![\"Charlie](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sac-news-events\/files\/2021\/08\/IMG_1438.jpg\")
So now that we\u2019re confident and ready to roll, what can we actually do? As I see it, there are five main things we could and should all be getting on with.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Communicating<\/li>\n
- Influencing<\/li>\n
- Activism<\/li>\n
- Building better alternatives, and<\/li>\n
- Looking after ourselves.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
We need to reach social tipping points so leaders have no choice but to take the required action – and that means putting the climate and ecological emergency on everyone\u2019s lips. So\u2026<\/p>\n
Communicate<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Take every opportunity to talk about it, to whoever you can. I don\u2019t mean full-on deniers – forget them, they can\u2019t be reached. But between the activists (<1%) and the deniers (<1%), there is a full 98% of the population who know it\u2019s happening but aren\u2019t doing enough about it. They are the ones we have to motivate and mobilise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We\u2019re conditioned to not talk about it- nobody wants to bring down a social occasion or annoy their friends with piety, but we just have to get over these taboos and social norms. It\u2019s hard and makes us uncomfortable, but this is an emergency.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s important because person-to-person is the most potent form of communication there is. People can easily dismiss something on the TV or Facebook as unimportant, but you are a real person that they respect or love. They might listen to you. So talk, but don\u2019t focus only on scientific or technical arguments- 420ppm, 1.5C and other such concepts are abstract and difficult to comprehend. They don\u2019t feel real, and they don\u2019t get through on a meaningful level. In any case, our rational brains aren\u2019t even the key player here – our emotions are.<\/p>\n
Greta Thunberg showed us this. Decades of technical arguments by scientists didn\u2019t breakthrough, but when Greta started speaking in emotive language, people started listening. We know the facts. What we don\u2019t see is the fear, the grief, the emotional devastation. But they are hugely powerful and persuasive, so use them. \u2018Weaponise\u2019 them. Rage and injustice too – it helps turn anguish into motivation to act.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve spoken from the head and been ignored, so speak from the heart a bit more. But we also need to be clever with our communication, as we\u2019re competing with a lot of other stuff out there. So, think about your audience, and craft your messages.<\/p>\n
Many people might not think they care about climate change, but they do care about some of its impacts. If they\u2019re into justice, focus on justice. If they garden, talk about plants. Sports, business\u2026 this changes everything, and there\u2019s an angle for everyone.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t just focus on the risks and dangers. Climate justice means creating a better world – it will be cleaner, healthier, fairer, and richer. Focusing on opportunities, rather than just challenges, may be more motivating for some. So talk, talk and talk some more – to friends, colleagues, the lady at the bus stop\u2026 But also make opportunities to reach beyond your circle- get yourself in the local paper, or on the radio. Do something to get noticed, then let rip. Or if you have a platform, use it. Talk to your political representatives too, loudly and often. Show them what their constituents care about (but then you already knew that).<\/p>\n
Push for change in your circles of influence.<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Climate changes everything, so everything must change – your schools, businesses, sports clubs, all of it! But change doesn\u2019t just happen – someone needs to make it happen, and that\u2019s you. So push for change, but remember our strategic messaging – don\u2019t focus on climate, but the advantages to be had from the transition. Every organisation has to adapt to a post-carbon world, and those who do so quickest will have a great advantage. Make the \u2018business case\u2019. The world is changing fast, so don\u2019t let your organisations be left behind! Don\u2019t let them be the delivery company who stuck with horses because they thought those new-fangled automobiles were too expensive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Okay, so you\u2019re talking to everyone and pushing for change where you have influence.<\/p>\n
Get active, and join a group!<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Link up with others – there is power in numbers, and you\u2019ll feel good to be one of many. There\u2019s a huge range of groups, from the traditional campaigning ones to those who engage in non-violent direct action (NVDA). They work in different ways and have different views of how to make change happen. So find one that feels right for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Personally, I believe in civil disobedience, the symbolic refusal to behave and just let it happen to us. We\u2019ve been campaigning politely for decades and have been easy to ignore. It\u2019s beyond time to step it up. So I do stuff with Extinction Rebellion<\/a>.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s no group in your town<\/a>, set one up! I started my local group @xrkingslynn and we\u2019ve since done great things. Literally, all it took was setting up a Facebook page and calling a meeting.<\/p>\n
I know NVDA seems scary, especially if you only ever see it on the news, but getting involved doesn\u2019t have to mean getting arrested! Most people in the air force aren\u2019t pilots, and most people in XR haven\u2019t blocked a road. Whatever your skills, you can safely put them to good use. If you\u2019re creative, make artwork. If you\u2019re caring, join a wellbeing group. If you write, write press releases.\u2019<\/p>\n
Also, much direct action doesn\u2019t risk arrest – think of it as performance art. You can get arrested for breaking the windows of Britain\u2019s dirtiest bank, but I don\u2019t think you can for cleaning them. So get creative! Let\u2019s not limit our civil disobedience to the streets either. Refusing to take that unnecessary work flight, or join in with activities that normalise wastefulness, is disobedience too!<\/p>\n
Okay, you can take a break if you like, that\u2019s a lot already! But we\u2019re nearly there and my fourth theme is really short because I don\u2019t know much about it.<\/p>\n
Opposing everything wrong is great and all, but it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n
Develop and support better alternatives.<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Better ways to govern, better ways to grow food, better ways to trade and meet public needs\u2026 there are people doing this all over. So find, support and join them. They are countercultural now, but with or without collapse our mainstream ways of doing things are on the way out, and we\u2019ll need better ways in the new world we build.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You\u2019ll notice that one thing I haven\u2019t discussed much so far is reducing our personal carbon footprints. And not just because that\u2019s what most articles and blogs seem to focus on exclusively. Doing so is important, it helps us feel better, and makes us much more legitimate and effective activists – our messages carry greater weight if we also walk the walk. This is particularly important for people with high-carbon lifestyles, like frequent flyers. It\u2019s why I gave up my job leading tours to Madagascar. But not everyone can afford only organic food or do without a car, so don\u2019t let that hold you back. Some fear being labelled a hypocrite but own the label. It\u2019s not possible to exist in the modern world without having a negative impact, and they are not arguing in good faith. They\u2019ll use any excuse to discredit you, so ignore them.<\/p>\n
But most importantly, forgive yourself for it. Don\u2019t give yourself a hard time over your inability to eliminate your impacts. Don\u2019t let \u2018micro-consumerist boll***<\/a>\u2019 distract you from bigger battles.<\/p>\n
The importance of self-care.<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Unlike many \u2018campaigns\u2019, the struggle for climate justice will never be won. There\u2019s no endpoint at which we can relax. We\u2019re in this for the long haul and must take care of ourselves. Burnout is a real problem. Make time to switch off, to unwind, to just think and feel. Go for a walk, get out in nature, have fun, do what you love. Just leave your phone behind! Actually, one of the things I love most about Extinction Rebellion is our emphasis on wellbeing as part of our regenerative culture<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
That\u2019s pretty much me done, for now at least. I\u2019m not a veteran activist, I\u2019m no scholar of social change and I\u2019m not a psychologist, so I hope none of what I\u2019ve said is bad advice. And I hope it has been useful for some of you. Thanks for sticking with me! May you feel emboldened, and take inspiration from the great man Macka B<\/a>: \u2018I might not change the world with my views, but I might just light a fuse\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- Unlike many \u2018campaigns\u2019, the struggle for climate justice will never be won. There\u2019s no endpoint at which we can relax. We\u2019re in this for the long haul and must take care of ourselves. Burnout is a real problem. Make time to switch off, to unwind, to just think and feel. Go for a walk, get out in nature, have fun, do what you love. Just leave your phone behind! Actually, one of the things I love most about Extinction Rebellion is our emphasis on wellbeing as part of our regenerative culture<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Better ways to govern, better ways to grow food, better ways to trade and meet public needs\u2026 there are people doing this all over. So find, support and join them. They are countercultural now, but with or without collapse our mainstream ways of doing things are on the way out, and we\u2019ll need better ways in the new world we build.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Link up with others – there is power in numbers, and you\u2019ll feel good to be one of many. There\u2019s a huge range of groups, from the traditional campaigning ones to those who engage in non-violent direct action (NVDA). They work in different ways and have different views of how to make change happen. So find one that feels right for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Climate changes everything, so everything must change – your schools, businesses, sports clubs, all of it! But change doesn\u2019t just happen – someone needs to make it happen, and that\u2019s you. So push for change, but remember our strategic messaging – don\u2019t focus on climate, but the advantages to be had from the transition. Every organisation has to adapt to a post-carbon world, and those who do so quickest will have a great advantage. Make the \u2018business case\u2019. The world is changing fast, so don\u2019t let your organisations be left behind! Don\u2019t let them be the delivery company who stuck with horses because they thought those new-fangled automobiles were too expensive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Take every opportunity to talk about it, to whoever you can. I don\u2019t mean full-on deniers – forget them, they can\u2019t be reached. But between the activists (<1%) and the deniers (<1%), there is a full 98% of the population who know it\u2019s happening but aren\u2019t doing enough about it. They are the ones we have to motivate and mobilise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n