The exploitation of Greta Thunberg

[mik]

It's publicity, as I said earlier she has more people engaged with what's happening than anyone has managed for a long time.

If 100 people decide to holiday here instead of flying somewhere on holiday does that offset the flights for her and the crew?

I didn’t realise she was flying home

The argument above sounds like the justification for the monarchy - cos they bring in more than it costs us, honest mate.

But I picked your subtle insinuation that she took down Thomas Cook. Good point.

[ZedLeg]

It's publicity, as I said earlier she has more people engaged with what's happening than anyone has managed for a long time.

If 100 people decide to holiday here instead of flying somewhere on holiday does that offset the flights for her and the crew?

Ah, so do as I say no as I do then. The perfect thing to do would have been a video address from he home country to the forum explaining that she felt it was the most environmentally friendly way of addressing them. That would have demonstrated understanding rather than a cynical publicity stunt.

I'm sat at home talking to people around the world today (just finished a 4 way conference with someone in Maidenhead, someone in Copenhagen and someone in India) and I rarely travel to meet them F2F, because it's just an inefficient waste of time and resources.

Also forgive me if I'm not just a bit sceptial over the whole carbon thing after being told by previous administrations to buy Diesel as it was better for the environment, only to now be berated becuase they are worse in other ways.

Now there is an element of truth in some of these things but I want to get past the over sensationalised, over emotional bullshit money grabbing side of thing and get down to hard facts.
If she'd started talking plastics (single use and longer term stuff too) and mentioned replacements like hemp based materials for single use plastic replacement (absorbs CO2 while growing too so win, win https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable ... ate-change) i'd be saying that girls done a bit of research and it's engaging me, because it sounds like a good idea.

She's not a scientist and addressing world leaders at the UN isn't the time to run a workshop on environmentally sound building materials.

She's raising awareness, it is emotional and a bit sensationalised but it's working.

6 months or a year from now, she'll be largely forgotten and doing her own thing but if half the people who were involved with the climate strikes last weekend are still trying to make a change then that's a positive step imo.

[ZedLeg]

It's publicity, as I said earlier she has more people engaged with what's happening than anyone has managed for a long time.

If 100 people decide to holiday here instead of flying somewhere on holiday does that offset the flights for her and the crew?

I didn’t realise she was flying home

The argument above sounds like the justification for the monarchy - cos they bring in more than it costs us, honest mate.

But I picked your subtle insinuation that she took down Thomas Cook. Good point.

I don't really care about the monarchy beyond thinking that no one should be allowed to hold such vast amounts of wealth and land .

[evostick]

If she doesn't scare you why such a pressing need to belittle her?

How can I belittle her?.

She means nothing to me however the only thing I've been a little moved by is some mild fleeting parental concern as I would when seeing any kid of that age looking quite so scared. The concern which I expressed in the thread title.

I get the feeling that she's not actually scared about the imminent destruction of the planet though. Looks to me like a juvenile whose ego has been encouraged to run riot and is having to deal with the harsh realities she is now confronted with (crowds/cameras etc.) and is finding it all terrifyingly exciting. Not good at that age.

It is a shame. There are undoubtedly many issues which need to be addressed in order for mankind (as we know it) to continue successfully living on this planet.

She's only adding to the madness imho. It's an unedifying spectacle, a political low blow and just more melodramatic headline bullshit that I'm confronted with on a daily basis.

Of course, you'll also see what you want to see.

[Gwaredd]

She is a sacrificial lamb being used to rally troops (our kids) for the future fight. Fantastic for the greater good (cue meme), terrible for her. She'll get a statue out of it though.

[V8Granite]

Blue Peter did a better job at making recycling a common thing and without making anyone who doesn’t fully jump on board out as an evil careless twat.

Dave!

[drcarlos]

It's publicity, as I said earlier she has more people engaged with what's happening than anyone has managed for a long time.

If 100 people decide to holiday here instead of flying somewhere on holiday does that offset the flights for her and the crew?

Ah, so do as I say no as I do then. The perfect thing to do would have been a video address from he home country to the forum explaining that she felt it was the most environmentally friendly way of addressing them. That would have demonstrated understanding rather than a cynical publicity stunt.

I'm sat at home talking to people around the world today (just finished a 4 way conference with someone in Maidenhead, someone in Copenhagen and someone in India) and I rarely travel to meet them F2F, because it's just an inefficient waste of time and resources.

Also forgive me if I'm not just a bit sceptial over the whole carbon thing after being told by previous administrations to buy Diesel as it was better for the environment, only to now be berated becuase they are worse in other ways.

Now there is an element of truth in some of these things but I want to get past the over sensationalised, over emotional bullshit money grabbing side of thing and get down to hard facts.
If she'd started talking plastics (single use and longer term stuff too) and mentioned replacements like hemp based materials for single use plastic replacement (absorbs CO2 while growing too so win, win https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable ... ate-change) i'd be saying that girls done a bit of research and it's engaging me, because it sounds like a good idea.

She's not a scientist and addressing world leaders at the UN isn't the time to run a workshop on environmentally sound building materials.

She's raising awareness, it is emotional and a bit sensationalised but it's working.

6 months or a year from now, she'll be largely forgotten and doing her own thing but if half the people who were involved with the climate strikes last weekend are still trying to make a change then that's a positive step imo.

It doesn't have to be sciencey and it shouldn't it should be, a high level view is the order of the day to those people. 3 problems, 3 slides and a set of bullets on each on the problems and potential solutions/actions. I dumb down my slide decks for people like this all the time it's not hard stuff. Power generation, single use plastics and Ocean acidification are 3 easy low hanging fruit. it's claimed she knows a lot about the subject but I haven't seen one video of her yet that shows she has a grasp of anything.
If she raises specific points it will not get lost in 6 months, people will remember the impassioned speech about using hemp based plastics for packaging and start to demand it, companies will want to be seen to help and it can have a tangible benefit on the whole planet.

I'm sure that her mother who is of the extinction rebellion type is pulling a lot of the strings in the background and scaring her half to death, this has probably now been picked up on by powerful people and there's picture doing the rounds where the same woman (not here mum) is seen to be coaching her at every event. It seems sad as she losing and has lost a lot of what should be a fun time in her life.

[IanF]

It also mutes the actual progress made this week at the UN.

“ The UK and Germany, for example, announced huge investments in tackling climate change across the world.

An alliance of powerful investors committed to making sure their money would only go to net carbon neutral businesses by 2050.

In his closing remarks, the United Nations secretary general highlighted other achievements - 77 countries committed to net carbon neutrality by 2050, as did 10 regions and more than 100 cities.

And 130 banks, or one third of the global banking sector, pledged to align themselves with the Paris agreement targets.

The list went on.

It wasn't perfect, and by his own admission, the secretary general admitted "we aren't there yet", not least because big polluters like America and Japan aren't doing anywhere near enough.

But the UN climate action summit was an example of progress - dull, grinding, messy, imperfect progress.

Meaningful collective action never happens in a flash, or because someone starts yelling.

The painstaking work of consensus building and change may not be on a scale commensurate with the magnitude of the problem, yet, but amid the protests and the Greta speech it might have been easy to ignore what actually has been achieved.”

Nabbed from Sky. https://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-i- ... h-11818204

[Marv]

Blue Peter did a better job at making recycling a common thing and without making anyone who doesn’t fully jump on board out as an evil careless twat.

Dave!

[Beany]

I nearly did this moan. Her various faces of anger outrage etc yesterday were truly horrifying and detracted from her mission to save the planet.

Also being lectured by children doesn't really work that well.

So sixteen year olds are children.

So how do you stack that against this?

Ok so if you shag a female in the uk its 16 for a long time - thats the point. Whether they are forced into it is another conversation.

Yeah, but that whole other conversation is the entire story.

Plenty of girls / young women know what they are doing and are dazzled by the glitz of money / drugs. Has always been the case.

I'm....confused.

[Broccers]

16 year old not an adult. Don't be confused sweetheart.

[V8Granite]

Blue Peter did a better job at making recycling a common thing and without making anyone who doesn’t fully jump on board out as an evil careless twat.

Dave!

Anthea Turner single handedly stopped millions of margarine tubs being sent to landfill.

Dave!

[ZedLeg]

For at least 3 weeks until your mum got sick of the half finished pile of rubbish sitting on the table .

[Richard]

I’m glad for what she’s doing

Exploited? Maybe a bit?

But it’s for good. And she’s behind it too.

Hopefully things will change.

[mik]

Nothing wrong with the desire, but the threats of “we are watching you” and crap like “you have stolen my childhood” and everything being unacceptable - to then jump on a plane and fly back across the Atlantic. Hmmm. Surely she is part of her own problem then? How dare she?

[dinny_g]

I think there's a degree of over exposure now which is weakening the impact of her message which is critical and needs to be heard.

The boat thing to America was never about saving carbon, individually, on that trip. It was more about trying to get people to think about things, such as Air Travel and it's impacts. Had she sat in her room on a Video Conference and spoke about this and that, the impact would not have been the same.

But now, with over exposure, stuff like the "Two Crew who had to fly to New York to bring the boat back" is being thrown at her and it will get worse.

But overall yes, she's being exploited to an unbelievable degree.

[Beany]

Nothing wrong with the desire, but the threats of “we are watching you” and crap like “you have stolen my childhood” and everything being unacceptable - to then jump on a plane and fly back across the Atlantic. Hmmm. Surely she is part of her own problem then? How dare she?

participatesociety.jpeg (73.34 KiB) Viewed 3614 times

[Beany]

I, of course, am immune to this from a climate change/ecological standpoint as I choose not* to have children, thus offsetting literally almost anything I could reasonably choose to do from an emissions and waste standpoint.

*(am too fat, ugly and unlikeable)

[drcarlos]

IHad she sat in her room on a Video Conference and spoke about this and that, the impact would not have ben the same.

She has already reached the young already hence the strikes and days of action etc. All she suceeded in doing was getting a lot of the older generation (the people shes seemed to be trying to reach) backs up with what basically amounts to virtue signalling and moral grandstanding, because most have seen straight through the appearance to the fact she was part of a staged carbon positive publicity stunt.
We at the end of the day will have to pay for any initiatives. She'll be fine as she doesn't pay for anything and her parents are rich and can most likely afford it, maybe Corbyn and Jones can appropriate all of her families wealth to pay for these initiatives? She'll probably change her tune a bit when shes crammed into a single bedroom apartment and her parents can't afford to put the heating on in the middle of winter.

[dinny_g]