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After a two-week journey sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in New York on Wednesday at a marina in Lower Manhattan.

Thunberg stepped off the emission-free racing yacht that brought her and held a news conference a few minutes later, saying, "The ground is still shaking for me."

Nevertheless, Thunberg says she didn't feel seasick once during the trip, despite rough weather that delayed her arrival one day.

Asked if she had a message for President Trump, who has expressed skepticism about the science behind climate change, Thunberg said, "If no one has been able to convince him about the climate crisis — the urgency — then why should I be able to do that?"

Teen to bring her climate activism to U.S.

Teen inspires youth demonstrations across Europe, demanding action on climate change

Thunberg said she hopes, instead, to spread awareness among Americans about what she calls "the climate crisis."

The teenage activist, known for promoting school strikes by climate-aware students, says she plans to rest for a few days and looks forward to eating fresh, instead of freeze-dried, food again. She plans to join other activists for a climate protest in front of the United Nations on Friday.

 that come with flying on a commercial jet.
Thunberg documented her journey on 

, including posts in rough seas with waves crashing over her.

Thunberg says she first learned about climate change when she was 8 years old and became very concerned about the future of humanity. At age 11, she says, she was depressed and stopped talking and eating.

"Later on I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, OCD and selective mutism," she told a crowd gathered for a 2018 

 in Stockholm. "That basically means I only speak when I think it's necessary. Now is one of those moments."

On Aug. 20, 2018, Thunberg began skipping school and protesting by herself outside Sweden's parliament. She called it a school strike and demanded that adults do more about climate change.


"I handed out fliers with a long list of facts about the climate crisis and explanations on why I was striking," she said in a 

. She talked about her strike on Twitter and Instagram, and protests quickly spread.
Now, just one year later, students hold hundreds of school strikes every Friday 

The teenager has a knack for making the complicated issue of climate change sound simple. For that she credits being on the autism spectrum, calling it a gift because it helps her see issues more starkly.

"If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? Why were there no restrictions? Why wasn't it made illegal?" she asked in her TED Talk.


Thunberg's activism has attracted critics. Conservative French lawmakers 

 this summer and mocked her as a "prophetess in shorts."

One critic even referred to Thunberg's diagnoses. Australian conservative columnist Andrew Bolt, in a 

, wrote, "No teenager is more freakishly influential than Greta Thunberg, the deeply disturbed messiah of the global warming movement."

, "I am indeed 'deeply disturbed' about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science."


Still, many teenagers around the globe are attracted to Thunberg's message, and they are showing up in the streets.

 modeled on Thunberg's school strike. Just about every U.S. state had an event, even in politically conservative areas.


Freddy Finney-Jordet, 17, organized a protest on a street corner in downtown Bend, Ore. He says he was inspired by Thunberg's determination.

"She kind of looks in the camera and has this look of, 'I'm doing this. Nobody can stop me,' " Finney-Jordet says.

Before last spring, gun control and LGBTQ issues were his priorities. "After that protest, which at first I thought was going to be kind of a one-off thing for me, I started taking a look at exactly how severe the climate crisis was, and that's been my focus ever since," he says.

Thunberg's fans will be watching as she joins protests connected to the U.N. Climate Action Summit and then addresses the summit.


She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico before traveling to Chile for a climate conference in December. Thunberg's family says she's taking a sabbatical from school this year to focus on her climate activism.


Environmental News

Climate

Jeff Brady

Author

The 16-year-old Swedish activist chose sailing over flying to attend a United Nations climate summit. She's inspired young people around the world to protest for more climate action.

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg arrives in New York after sailing the Atlantic

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