Bon voyage Greta Thunberg

Minniemoo and Callistemon it was asserted then retracted that "no way" was Greta autistic. The reason given because she makes eye contact and communicates well. My grandson is autistic with special needs but is verbal and makes eye contact. Rainman has a lot to answer for! It is a bit insulting to think because she's bright and communicates well that she couldn't have an ASD diagnosis.

for minimoo

It was on one of the links I trawled through GG. A suggestion rather than a definite. I'll try and find it. But later. Not now. My 2 grandsons have just left the house and I need to relax and calm myself down.

Greta does not find reference to her Asperger's offensive so I'm not sure why you should feel that on her behalf, Amagran.
She has said that it helps her see things in a more focussed way (my words but essentially what she said).

Indeed, grammaretto! Sense of humour and no sieves for boats are vital. I do remember the Jumblies! I have a very worn out old paperback book of Edward Lear's poems.

This yacht she's going on is incredibly basic. No toilet! Just a bucket. That in itself would make it a no no for me. No washing facilities. Tiny area for sleeping.

She's a brave girl, I'll say that for her!

Minimoo Not for all the tea in China. Which is where I believe she's headed for next.

Really?! How do you know that?

I have an autistic son, Amagran. I also have a grandson who is 'on the spectrum'. Not diagnosed as yet but possibly, probably, maybe.

I hadn't noticed any 'ill informed prejudice'. The fact is this condition has shaped Greta. The girl herself is happy to discuss it and was pleased with her diagnosis.

I don't know if anyone has suggested that due to her autism she shouldn't be airing her views.

Some people, me included, are slightly concerned at how people seem to be treating her as the new messiah though. It's not fair on her. Autism or no autism.

you make me smile Minniemoo

I do think we need to keep our sense of humour.

I'm thinking of the Jumblies by Edward Lear. D'you remember them?
They went to see in a sieve they did,
In a sieve they went to sea.

A racing yacht seems safer than that.
As for sea sickness, after 3 days most people develop their "sea legs"

There is some valid debate here as to whether or not Greta Thunberg is being exploited.

However, I do find some of the comments about her alleged autism offensive. It is irrelevant whether or not she has autism - she is either capable of making the voyage or she isn't. The dubious term 'on the spectrum' has been used by some contributors almost as a term of abuse. There is an implication that the views of someone who has autism are not valid. I am so disappointed to see this sort of ill-informed prejudice on GN.

I wonder if these Climate Change conferences produce anything other than hot air?

Happiyogi it already is being treated as a crisis, nothing that GT is doing is contributing anything to its resolution.

Happiyogi ... maybe she had help writing her speeches.

I am all for discussion and action on climate change. I don't think this young lady has any answers. But she certainly has people talking which is a good thing .

However I wonder if this journey might be too much. It sounds nightmarish to embark on such a trip with zero experience. I do hope if she finds it too much that she will be able to give up and not feel that she's let herself down.

I also question the knowledge that people are crediting her with. This is a quote from her Mother's book that she wrote about her

""“She can see carbon dioxide with the naked eye. She sees how it flows out of chimneys and changes the atmosphere in a landfill.” ""

Now most of us know that this is impossible.

I do hope that her trip goes well and good luck in that ocean. I'd not be up for that. Not for all the tea in China. Which is where I believe she's headed for next. Lot easier to get there.

I agree it is a stupid publicity stunt, lets hope she doesn’t need rescuing in any way and have to be airlifted into a helicopter and flown home!

crystaltipps do you honestly think that most of us are unaware and needed this brought to our attention by Greta?
Really?

But perhaps those who may have been deliberately closing their eyes to this, those in a position to do something, could possibly take some notice of her and HRH Wokefulness because they are attention-seeking and different than boring old scientists.

I wonder what the carbon footprint was on building this yacht, I wonder how much tech stuff she carries around, I wonder what the carbon footprint will be of the media following her!!!.

The whole lot of these 'so called' environmentalists are a load of hypocrites. It's over population (and the resulting war for food) which will finish off the human race. The Earth's climate has been changing constantly since its formation, it's not a new thing.

I have no fears to be allayed - I'm well aware of what she says and don't think that anyone is unaware of the seriousness of the situation (apart from the climate change deniers who aren't going to change their mind any time soon just because Greta says so) which is why there's so been much work done by scientists, politicians, engineers, campaigners and so on over the last 20 years. Before she was even born, actually.

It's amazing how many people are sure of the influences and manipulators using Greta Thunberg as their puppet.

A fairly cursory reading of her speeches to parliaments and on Facebook might allay your fears. She appears to have heard it all before and remains focused. As I understand it, she's asking for people for people to "treat the crisis like a crisis".

Why does she need to go in person? If you believe that the only way to persuade Trump to accept climate change is to have Greta sail there on a multi million pound racing boat you're very naive

No, given the size of giant screens, she could make as good an impression by appearing on screen, possibly an even better and effective one. She would be many times larger than live and would actually be doing something practical to show her green credentials.

What exactly does the specific way she is travelling contribute to the future of energy efficient sea transport? It gives a lot of free publicity to the commercial company behind this boat, which, is I think an ocean racer.

She is Scandinavian, why didn't she get a train to the pacific coast of Russia, find her way up to the point where Alaska almost touches Russia and then travel from there. Just as ridiculous and better than this planned journey.

Good luck with getting Donald Trump to accept climate change, the man is a total moron adored and feted by equally denying supporters.

We need actions to address climate change, not just loud protests that in themselves cause even more pollution like the recent ones have. I'm sick of hearing the pollution they caused was worth it for the message it got across. Who made them supreme to decide such matters?

Yes! That's why she needs to go in person. And drum up some XR over there!

I for one have never travelled to America and probably never will.
I am fine with that.
We don't all have to go everywhere do we?
Donald Trump has denied climate change so perhaps by drawing attention to it in this unusual way, he and his supporters will find it impossible to deny?

I still say good on her!

Callistemon And all of us chuntering on here is a waste of valuable resources and contributing to carbon emissions.

You've GOT TO tell GNHQ that.

Go on!

A contribution by video couldn’t possibly have as much publicity impact as actually travelling there could it? It could be argued however that the whole conference should be by video with no one physically present.

Grammaretto Gretta said herself in answer to an interviewer that what she hoped to do by travelling to the UN was to draw attention to the crisis and to show that it is actually possible to minimise your footprint and still travel and give the message loud and clear.

Surely her logic is flawed here, how many of us can travel the Atlantic the way she is doing today? I think she could have made the same impact by video, but as she has travelled there I do wonder whether she will criticise those that took unnecessary flights to attend.