It's hard to believe that a year ago there were huge rallies around the world as part of the Global for Week for Future. These rallies including a half-million march in Montreal were termed "climate strikes" as young people ditched school to participate and others joined them. The leader of that Montreal rally and the global movement was and continues to be Greta Thunberg, the relentless Swedish teen who founded the Fridays for Future protest movement. She has motivated the passion of young people who are keenly aware that the Climate Crisis will have a profound effect on their futures on a compromised planet.
This morning I listened to two teens, including Canada's Indigenous Water/Protector from the Wikwiemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Autumn Peltier. Both were articulate and informed about the issues of climate change and the degradation of our ecological systems, including sources of water.
As you can see above, Thunberg was in front of the Swedish Parliament this morning with some of her young cohorts. As I've noted several times in recent months, we can't forget the climate pandemic because we are preoccupied with the health pandemic which is COVID-19.
Cyclists attend a Fridays For Future protest rally close to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Friday. (Michael Sohn/The Associated Press)
Here in Canada provincial and federal governments have relaxed environmental rules for dubious reasons related to the economic setback created by COVID. These are short-sighted decisions. We need to be vigilant and prayerful and act with courage.
Many Christian denominations and other faith groups supported the Global Week for Future last year and while so many of us are struggling to find our way forward these days we really must maintain our resolve and have a broader vision. On a personal level, I'm convinced that Jesus' encouragement to love God and our neighbour as our self must include care for God's Creation, that "our self" can refer to our human kin, and that our neighbours are all creatures, great and small.
Bye the bye, the late US Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg was an admirer of Greta Thunberg.
COVID has been tragic for millions who have died or been seriously ill, and horrific for millions who lost their jobs or businesses.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I couldn't help but be saddened when we were forced to accept plastic bags at grocery stores for months. Worldwide, that meant billions more plastic bags being tossed in landfills or waterways.
I agree - climate change and the environment have taken a back seat to COVID, and we'll pay for it eventually. It can be a challenge to stay positive these days.