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Greta's Excellent Adventure

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The young Norwegian teen is taking America by storm as she circumnavigates the country.  In Iowa, she joined an impromptu climate strike led by a local teen, Massimo Biggers, who never bargained for his surprise guest and such a big turnout.  Her primary aim is to reach teens in the country, although she has been feted by adults as well.  Arnold Schwarzenegger offered her one of his electric cars for the trip up to Canada, where she met Prime Minister Trudeau, and was quite stern with him as to what more he can do to battle climate change.  The impact has been far and wide, drawing thinly veiled rebukes from Trump and Putin, with her giving them shade in return.

Greta began this adventure by taking a solar and wind powered racing yacht to New York, as she refused to take an airplane because of the enormous carbon emissions the airline industry produces each year.  She gave a fiery speech at the UN, castigating the general assembly for not doing enough to battle climate change.  The Donald briefly took time out from his religious freedom summit to slump into a seat and listen to part of that speech, essentially conceding that she got the best him at the UNGA, as they call it.  Since then she has been all over the continent, determined to take in as much of America as she can and spur other teens to action.

The biggest criticism against her is that she is being manipulated by others in pushing a climate change agenda that doesn't suit the interests of powerful leaders like Trump and Putin.  That may be, but these leaders don't listen to scientists either. 

The US and Canada are the two largest carbon emitters in the world.  Russia isn't far behind.  Trudeau has made tentative steps toward addressing the issue, but has much more to do.  Trump has rolled back environmental initiatives, and Putin hasn't bothered with the issue at all in his 20 years as Russia's strong man.  This despite growing concern from the scientists that we have reached a tipping point and that we have to act immediately.

Kids have taken up the cause because their future depends on it.  This is similar to the Parkland students who stood up against the firearms industry in America.  They suffered a torrent of abuse in the conservative media as a result.  So far, Fox and its friends have been relatively tame with Greta, quickly purging those who speak out too harshly against her.  But, the message is clear, Greta should go back to Norway as soon as she finishes her vacation, and let the adults get back to business.

What is hard to fathom is why more countries don't embrace alternative energy and push electric vehicles.  Solar and wind energy already outpace coal in producing jobs.  This hasn't gone ignored by coal companies, which themselves have considered turning their open-pit mines into massive solar farms.  China has become the leading producer of solar panels in the world, not only to mitigate its energy shortfall but to hopefully corner the future market.  Electric cars are the rage everywhere, especially in Norway, which is an oil-rich country.  We stand on the precipice of a major change in the energy sector, but remain cautious in moving forward because of the leverage oil, gas and coal companies have over foreign governments.

It is only a matter of time before this transformation takes place as solar, wind and geothermal energies are cheaper than ever, and already proving much more lucrative than oil and gas.  Coal is being phased out in Europe, and suffering greatly in the US and Canada.  Still, it doesn't hurt to be reminded by our children that the time is now!

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