Greta Thunberg and The 1975

A powerful statement for climate action

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this Sunday Special commentary. Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.

The Song

In 2019, a British band called The 1975 worked with climate activist Greta Thunberg to create this song called The 1975.

The musicians created the background music to accompany Greta’s speech. In the video, you can read all of the lyrics. For learners of English, I will point out some of the more challenging words and phrases and give synonyms (and/or Japanese) below the video.

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Questions

• Greta talks about the failure of “our current systems”. What kinds of systems do you think those are?

• She says we need a system change rather than individual change. If I use my own shopping bag, turn off the lights in my room, and take my own water bottle with me when I go out, why isn’t that enough?

• Do you think it is time for civil disobedience? Why or why not?

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VOCABULARY

ecological crisis: (生態学的危機)

acknowledge: admit, accept  (認める)

have the situation under control: (事態を収拾する)

the older generations: (上の世代)

political movements: (政治運動)

homo sapiens: human beings (新人)

turn everything around: reverse the situation (すべてをひっくり返す)

We still have everything in our own hands. Here, she’s saying that we have the power to change this.

recognise: admit, be aware of (認識する)

we don’t stand a chance  we will probably lose / there is little chance that…

unspoken sufferings We do not really know how much people (animals and other life) suffer under the changes in the climate. In our communities, we may experience the wildfires, the flooding, or the stronger typhoons/hurricanes, but if it isn’t in our own neighborhood, we probably won’t think much about the problem.

complex challenge: a difficult problem

emissions of greenhouse gases: (温室効果ガスの排出)

avoid: prevent, keep away from (避ける)

set off: trigger, cause, start, spark (off)   (起こす、起動を避ける)

irreversible: cannot be reversed, cannot be repaired  (不可逆的) 

chain reaction: a series of event, each caused by the pervious one (連鎖反応) 

civilisation (文明) 

create transformational action 

safeguard: protect, guard, keep safe (保護)

business as usual: the status quo, not making any important changes, keeping things as they are  (通常通り)

grassroots level: local or community level (草の根レベル)

civil disobedience: peaceful protest, nonviolent resistance (市民的不服従)

rebel: (v. | rəˈbel |) to refuse to obey orders, to go against the authorities (反抗する) [Note that the stress is different for the noun form | ˈreb(ə)l | meaning the person who resists authority].