Think globally, shame constantly: The rise of Greta Thunberg environmentalism

To say that reactions to Thunberg are as extreme as her rhetoric is an understatement. When I tweeted about her remarks earlier today, my timeline quickly filled with replies such as “Hitler also liked using pigtailed propaganda girls” and “She is a prop and a tool for eco-communism. A propaganda icon that needs to be destroyed.” Of course, President Trump weighed in, posting a clip of her speech and commenting sarcastically, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”

But despite the volume and vitriol of the attacks directed her way, it’s vitally important that the worldview she represents and the policies she espouses are refuted. Like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), and a host of other American politicians, Thunberg believes that we’ve only got a few years left to settle the fate of the planet, a basic tenet pushed by supporters of the Green New Deal and by most of the Democrats running for president. In fact, Thunberg thinks that “cutting our emissions in half in 10 years,” the target invoked by many environmentalists, is too little, too late.