Destroy dairy farming, destroy the economy?
Newstalk ZB: International calls for climate change
Hundreds of people joined climate action groups across Aotearoa New Zealand today, calling for bold and ambitious climate leadership in response to the Global Climate Action Summit hosted in California next week.
Interesting to see the use of ‘Aotearoa New Zealand’ in a news report.
Events in Auckland, Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill, each highlighted different demands for local leaders.
Their main focus: removing the social licence of the oil, gas and coal sectors – the most carbon intensive industries.
Aucklanders gathered in The Domain, targeting the Museum’s sponsorship from coal industry partners, the Stevenson Foundation.
In Wellington, protestors called for the controversial annual Petroleum Conference to be banned from Wellington City Council-owned venues.
In Nelson, they discussed future campaigns to build a Fossil Free Nelson.
Other protests were more general:
Christchurch hosted a climate discussion and a spring fair.
Whanganui there was a soapbox for community speakers on climate change.
Invercargill and Southland communities demanded true climate action in Aotearoa.
Dunedin wasn’t mentioned in that report but it was at The Standard – A Tale of Two Protests:
A few minutes later, on the way through the Octagon, I stopped to chat with a few people who’d gathered as part of the global day of action called “Rise for Climate”, and I picked up some leaflets. When I first passed through, it was before their advertised “start” time and there was a very light smattering of something like a dozen people.
Fast forward one hour.
Coming back through the Octagon, I’d say there was maybe twenty people.
Not a well supported protest.
All white and all exuding a definate air of middle classness There was an electric car and some electric bikes and, to be honest, I immediately thought of a stall at a sales expo.
‘All white’ is a risky assumption.
Anyway, I’ve just this minute read the leaflets I gathered from the Octagon. There’s some good information within the half a dozen or so leaflets I grabbed. But some of the information is also, quite frankly, incredibly unhelpful, while a lot of it is decidedly naive. Overall, there’s too much confusing or irrelevant smash, and no timeless and simple “banner message” that might offer unity and a basis for people to built on.
Just to be clear. I’m not suggesting that everyone ought to be saying the same damned things about global warming or climate change, or that everyone ought to cleave to the same set of priorities.
But there has to be something short and sharp, something unequivocal and easy to grasp that allows people “entry”.
Until then, I suspect actions around global warming will remain somewhat “soft” – places and events where people already familiar with one another can gather to say hello – and the prospects for growing a large and broad based constituency of people, willing to stand up and proclaim that they give a shit – well, that will remain decidedly low.
The problem with climate change activism and protest is that while many people acknowledge (and most climate scientists) acknowledge it as a significant and real problem, or potential problem, that vast majority of people see no imminent risk.
It must be hard to motivate people to protest now over things that they may or may not think might happen by the end of the century, or at some vague time in the future.
Attacking Fonterra (I don’t know where that banner was shown but it’s from NZH) is unlikely to prompt a popular uprising.
A problem for hard core climate protesters is they tend to be the more idealistic doomsayers who fail to come up with popular or practical solutions.
