Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate change activist from Sweden, made landfall in New York this morning after a two-week journey across the Atlantic. She is set to attend two climate summits at the United Nations and travel throughout the Americas to raise awareness about carbon emissions and other environmental issues.
Thunberg refused to fly to New York due to air travel’s massive carbon footprint. Instead, she opted to sail 3,000 miles from Plymouth, England aboard a zero-emissions yacht. She told the BBC that travelling by sailboat sends the message that “the climate change crisis is a real thing.”
From CBS News:
Gale-force winds meant it wasn’t plain sailing to get to the United States. The 60-foot racing yacht, powered by underwater turbines and solar panels, was hit by heavy seas, but Thunberg made it across the Atlantic without raising carbon emissions. Conditions on board included no showers and little privacy, but that didn’t stop Thunberg from celebrating the one-year anniversary of the start of her climate change movement.
The teenager attracted worldwide attention last year when she began skipping school and protesting outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm, which she called a “school strike.” More and more students followed her lead and now school strikes are held every friday around the world.
From NPR:
Thunberg’s fans will be watching as she joins protests connected to the U.N. Climate Action Summit, and then addresses the summit. She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico before traveling to Chile for a climate conference in December. Thunberg’s family says she’s taking a sabbatical from school this year to focus on her climate activism.