Planet is dying, warns India's 8-year-old climate crusader

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After Greta Thunberg, here's an even younger activist! 

Qns worth asking: 

=shouldn't they be in school learning so that they can contribute more in future, and so that they are not just imitating others but knowing what they are actually fighting for? 

=at 8 years old, how much do they know? shouldn't they be enjoying their childhood? isn't this a pre-mature entry into the adult world?

Note the role of the media/internet in igniting the fire of activism in her [incidentally, Greta Thunberg was influenced by the documentaries of famed environmentalist, David Attenborough:

One of the world's youngest climate change activists, Licypriya was influenced by the images of the devastation caused by the Nepal earthquakes in 2015 that killed some 9,000 people and destroyed one million homes.

Qns:

1. How important is it for young people to be involved in political activism? (ACJC Prelim 2020)

2. To what extent is it necessary for young people to plan for their future? (ACJC Prelim 2020)

3. ‘The only concerns of young people today are self-centred ones.’ Is this a fair statement? (ASRJC Prelim 2020)

'Class action suit' by a million young friends of the earth

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Relate to last years' 'A' level AQ on young people's interest (or lack thereof) in issues and causes....

More than one million students around the globe skipped school last Friday and took to the streets, dramatically ramping up their protest against inaction on climate change by governments and big corporates.

The event was inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, 16, who went on the first solo climate strike last August. ....Greta, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize [if she wins, she would have broken Malala's record of garnering the Nobel Peace Prize at the tender age of 17]

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, the response among Singapore's youth was muted due to the strict laws that prohibit public protests....

Global Affairs: When green protesters hurt their own cause

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Note how GretaThunberg followers are resorting to protests and even some violence to pressure the govt and business community to adopt measures to save the planet:
The people behind this mass act of disobedience, which was repeated in smaller versions in many other capitals, call themselves the Extinction Rebellion, a pressure group established last year with the explicit aim of disrupting public life in order to force governments to face up to the risk of an ecological disaster.

Greta Thunberg's (in)famous battle cry: "How dare you?! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," a visibly angry Greta scolded world leaders assembled in the United Nations building in New York recently.

it's easy for Britain to be at the forefront of such pledges, since it has almost no manufacturing sector and its services-led economy relies on other countries to produce the energy-intensive goods it consumes.

in reality, many of those who back environmentalist movements in Europe are middle-aged and middle-class white men and women, people who don't have to worry about their next meal, and have plenty of time to go on demonstrations.

Even if all airline flights stopped completely and continued to be banned until the end of this century, the rise in temperatures by the year 2100 would decline by only a projected 0.5 deg C. And even if most current cars were to be replaced by electric models, carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions would go down by a mere half a percentage point.

The salvation lies not in reversing the industrial revolution and returning humanity to the 18th century, but in technological innovation. As fuel cell technology scientist Don Huberts aptly remarked a few decades ago, "the Stone Age did not end because the world ran out of stones", but because humans evolved to use other implements and commodities. The same is already happening today, as fossil fuels are being replaced by cleaner technologies.

Qns: 

1. Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam. 2017)
2. ‘The real heroes of environmentalism are rebels.’ Discuss. (ACJC Prelim 2019)

'Dying' to help bring climate actions to life

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If u r doing 'O' level, pls note the catchy title using contrast of 'dying' vs 'life'...note more of such catchy slogans:
Clad in red, they held up banners bearing messages such as "no planet B" and "I stand for what I stand on"

Although the event was organised by young people in solidarity with the global youth climate movement kick-started by Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg, the first Singapore Climate Rally was attended not just by the young.

"Singapore talks a lot about emissions intensity and about our mitigation efforts and about $100 billion going into our climate adaptation plans. But the $100 billion is not going to address the crisis. We are not stopping the rain, we are buying a $100 billion umbrella."

under the Paris Agreement - the Republic pledged to become greener economically and to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to achieve each dollar of gross domestic product by 36 per cent from 2005 levels, come 2030. It also pledged to stop any further increases to its greenhouse gas emissions by the same timeline.

The rally is the first one here since the global youth movement led by Greta began in August last year. Now 16, she had gone on the first solo climate strike, skipping school to pressure the Swedish government into taking more drastic climate action. Since then, many young people have followed suit, missing classes on a Friday in protest against climate inaction....#FridaysforFuture global school strike

For qns on yotuh activism in Singapore....relate to the AQ from the 2018 'A' lvl paper....

Decision to stop coal financing was among toughest of my tenure at DBS: CEO Piyush Gupta

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Gives you an idea of how Greta Thunberg can be too idealistic and why there are people who supported Trump in pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement....

"And here I am taking (away) electricity, the fundamental right of people. What do I say to a kid in Indonesia, who is struggling to get electricity to do their studies and eat their food, and I am going to sit on the outside and make a moral judgment that electricity use is less important than the planetary considerations."

While noting that addressing the climate agenda is critical,....the need to strike the right balance to ensure that the development and social needs of people are not neglected.

"So these issues of how you balance the trade-offs are tough, and as a financier, we have to ask: Is it right for us to play God?" 

the financing of the palm oil sector, said Mr Gupta, noting that about 14 million households in Indonesia rely on small estate oil palm farming to make a living.....The kids' education, healthcare, everything relies on this plot of land."

Teenager takes on Davos elite over inaction on climate change

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"I want you to feel the fear I feel every day, and then I want you to act," she said. "I want you to act as if the house was on fire, because it is."
-- an interesting imagery being evoked here, that of mankind setting fire to his own house even whilst he is still living in it (esp apt if u think of global warming)

she had rejected the notion that "we are not doing enough to fight climate change"..."Because to 'not do enough', you have to do something. And the truth is we are basically not doing anything," she said.

The young environmentalist has become a prominent voice pressing the global elite to take action on climate change. She first came into the spotlight when she began skipping school every Friday to protest in front of the Swedish Parliament ---- 16-year-old climate crusader Greta Thunberg [think of her here on the same page as other young activists like Malala]

Young activists planning 'green dot' gathering on Sept 21

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Looks like Singapore is starting to have our own version of the Swedish environmental teen activist, Greta Thunberg..
Note the example of the Green Dot Movement.....compare with Pink Dot....

Relate also to 2018 'A' level compre AQ on youth interest in causes....

Poster child of 'Umbrella Movement' re-enters the fray

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Good example of a youth activist. Became a protest leader when he was just 17!!!:
Scrawny, with gaunt features and a studious frown, the then 17-year-old spearheaded the mass "Umbrella Movement" protests, which were a reaction to restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong's next leader would be chosen.

For other teenage activists eg, think Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala,  and the latest Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg (Click HERE)

Note that education into awareness plays a big role in firing the spark of acitvism in students...

Relate also to last yr's 'A' lvl AQ on youth and politics.

Qns: 
1. To what extent do young people in your society take an interest in politics? (Cam. 2006)
2. Discuss the claim that education guarantees progress. (ACJC Prelim 2015)
3. Can we eliminate violence with education? (CJC Prelim 2018)

Teen activist warns world leaders: We won't let you get away with this

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Dont know about u..but i find this whole thing about the teen scolding and lecturing the adults at the summit quite 'funny' (plz dun flame hor...)

We're back to Greta Thunberg, the teen climate activist who skipped sch to lobby for climate change, sparking off a global movement about youths worldwide...btw, in previous posts, I think I have mistakenly wrote that she's a Swiss (from Switzerland), but actually, she's Swedish (from Sweden) -- not same same but different!

She has a few choice quotes for ur BANGs in essays; here r a few, in order of my preference:

=How dare you! [she repeated this a few times!]
=We will not let you get away with this. 
=if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.
=You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words
=The eyes of all future generations are upon you.