For way too long the politicians and people in power have got away with not doing anything at all to fight the climate crisis and ecological crisis.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the inaction of those in power regarding climate and ecological crises.
Greta Thunberg emphasizes the urgency of addressing the climate and ecological crises and critiques politicians and leaders for their lack of meaningful action. She underscores the necessity for accountability and immediate steps to combat these pressing global issues, pointing to a significant disconnect between political rhetoric and real-world solutions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of environmental policy changes.
We are not going to be satisfied by politicians saying 'we support you' and then walking away. We won't be satisfied until they meet our demands and act. That's why simply taking a selfie or posting support on Twitter isn't enough. That's why we have to keep striking.
When I was maybe eight or nine years old, I first learned about the climate crisis in school. My teachers taught me about it and we saw films and pictures of plastic in the ocean and extreme weather events. Those pictures were just stuck in my head; I thought, there is no point in anything.
I have been on the road and visited numerous places and met people from all over the globe. I can say that it looks nearly the same everywhere I have been: The climate crisis is ignored by people in charge, despite the science being crystal clear.
I want the politicians to prioritise the climate question, focus on the climate and treat it like a crisis.
We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with.
It felt like I was the only one who cared about the climate and the ecological crisis. My parents didn't care about it, my classmates didn't care about it, my relatives didn't care about this. I mean nobody I knew cared about this and I felt like I was the only one.
We can look forward to the day when the free flow of trade, from the southern reaches of Tierra del Fuego to the northern outposts of the Arctic Circle, unites the people of the Western Hemisphere in a bond of mutually beneficial exchange, when all borders become what the U.S.-Canadian border so long has been: a meeting place, rather than a dividing line.
Dreams have consequences. There is no turning back. A revolution is not a painless march to the gates of freedom and justice. It is a struggle between rage and hope, between the temptation to destroy and the desire to build. Its temperament is desperate. It is a tormented response to the past, to all that has happened, the recalled and unrecalled injustices - for the memory of a revolution reaches much further back than the memory of its protagonists.
We've persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people - a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it's time to turn the page.
I haven't chosen any party yet because people choose parties when they get older. When it's time, I'll look, and if I can't find one to join, I'll make another party.
The most positive action we can take about the past is to change our perception of it.
We must shift our allegiances from fear to curiosity, from attachment to letting go, from control to trust, and from entitlement to humility.
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