Greta Thunberg and School Strikes for Climate

Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old high school student from Stockholm, Sweden. In August 2018, rather than return to school for classes as normal, she began sitting in front of the Swedish
Parliament Building with a handmade sign which read "School Strike for Climate." She documented her school strikes on Twitter and social media. A handful of people would sit with Greta throughout the day. She caught the attention of news organizations, and was interviewed by reporters from TV stations, newspapers, and internet sites.

As summer turned to fall, Greta's profile rose. The number of people joining her at the Swedish Parliament Building grew and grew. Young people from across Europe began holding their own school strikes for climate. Greta did return to class, but she continued to strike every Friday. Greta began to travel by train to large climate protests in Europe and she spoke at several climate events, including the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland.

Greta has Asperger Syndrome, which is a form of autism. People with this condition often have an intense preoccupation with a particular subject. For Greta, she became concerned with a lack of action from politicians regarding climate change. She did not believe the protocols established by the Paris Climate Accord were enough. Even though Sweden is often considered a leader in environmental policy, she criticized her home country for not doing enough to combat climate change.

Here is an interview with Greta published in The Guardian, a newspaper from England. Here is a profile of Greta from The New Yorker.

Here is Greta speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference:



Here is Greta delivering a TED talk:



On March 15, students from around the world walked out of class and participated in a global school strike for climate. The Washington Post reported on school strikes from around the world and the United States and the Seattle Times reported on the school strike which took place in Seattle.

Portuguese students protest in Lisbon. (Rafael Marchante/Reuters)

Children rally in Brisbane, Australia. (Stringer/Reuters)

Greta Thunberg has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her climate activism and her influence in creating a climate movement. Young people across the globe are at the forefront of the fight for a habitable future planet. Greta continues to advocate for global reductions in carbon emissions--all while maintaining a full schedule of regular high school classes!

The State of Our Planet 2018

"How Extreme Weather is Shrinking the Planet: With wildfires, heat waves, and shrinking sea levels, large tracts of the earth are at risk of becoming uninhabitable. But the fossil fuel industry continues its assault on the facts," by Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, November 26, 2018.

This is essential reading from environmentalist Bill McKibben.

Weekend Reading

Many of you are interested in the health of our oceans. You can read a report from National Geographic here. Global Warming is having a huge impact on ocean life.

NYT notices a trend: Schools banning disposable lunch bags

Students and teachers at Nova actually do a pretty good of bringing their lunches to school in re-usable containers.  Students in Environmental Science the past couple years have experimented for a week with not using disposable bags and containers.  Should Nova ban disposable bags outright?  The benefit would be less waste and it would actually save families money in the long run.  The drawback is that the ban would induce some stress in some parents and students.  The Times quotes a mom whose daughter's school has a no disposable bag policy.

In school years past, she said, many a morning came unhinged when the girls were sent to school with disposable sandwich bags. “That’s when the kids have meltdowns, because they don’t want to be shamed at school,” Ms. Corbett said. “It’s a big deal.”

I'd like to see Nova continue to promote using re-usable containers for lunches.  But a complete ban?  That's kinda harsh.  What do you all think?

You can read the article here.

Olympian Article About Growing Local Food

John Dodge wrote a nice article in today's Olympian about growing and eating local food.  A number of local non-profits have joined forces for a series of events this fall called Focus on Food.  The culminating event will be a day-long food summit held October 15.

You can read John Dodge's article here.

More information about Focus on Food can be found at Sustainable South Sound's website here.

Here's the truth, kids: candy and soda pop are not good for you.  Mr. Gacek says: Eat Your Veggies! 

"The Island in the Wind"

Read "The Island in the Wind," by Elizabeth Kolbert.

1. Record any vocabulary which is unfamiliar to you.

2. Describe what makes the Samso Project unique in 4 sentences.

3. What is meant by "living a 2,000 watt life?" What does living such a life entail? (3 sentences).

4. What is your personal opinion about people attempting to live a "2,000 watt life?" Is it a realistic goal in an industrialized society? (at least 3 sentences).