What’s Left If We Can’t be Greta?
On Earth Day I watched the PBS special on Greta Thunberg from the comfort of my sofa—an irony-inducing admission. Rather than marching, there I sat, using electricity. But irony and carbon-footprint guilt aside, watching this physically frail-looking but adamantine, morally tough young child-woman was astonishing. She is, simply put, a secular saint.
She fits the common definition of a saint as a person of exceptional virtue, here in the ecological, rather than the religious, sense. She consumes as little as possible, buys food as carefully as possible, travels using as little carbon as possible. One scene showed Greta ruefully picking up a new pair of pants she received for Christmas. She said she didn’t want any new clothes. How many eighteen-year-olds would say the same? To use another common part of the definition of sainthood, she is the leader of a movement. Sitting alone in front of the Swedish Parliament at age fifteen, she sparked thousands of young people to join her. Now she meets with world leaders. And, like many religious saints, she suffers for her cause. With her Asperger’s syndrome, marching in crowds is painful. But she persists. The word saint is often used loosely, but to describe Greta, it is real.
As she talked simply and clearly about the science of climate change, I squirmed. Yes, I bundle my errands to minimize driving, but I flew to Mexico in March to see family and will fly again to Buffalo, New York, for a wedding. I don’t buy plastic bags, but do get take-out food in plastic containers. In 2020 I did not march in Earth Day demonstrations because of fear of Covid-19; this year I didn’t even think to check for one. Knowing I cannot meet Greta’s standards, I nevertheless share her worry and grief for the earth. I am left to live with tensions and contradictions.
Recently, Discover magazine came in the mail, with an article on saving the earth titled “What You Can Do (That Really Works).” Simply put, what really works is what you do best, for one, and, for two, what can have the most influence. Using words is what I do. Hence, I am using this occasional blog, “Out on a Limb,” to explore what to do if sainthood is not for me, or for you. Worry is wasted energy; action is productive. Rather than just stressing about each plastic take-out container, for example, I can take my own container to a restaurant for left-overs. Maybe others will be influenced to do the same. I can someday drive an electric car, because that might influence neighbors and friends. I can pressure officials for more charging stations. I can resist the impulse to buy a new dress for that wedding in Buffalo.
These things—and many more—I can do, even if I cannot be a Greta Thunberg. But, for me, she remains a shining example of the ideals of integrity and strength. May she prevail.
