immersed in cheering for a young environmentalist, but forget to save the earth with more practical actions.

Rather than grief for a dying planet moving us to act, cheer at a young climate warrior acts as an opiate.

opiate /ˈəʊpiət/: Opium preparation; anesthetic

"Russia Today" criticism is even sharper, believing that this reflects the deep social problems in the Western world, and adults would rather listen to their children than think and act on their own.

Greta Tombery Win Times Person of the Year: This is a condition in this morbid and confused world, where adults haile children as leaders

Throughout the Western world the authority of adult is in crisis. Adulthood is increasingly associated with negative attributes and grow ups feel less and less able to provide guidance to young people. The flip side of the erasion of adult authority is the tendency to look to young people for solutions and answers. That is why Western society’s depreciation of adulthood coexists with administrative of the supposed wisdom of children. Adults are increasingly given negative attributes, and adults are increasingly unable to guide young people. The opposite of this situation is that society is increasingly inclined to find answers and solutions to young people. This is why Western society is sings the wisdom of so-called children while defaming adults.

Editor: Tang Xiaomin Zuo Zhuo

Source: Time CNN Independent Newspaper RT Guardian Wikipedia etc

Source: China Daily