Will Greta save the planet?

Beyond Today

BBC

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2019

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One year ago, a 15-year-old girl from Sweden started protesting outside the Swedish parliament, urging the government to pay attention to the world’s climate crisis. Now Greta Thunberg has become the face of environmental activism. Two weeks ago, when Greta set sail to America on a zero carbon boat, the internet exploded with some fairly vicious commentary. She was called a ‘pig-tailed school drop-out’ and climate change advocates rushed to, sometimes just as viciously, defend her. This week her boat is due to arrive in New York, hometown of fossil fuel champion, US president Donald Trump, what will happen next nobody yet knows. In this episode, we hear from Justin Rowlatt who met her when she was last on dry land in Plymouth and Swedish journalist who knows all about her family background. We’ll also hear from writer Julian Baggini, who is worried about Greta’s role in the culture wars. How could pinning too much on one teen activist be oversimplifying the climate problem? Producers: Seren Jones, Lucy Hancock Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:06.6	Hello, I'm Tina Dehealey.
0:08.4	This is Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4,
0:11.6	where we ask one big question about one big story.
0:15.0	Today, will Greta save the planet?
0:26.0	It's pretty unlikely you haven't already heard her name.
0:37.0	Our house is on fire.
0:40.5	I am here to say our house is on fire.
0:44.0	Well tomorrow in her biggest stunt to date,
0:47.0	Greta Tumberg will pull into New York City on a zero-carbon boat
0:52.0	after 15 days on the open seas.
0:54.5	We're currently doing between 20 and 35 knots.
0:59.5	Last night we hit 30 knots and we are about 300 miles away from Nova Scotia and it's very wrong with a very high waves.
1:10.0	Greta's boat arrives smack bang in the hometown of one of the loudest advocates for the fossil fuel industry
1:17.2	who also happens to be president of the United States.
1:21.6	We've ended the war in American energy. We were in war and we've ended
1:27.6	the war on beautiful clean coal. One of our great natural resources. We're going to tell you how Greta Tumburg went
1:36.8	from being a Swedish child refusing to speak and eat, to becoming the face of a revolutionary movement that's captured the world's
1:45.9	imagination.
1:46.9	If it is like you've got no idea why we're striking, then like what an earth?
1:54.2	And got politicians listening.
1:56.9	I want, I hope, on behalf of all colleagues across the House
	...

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