Greta Thunberg Announced as Time Magazine's Person of the Year

It's pretty exciting news in the sustainability world (and really, the whole world, whether everyone appreciates it or not) that Greta Thunberg was announced as Time Magazine's Person of the Year.  A simple few words as quoted by Time say it all:

“We can’t just continue living as if there was no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow.” 

Greta is 100% right and has been working passionately to draw more attention to the climate crisis, since she first started striking from school to protest about climate change on her own in August, 2018, with a simple homemade sign that read: Skolstrejk för klimatet, or “School Strike for Climate.”  On September 20, 2019, more than 4 million people joined a global climate strike, the largest climate protest in history and a sign of how large the movement and concern has grown, as well as a desire for action.

In announcing Greta as the Person of the Year, Time authors Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes and Justin Worland write:

"Thunberg’s moment comes just as urgent scientific reality collides with global political uncertainty. Each year that we dump more carbon into the atmosphere, the planet grows nearer to a point of no return, where life on earth as we know it will change unalterably. Scientifically, the planet can’t afford another setback; politically, this may be our best chance to make sweeping change before it’s too late."

This honor serves as a reminder of what we need to do, as well as what the stakes truly are.  In the building and green building community, leading manufacturers, service providers, countless service providers in related professions and advocates are working every day to lower the impact of the built environment, while it does appear that there are changes being made from the local level with building codes and regulations to the international level with Paris Agreement commitments and major initiatives related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's).   Every day it seems there's a new announcement of a city or state or even country making a new commitment regarding carbon emissions or renewable energy targets.  

We can thank Greta and others for the inspiration and for galvanization really, but we also all have plenty of work yet to do - and we all have to do our parts, especially when there's still so much climate resistance to change and even denial.  Please feel welcome to send in exciting new developments in the green building and signifcant environment news to: news@rateitgreen.com.  We welcome news, stories and the additional inspiration.  The recognition Greta received shows that it's getting easier to be green, and now we all have to take on leadership roles in our own lives and areas as well.   
 

For further reading: https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/