The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Sep 15, 2019
Climate change activist, Greta Thunberg has won praise following her interview with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah ahead of the next Global Climate Strike on September 20.
The 16-year-old Swede, who was recently part of a zero-emissions boat trip across the Atlantic and shared stories about the trip with Noah, her thoughts on New York City and what humans can do to prevent climate change.
The teenager explained to Noah why she had chosen to sail to New York rather than fly, as most people would have. She said:
I did it because I have, for a few years, stopped flying because of the enormous impact aviation is having on the climate.
Just to make a stand and I am one of the very few people in the world who can make such a trip so I thought, why not?
She was also asked her opinions on New York, one of the busiest cities in the world. It's fair to say that she wasn't too complimentary.
Everything is so much, so big, so loud. People talk so loud here. Because when I was on the boat, there is nothing. There is just the ocean, and of course, the sound of the waves crashing, but that’s it.
No smells — apart from sweat. So, I remember the first thing I noticed when we came into the harbor — I woke up, and suddenly smelled something. And of course, it was pollution, but it’s still something. And that was... [in]describable.
To go from this extreme environment — you are disconnected from everything and everyone, you only have yourself, and the ocean, and the boat of course... to New York.
The culture shock didn't stop there. When she was asked about American opinions and whether it differed to what she is used to back home, she said:
I would say yes. Because here, it feels like it is being discussed as something you believe in or [do] not believe in. And where I come from, it’s more like, it’s a fact.
The Daily Show has since shared a version of the interview on Twitter and it has already received more than 5 million views, with people being full of praise for the youngster.
More: Author sums up the problem with calling Greta Thunberg a bad influence for skipping school