July 31st 2019

By Marissa Higgins

Daily Kos

Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist who has inspired tens of thousands of students across Europe to cut class and protest for action against climate change, recently announced that she’s coming to the United States. What makes her trip particularly interesting is her solution to a problem that meshes with Thunberg’s cause: Planes are terrible for the environment (albeit convenient) and cruise ships are also notoriously bad. How else to cross the Atlantic? Thunberg’s solution: a high-tech racing yacht.

Thunberg tweeted about her decision to cross the Atlantic via boat and shared her planning. She spent months trying to figure out the best travel route that didn’t go against her beliefs, according to CBS. In order to attend the UN climate summit in New York this fall and events in Santiago, Chile, in December, Thunberg will travel from the United Kingdom with yachtsman Boris Hermann aboard a 60-foot Malizia II racing boat. The boat uses underwater turbines, to generate zero-carbon electricity, and solar panels. 

In order to access other stops along her journey, including Canada and Mexico, Thunberg plans to travel by train and bus. Along with the UN summits, she plans to attend rallies and protests held across North America. She’s able to do all of this by taking a sabbatical year from school. 

“During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency. Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened,” Thunberg said in a statement. “Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging. We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it.”

Back in August 2018, Thunberg became famous in Europe (though she’s not as well-known in the United States) by starting a school strike every Friday. Instead of class, she’d protest in front of the Swedish parliament about climate change. Students in more than 100 countries have followed her lead—it’ll be interesting to see if her presence in the U.S. inspires kids and teenagers here, too.

At this point, you might be wondering: What about our sitting president, a notorious skeptic of climate change? The AP asked Thunberg if she had any interest in meeting with Donald Trump, and she basically brushed it off.

"As it looks now, I don't think so, because I have nothing to say to him," she said. "He obviously doesn't listen to the science and the scientists. So why should I, a child with no proper education, be able to convince him?" Maybe she’ll meet up with Gov. Jay Inslee instead. 

Her journey from the U.K. to New York is expected to take about two weeks.

Posted with permission