The 1975

We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis

And we need to call it what it is

An emergency

We must acknowledge that we do not have the situation under control

And that we don't have all the solutions yet

Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing certain things

We must admit that we are losing this battle

We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed

All political movements in their present form have failed

But Homo sapiens have not yet failed

Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around

We can still fix this

We still have everything in our own hands

But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems

We most probably don't stand a chance

We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people

And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say

Now is the time to speak clearly

Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that Homo sapiens have ever faced

The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it

We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases

And either we do that, or we don't

You say that nothing in life is black or white

But that is a lie, a very dangerous lie

Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming, or we don't

Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, or we don't

Either we choose to go on as our civilization, or we don't

That is as black or white as it gets

Because there are no grey areas when it comes to survival

Now, we all have a choice

We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations

Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail

That is up to you and me

And yes, we need a system change rather than individual change

But you cannot have one without the other

If you look through history

All the big changes in society have been started by people at the grassroots level

People like you and me

So, I ask you to please wake up and make the changes required possible

To do your best is no longer good enough

We must all do the seemingly impossible

Today, we use about 100 million barrels of oil every single day

There are no politics to change that

There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground

So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules

Because the rules have to be changed

Everything needs to change, and it has to start today

So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience

It is time to rebel