403 The best medication against anger and anxiety is to take action yourself
403: Friday April 23rd, 2021
“The best medication against anger and anxiety is to take action yourself,” - Greta Thunberg
I think of Greta Thunberg the same way I think about Joan of Arc - young (18 years old) fearless and unafraid to challenge the powers that be. Greta and Joan move ahead no matter the odds - and neither mince their words.
Yesterday on Earth Day, Congress invited Greta Thunberg to testify about her passionate desire to see the United States move forward with a plan to stop global warming - beginning with an end to subsidies for oil, gas and coal.
She pointedly challenged the politicians:
“How long do you think you can continue to ignore the climate crisis, the global aspect of equity and historic emissions without being held accountable?”
The 18 year old warned of the dire consequences if the United States continues to subsidize the fossil fuel industry. The fact that these subsidies exist, she said, is “clear proof that we have not understood the climate emergency at all.”
“The fact that we are still having this discussion and even more that we are still subsidizing fossil fuels directly or indirectly using taxpayer money is a disgrace,” she said.
Thunberg emphasized that current U.S. policies are not enough to avoid a climate crisis. “If you compare the current so-called climate policies to the overall current best available science, you clearly see that there is a huge gap.
The gap between what we are doing and what actually needs to be done in order to stay below the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is widening by the second…
How long do you honestly believe that people in power like you will get away with it?” she asked. “How long do you think you can continue to ignore the climate crisis, the global aspect of equity and historic emissions without being held accountable?”
“You still have time to do the right thing and to save your legacies, but that window of time is not going to last for long. We, the young people, are the ones who are going to write about you in the history books, we are the ones who get to decide how you will be remembered. So my advice for you is to choose wisely.”
Later during questioning, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) asked Thunberg what she should tell her nine-year-old daughter who is concerned that the “Earth is on fire and we’re all going to die soon.”
“I know that there are many young people who feel angry and sad because of all the things that some people are doing to this planet,” Thunberg replied. “That’s very understandable. It would be strange if we didn’t feel that way, because then we wouldn’t have any empathy… And if we choose to take action… there’s unlimited things that we can do… There are no limits to what we can accomplish.”
“The best medication against anger and anxiety is to take action yourself,” she concluded. “So that’s what I would tell her — to take action herself because that will make her feel so much better.”
So how do kids (our chldren and grandchildren) get started into action:
Here are a few articles and videos I've found that are excellent resources.
There are many more on YouTube.
A guide for kids and everyone else about what we can do about climate change (from the NY Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/04/18/climate/climate-change-future-kids.html
Formation Of The Earth | Earth Day Special | How EARTH Was Formed? | Dr Binocs Show (I love this video because it's just my level of science)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ0J4mbj0_o
Composting for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRXNo7Ieky8
Composting for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRXNo7Ieky8&t=74s
Worms Are Wonderful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-zc_1vjLnI