Original subtitles

- It's Environment Week, a week to learn

all about how we're polluting the planet

in ways that might not seem harmful at first

but, much like my ex-boyfriend Dennis,

end up destroying everything you loved.

Anyway, today,

I would like to introduce you to teen environmental activist

Greta Thunberg.

- She's the one that directed "Little Women," right?

Writer, director, and activist? What a Renaissance woman.

- Just watch the movie. - I'd watch any of her movies.

- Shh. - Sorry.

[alarm ringing] - This is not a drill.

My name is Greta Thunberg.

Up to 200 species are going extinct every single day.

- Much of the arctic ice is gone.

Most of our wild animals have gone.

Much of our soil has gone.

- So what should we do?

We can still fix this.

You can still fix this.

- She's so cool. - She's so right!

She's amazing. She really moved me.

- I know. Me, too.

What stage presence.

- You know, with her growing popularity

and her massive platform,

maybe she's really going to inspire all of us

to try and save the planet. - Be on TV?

- Really? That's your takeaway?

- Yeah, why does that surprise you?

[upbeat music]

- Oh, yeah

All right

Oh, yeah

- Did you know that scientists have been warning us

about the effects of climate change for over 30 years?

- Did you know not everybody can pull off a braid?

But it works for Greta because of her face shape.

And the messages that come out of that face.

So does saving the planet make you popular?

If we're gonna be the youngest people

to win a Nobel Peace Prize,

we're really gonna need to step up our game.

And we're gonna need to truly end our dependence on

makeup-removing wet wipes.

Did you know they take a hundred years to decompose,

and they destroy our waterways?

- "Made from biodegradable bamboo."

- OK. Well, what about leather?

Besides being super harsh,

commercial cattle farming is very eco-unfriendly.

- This is made from mushrooms.

Lydia, where'd you get all this stuff?

- Who stole my things? Lydia!

- I'm just recycling your old junk

and putting it to better use.

- You're using eco consciousness

as a scheme to be popular?

- Yeah, and?

- You're such a slacktivist.

- Thanks, Mel.

- Oh, I don't think that's a compliment.

- Hope the climate apocalypse comes for you first.

- What's her problem?

- The climate change that's ravaging our planet

and destroying our lives?

- Yeah.

And we're gonna solve it.

Step one, become environmental activists.

Step two, build a following.

Uh, I mean, supporters. Supporters.

Step three, save the planet.

And step four, be on TV and live in glory.

- Uh, I think we can stop at step three.

- But then how will we be celebrated?

- [sighs]

- Hope nobody else gets to saving the planet first.

That would be the real tragedy.

Down with emissions!

Boo to CO2!

- Hey, did you know if we all use less water,

we can reduce carbon emissions?

Well, did you?

- This bites.

We've been protesting a whole 15 minutes

and we're still not famous.

- You did bring scissors, right?

- Uh-- - [groans]

- Oh, my. - Hey.

- You know turtles, seagulls, and many animals

get caught in plastic.

But this is the first time

I've seen them trap Grade Seven girls.

Oh, did you know plastic pollution in oceans

are going to double by 2030?

- [gasps] - It is?

[voice distorting] People need to hear this.

I need to tell them.

Do you think I should tell them in a braid?

[distorted indistinct speech]

- [gasping]

Julie? Julie?

[normal voice] Julie, are you OK?

- I got to go.

See you guys in class.

- OK.

So, next step,

I'm starting the school's very first eco club.

- Amazing!

But the school already has one and I am president.

And I've asked you to join many, many times.

- Huh. It's not ringing a bell.

Which isn't surprising.

The whole movement needs more pizzazz, more oomph, more me.

- The club does need more members.

- Great.

Not only will I handle the rebrand,

I'll be the face of it.

- [gasping]

- Julie, are you OK?

- [breathlessly] Can't breathe.

- I--I think you're having an anxiety attack.

It's just like stage fright.

- You get...stage fright?

- Me? No, no. Of course not.

But I learned about it while researching for a role.

Anxiety often hits you when you let a problem overwhelm you.

- I don't know what's going on.

I'm worried. Then I'm angry. Then I'm panicking.

- OK, the key is to just let go and try and relax, OK?

Focus on the things that you can control

like nailing your part

or carrying an entire production on your back.

[sighs softly]

- Um, I think I can do that.

Hey, I think that's--

[dramatic music]

This is recyclable.

- It's a tissue. Maybe try to relax.

- No. This is what I can control.

- And now that we are all gathered,

I declare the start of our meeting.

Can I get a second?

- It's just the two of us.

- A 100% increase from yesterday.

Now, this week is the big one.

We will finally unveil WormWorld, a vermicomposter,

which will give us enough projects

to become eco-certified by the school board.

- And what do we get by being eco-certified?

- If we score high enough for platinum certification,

we qualify for funding for a solar panel on the roof.

- To power the entire school?

- No, to sell power back to the grid

at $0.39 per kilowatt-hour.

- Yikes.

No wonder nobody else is here.

You need to drum up a fan base.

- Fans? Like--like a wind farm?

- No, a following.

And what better way to bring people together than--

- The threat of mass extinction?

- A huge hit song for a great cause.

- About mass extinction, yes?

- All we need to do is make an amazing music video,

with huge celebs,

and we'll have your precious platinum what's-it.

So do we know any celebrities?

- Oh, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

- Do you have any connections? - Oh, not personally.

I thought we were just naming famous people we've heard of.

[determined rock music]

- Disgusting.

- And I shouldn't even be telling you this,

but I have a very special guest star dropping in.

Big celeb, huge. - Ooh.

- No, no!

- You're probably way too busy,

but we're making a video. - I'm in.

- There's gonna be a huge celeb guest--

wait. Did you just say yes?

- Of course. I got your back, Goldblatt.

- Just wasteful.

- You can even make a behind-the-scenes documentary

of the event.

- It sounds a bit derivative,

but I guess I could use it for my reel.

- Fine, I'll throw in your own solo.

But it's not just about you. It's about the cause, Sage.

Some people.

Look at what we've done

You know it's bad

We polluted a ton

- Wait.

All of the letters spell out Lydia.

- Yeah, it's about who can save us from the climate crisis.

- But is this song gonna fix anything?

I mean, shouldn't we do something?

- Chuck, back me up here.

- I think it's sketchy.

- Listen, after we release this song,

we'll be this generation's Greta Thunberg.

- Isn't Greta Thunberg this generation's Greta Thunberg?

- I just wonder if we could do more.

- Please. We're doing more than anybody at this school.

[uplifting music]

- There's compostable materials in this bag.

Does nobody care?

"Eco support group meeting"?

They should know better than to litter.

I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind.

[groans in disgust] After I take a shower.

Littering your flyers in a garden?

For shame.

- Those are made of seed paper. - Wait--

- Dmitri wanted them for your school's garden.

- Melody? What is this place?

- It's a support group

for people suffering from eco-anxiety.

You want to sit in? - [scoffs]

I don't have eco-anxiety.

- Your hands are clenched.

Your breathing is short.

You just shamed us for littering.

- What's your point?

- Sit.

Tell us what's bothering you.

- You must love your job, Inspector Green.

I'm very impressed with how thorough you are

with your water audits.

- Well, what can I say?

Leakage and overflow data, it's my jam.

It's my calling.

Lit Earth, what's this?

- Oh, my very enthusiastic vice president

is organizing a music video to raise awareness.

- "To raise awareness about

how aware we are about climate change."

Wow, sounds like your VP is a real Woody Guthrie.

- No, it's pronounced "Lydia Goldblatt."

- Yeah, OK.

- But what I really want to show you

is the new bidet in the teachers' lounge.

It reduced our toilet paper consumption by 34%.

- How did you compile that data?

- Oh, you don't want to know.

- I'm Julie, and I had a panic attack

because I don't think that I can personally solve

the climate crisis.

- Thank you for sharing, Julie.

Look, individual choices to be more eco-conscious are great.

But the truth is, over half of emissions

come from, like, a hundred corporations.

It's on them, not some 12-year-old in a small town.

- Then what do I do?

What can I control?

- How you respond.

Next time you're feeling like this,

you have to calm your nervous system.

Deep breath in for four beats and slowly out for four.

Ready?

- [slow deep breath]

- Calmer?

- I would be if I wasn't worried about

the CO2 we just exhaled.

- And, hey, if all else fails,

there's another way to channel your emotions.

I do this for one, sometimes three hours at a time.

- That seems excessive.

- It's important to take care of the planet,

but also ourselves.

If I don't take time to ground myself,

I can be a little... unpleasant to be around.

- Oh, you? No.

- See?

Nature is restorative.

- I think it's starting to help.

[calming music]

- If this is about saving the earth,

why are we putting so much garbage everywhere?

- Just a heads up, I moved the compost

to make more room for the generator.

- And why do we need a generator?

- To power the sound system and fog machine.

You got to expel carbon to cap carbon.

- I hate to say it, but we need more garbage in the foreground.

- You hear that? More garbage, people.

Remember, the look is ecological devastation.

- Come, let me show you the project I am most proud of.

- Yeah, I'm on the edge of my seat.

Is this a joke?

Am I being filmed for some social media challenge

with so many layers of irony

that no adult could possibly understand it?

- Waiting on the generator!

- Where is WormWorld?

[generator engine rumbling]

- All right, we're ready to start filming!

- OK, yeah. We are done here, OK?

- No. I'm sure there is a good explanation

to what happened to my beloved WormWorld.

- This smells like feet.

- [coughing]

- So where's that special celebrity guest

you promised us? - It kills me, but

Leo DiCaprio had a prior commitment,

which is the only reason why he didn't respond to my DMs.

- Is that your excuse for everybody else?

Because no one showed up.

- That's OK. We'll just add a crowd in post.

- Couldn't we add the garbage in post?

- Post can't do everything, Sage.

Are we ready to shoot? - Mm-hmm.

- Set the garbage free.

[fan whirring loudly]

Oh, OK, that's a little stronger than I expected.

Oh. Oh, OK.

[all coughing]

- Lydia, what is happening here?

- Only the most impactful piece of environmental activism ever.

- I don't suppose you could overlook this?

- Uh, yeah, I'm gonna pretend this didn't happen.

- Oh, thank you. What a relief.

- Oh. You really don't detect sarcasm, do you?

No, this was very, very bad.

You annoying kids, you would refer to this as an epic fail.

- Inspector Green, please reconsider!

[huffs]

- Wow, Dimitri. Never seen you so angry before.

So he didn't give us platinum eco-certification?

- [huffs] - Just regular, then?

Cool.

- He not only denied certification,

he said Maple View Middle School might be zoned as

an ecological hazard. - What?

But he hasn't even seen the video yet.

- You made a mockery of everything I've worked for.

This was the one accomplishment I was most proud of

during my reign as school president,

all for nothing!

[soft emotional music]

[grunts in frustration]

- [huffs, breathing heavily]

- Hey. Dimitri, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, Dimitri. Dimitri. Are you OK?

- I'm looking for worms for a new WormWorld.

- OK, 'kay, 'kay. OK, stop for a second.

- [gasping] - Stop, catch your breath.

Breathe.

Breathe in for four, out for four, OK?

Ready? With me.

[both breathing slowly]

Better?

- That helped. Thank you.

- Do you want to talk about it?

- [sighs]

We didn't get our eco-certification

thanks to a certain vice president.

- Was it Lydia?

- Yes...and no.

I'm the president of both the school and eco club.

Ultimately, the failure is mine.

- You didn't fail.

Look at all the great things you did

to help the school be greener.

- But without platinum certification,

our school is-- - Who cares?

You should be proud of your accomplishments,

not dwell over how someone ruined them.

- Thank you for saying that.

You have a wonderful perspective.

- I learned how to ground myself and try again.

Hey, we'll get your worm compost back up.

- [exhales]

How do you deal with Lydia?

- Oh, she doesn't mean any harm.

But the best thing about Lydia is when she makes a mistake,

she tries really hard to fix it.

- Hi, Inspector Green?

Dimitri had nothing to do with this.

Can you please find some mercy in your heart?

- Unfortunately for you, no.

That's a lot of paperwork I have to undo on my end.

All the highlighting and deleting I'd need to do?

You have no idea.

- Surely, you've messed up before.

I mean, come on, we're only kids.

- Yeah? And I'm an adult,

which means that I know that actions have consequences.

- To quote Greta Thunberg, and my sister most days,

how dare you?

Dimitri tried his hardest and you just crushed his dreams!

- Uh, I think you played a part in that.

- OK, maybe.

But you shouldn't shame some kid for trying his best.

In fact, shame on you for leaving us

to clean up the mess you left.

- Uh, again, you made this particular mess.

- I meant the state of the planet your generation left.

[snaps] Keep up.

I thought you were an environmentalist.

- Uh, well, actually...

I'm just a school board employee

and I was assigned this gig.

I mean, environmentalism is... OK.

- Well, to Dimitri, it's everything.

Are you really going to cancel a solar panel

just because you're too lazy to do some paperwork?

- Probably, yeah. Yes.

- What if I did it for you?

I'm a wizard with a highlighter, you know.

- Speech. Speech. Speech. Speech. Speech.

- So many emotions.

Julie, thank you for helping me clean up the school.

And, Lydia,

I guess, thank you for the quick solution

to the problem you created in the first place.

- [chuckles softly] Guess you could say

you wouldn't even have this without me.

- Um, read the room, Lyd. Yeah.

- OK.

- So we didn't exactly save the planet.

- No, we did not, but I did learn

you need to care about a cause for the right reasons,

even if it doesn't make you popular.

- Exactly.

Having a hospitable planet should be a reward on its own.

And maybe we shouldn't destroy the environment

in pursuit of saving it. - Sound logic.

Can't believe you need to say it out loud for me to get it.

- Yeah.

So what do we rate this one?

- I give it 1 out of 3 fog machines,

because they are so expensive!

And fog machines are bad, obviously.

- By the way, how did the music video go?

- Honestly?

It was a masterpiece.

[mellow piano music]

- Look at what we've done

- [autotuned voice] You know it's bad

We polluted a ton

- Do you ever think, with all we knew

If we came together to see this through

together: After all, there's only one

Who knows just what to do

- And that's me!

Me and only me

I am just what this world needs

Save the forests and the trees

From collapsing misery

It's me and only me

- We know that it's not cool that we rely on fossil fuels

But if we come together we can pull this through

Standing hand in hand to make the world anew

A collective effort from I think we all know who

- It'll come from me!

Me and only me

I am just what this world needs

Save the forests and the trees

From collapsing misery

It's me and only me

We've only got one hope if we're gonna survive

- Time to make some climate changes in our lives

- It's the only way that we're staying alive

- Time to make some climate changes in our lives

- If you take my lead, then we're all gonna climb

- Time to make some climate changes in our lives

- 'Cause I have the courage to find the drive

- It's time to make some climate changes in our lives

- And cut.

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