SubscribeI am inspired by my friend Josée’s reporting from the Copenhagen Climate Summit, so I thought this would be a good time to focus on issues of environmental justice. For too long, we have lied and externalized the true costs of doing business. That loan is now being called in. It will be poor people who pay our debts, in deteriorating health, longer commutes, higher food prices, or the eradication of fertile soil and potable water. There really are too many ways to list how the situation facing poor people is unjust. A lot must be done.
Mass action has for a long time been the only real tool for regular people to change things. So too for climate justice. I believe that mass action is an important part of political and economic support of environmental change. On that note, I share with you documentation of two mass-actions that make a call for radical, but reasonable, changes in the way we conduct our daily lives.
The following are videos of two protests on either side of the United States involving cyclist riding with cars. They share a similar message about the unsustainable design of the a car-based city, but that is where the similarity ends. The videos use two different styles (so do, as you will see, the actions), but their message is equally strong. The first for it’s classic call for justice and solidarity, the second for it’s insanity.
Enjoy:
High School Bike Bus from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNZSe8Q8-Iw
P.S. While mass action, culture, and an affordable press have long been tools available to working and poor people, accessible broadcast media is new. The ability for normal lay people to produce quality propaganda like the above is a novel and exciting development. What this access will actually mean is anyone’s guess.
