Greta Thunberg hopes 'The Climate Book' is a launching pad for environmental activism

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Greta Thunberg has become a household name – but she doesn't want the attention on her to become a distraction from the severity of the climate crisis. In today's episode, Thunberg speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how she hopes a new collection of essays written by her and more than 100 scientists and journalists – The Climate Book, can become a jumping off point to better understand environmental challenges. She explains why it's crucial for countries like the U.S. to step up and take accountability for their reliance on the fossil fuel industry, and why politicians have a responsibility to underline the relationship between climate and social justice.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Linda Holmes. Greta Toonberg is busy. She's been working for years as an activist to try to save the planet from climate catastrophe. She's also trying to finish high school. And she's edited a new book, perhaps unsurprisingly called The Climate Book, that collects more than 100 essays
0:22.4	from all kinds of contributors in science and journalism and other fields. She says she hopes the book
0:28.1	will be a place for people to start, just to start, joining in the fight against climate change.
0:33.7	Because she tells NPR's Elsa Chang that whatever it is that the United States and other countries are doing right now, it's pretty clear it's not enough.
0:42.6	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:47.4	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
0:54.0	NPR reporters on the ground
0:55.2	bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:01.6	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:07.5	Environmental activists have struggled for decades to convince world leaders to do more to fight climate change.
1:14.4	And no one has been quite as direct and attention-grabbing as Greta Toonberg.
1:20.1	You might remember this moment when she spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.
1:24.6	She was just 16 years old.
1:27.3	People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are
1:33.8	collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fair tales
1:42.3	of eternal economic growth. How dare you? That call to action was heard
1:49.8	around the world. In 2019, she became Time Magazine's youngest ever person of the year. She has been
1:56.6	nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize the last four years. And now she's out with the climate book.
2:02.5	It's a collection of more than 100 essays explaining the fallout of a changing climate.
2:07.5	Essays written by scientists, economists, journalists, and historians. Greta Toonberg is on the line
2:14.1	with us from Stockholm, Sweden. It is so lovely to speak with you again. Likewise.
2:20.0	So, you know, at this point there is no shortage of scientific reports and essays about climate
	...

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