STOCKHOLM — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is urging world leaders to act together to cope with crises and to listen to science experts.
The 17-year-old Swede says the climate crisis “may not be as immediate as the corona crisis but we need to tackle this now otherwise it will be irreversible.” She calls the virus outbreak “a tragedy.”
She says world leaders must put differences aside and make decisions that “in the long run may be necessary.”
She spoke during a conversation with Johan Rockstrom, co-director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, in a live online event to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Many large cities are smog-free after shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Major cities have seen reductions of deadly particulate matter from the previous year.
Go Greta! Long may you speak truth to power.
I found this confounding:
About 500 million acres of tropical forests have been lost in the past twenty years. Greta says planting trees is not enough. She has a following and a worldwide audience, I think she’s sending the wrong message. It can help to replant some of the trees we have lost. She could inspire some people to get out and plant trees. IMHO, doing something is better than doing nothing.
Tropical forests are mostly cleared/burned for farming. Their stored carbon is released by burning and the trees are no longer there to capture or store carbon dioxide anymore. We don’t need to invent a machine to take CO2 out of the air, we just need to quit cutting down the trees that already do that.
Natural forest fires are considered carbon neutral because over time they will regenerate.
Can’t plant trees? I just planted 25 yesterday. You can Google a non profit reforesting group.Congress started one in the US in 1992.
I know there’s a nonprofit tree planting group in Africa that helps restore lost trees by educating and helping the villagers with tree planting. I like this one:
https://www.carbonfootprint.com/treeplanting.html
I recall that after 9/11, while planes were grounded, more sunlight reached the earth’s surface and temperatures were measurably lower. The is another of those side effects of clamping down on our economies and drastically lowering the use of fossil fuels. Where I am, spring feels a little late this year and cooler temperatures endure.
More on subject, thank you Greta.