Hey, if nothing else, Greta has gotten people talking (or fighting) over the climate change issue. She's controversial, not because of her personally, but because of the widely held opinion that she's being used by climate activists for the shock value of having a teenager travel across the Atlantic and scold an entire summit of adult professionals.

I'm not a climate alarmist, but I certainly worry plenty about the blatant pollution that is choking the world's rivers and oceans, as well as killing marine life. Climate change is pretty much debatable, as to whether it's 0% man-made, 50% man-made, or 100% man-made..... or somewhere within that spectrum. But pollution is right there in front of our faces and there have been plenty of documentaries, publications, photographs, and scientific studies devoted to the harm that single-use plastics are causing to the environment. That's why I like to keep these issues separate... climate change, and pollution. My own take on climate change is that yes..... some of it certainly is caused by man. Why not? The global population exploded at some point, and along with it some very unhealthy (for the environment) practices. Some developing countries don't give a damn about the environment, 'cause they feel they've got more pressing issues to think about.

But back to Greta, why can't we argue back and forth what we think of Greta's activism and methods without resorting to all-out war and character assassination?

I'd like to be able to say:

Greta is being used by climate alarmist adults behind the scenes who know full well that criticizing/bashing children is TABOO........ without getting my head figuratively blown off or being called a child-bashing loser.

I'd like to be able to say:

No adult I've ever known, myself included, who is mindful about the environment and feels something must be done to protect it.... none of us would enjoy being yelled at by a teenager who frankly has little first-hand knowledge about the perils or effects of climate change. She lives in Sweden, not in some South Florida swamp. Her home hasn't been swallowed by some sinkhole, nor does she live along an ever-receding coastline.

By the same token, if Greta has lit a fire under an issue that otherwise gets little press and even less urgency.... then great. Sometimes that's what it takes.

So no matter which side of the issue I belong to, I'd like to be able to say what I think without fear of being dragged into an alley fight, which too many times becomes personal.

Frankly, I've had enough of those what with the LGBTQ topics and all that.