Editorial: Greta’s rage and us

Some may react to the enraged demeanour and excessive emotional charge that she exudes but 16-year-old Greta Thunberg has managed to put on the agenda of millions of people the issue of environmental protection.

Often with extreme positions such as reversing development and with a salvational tone she can irk people at times but the essence is that she managed to sensitise a large segment of the younger generation to the struggle to save the planet.

Whether we agree with Greta or not, climate change is a real threat faced by ever more people in every corner of the planet.

We cannot pretend not to see the repercussions and to believe it does not concern us.

There have been certain efforts to check the repercussions but they have obviously been inadequate.

The responsibilities of political leaders and especially those of superpowers who refuse to acknowledge and accept the environmental changes are glaringly obvious.

Trump, Putin, and the Chinese have done almost nothing and they constantly undermine every international effort to take coordinated global measures.

Obviously, we cannot dramatically change our current way of life as Greta would have us do.

Nor can we indiscriminately condemn the previous generations for all the ills of the world.

Yet we can if we want make small or large sacrifices to limit the impact on the planet of untrammeled economic growth and the increasing use of catastrophic methods and practices in the name of fleeting profits.

The warning signs about the exhaustion of the planet have been around for some time. Tsunamis, enormous wildfires, typhoons, huge flooding, and humanitarian disasters have become part of our daily lives.

16-year-old Greta boldly and with youthful audacity and protest is reminding us of our responsibilities.

We should at least listen to her and not keep shutting our eyes to the coming threat.