Hating Greta

Why do some adults find her message so threatening?

Greta Thunberg.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Yana Paskova)

This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.

July was the hottest month ever recorded. This summer, the sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic retreated to record lows, and Greenland's massive ice sheet lost billions of tons of ice — even in the center, far from the coasts. "The cold, boring interior of Greenland is waking up," said scientist Mike MacFerrin. Seas are rapidly rising. In America's Southwest, a 19-year-long drought is draining the Colorado River and its reservoirs, endangering water supplies to seven states. Climate activist Greta Thunberg's warnings that our planet is careening toward catastrophe may be overly apocalyptic, and her condemnation of adults — "How dare you!" — adolescent in its righteousness. The world, fortunately, will not end in 10 years, or 20. But Thunberg's fear that her generation will inherit a profoundly damaged planet is not a child's bad dream. So why, then, do some people find the 16-year-old Thunberg's missionary zeal so unnerving, and react to her impertinence with such rage and contempt?

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William Falk

William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.