Jian Alexis A.

Ariola
11 HUMSS 2 – St.Dunstan
Greta Thunberg is famous for being an environmental activist at such a young age and
in this speech once again, she is pleading for help for our nature. Her speech’s main point is
about climate change, its effects on our planet, and how we can find a smooth transition toward a
low-carbon economy.
She established and built her credibility by backing up her claims with facts based on research
and she captivated the audience by using words that would get their attention. When she said
“there is no planet b” it really got me thinking because it was indeed true. Until now we still
haven’t found another planet that is habitable for us humans. Reflecting on this got me to
formulate a question, why are we already looking for another planet as a backup planet for us to
inhabit instead of just taking care of the one we already have? Instead of being stewards of
creation, we have become marauders; thieves that steal the Earth’s resources, and as Greta stated,
the situation is just getting worse.
She stated that our leaders use constructive dialogue to pique our interests. They use words like
“Green Economy”, “Net Zero by 2050”, “Build back better”, etc., and use them as promises but
that’s where they end, only as promises. That is another factor I like about Greta, that she is not
afraid to call out the authorities and to point out their actions, or as she stated “inactions”. I
personally think that that was a good strategy to use since it shows that Greta, along with the
people are not just merely puppets who don’t care about what the leaders/perpetrators do or do
not do to our planet.
Another thing I liked about her speech is how she incorporated the audience in her speech, she
made it as if the audience was not just there as an audience but also a part of the speech, as well
as the movement. Especially in the last part where they all chanted and followed Greta as she
shouted: “what do we want” and then they answered with: “climate justice” I think that it was a
good way to conclude the speech as she left the stage with a big round of applause and a standing
ovation from the audience.
Although she was effective for the most part, I still noticed some ineffectiveness like how she
looked at her paper too much which for me shows that she’s just reading off of a script and
another is the amount of “blah blah blah” she used. It was effective at first but the more she used
it, the more it lost its impact, at least for me.
Overall, it was a great speech, to say the least. The introduction and build-up were good, along
with the facts to back her claims, the audience also seem interested and the conclusion is very
self-explanatory. I think she was very effective and I think most of us would agree.