Is Violence Required to Address Climate Change?

Polite Notice: This article contains some strong language, strongly emotive statements and other elements that may offend or upset some readers.  I do not apologise – I ask instead that you get over yourself and consider what I have to say.

It appears from news reports that 900 arrests have been made in Copenhagen during the massive march today.  Some youths threw stones and smashed windows.  A lot of arrests for a 30,000 crowd.  But given the EU announcement of pitiful support for poorer nations, much of the $10bn is merely a re-labelling of existing commitments, I am not surprised.  The political grandstanding has become a farce in my eyes too.

Ahead of the final day of the COP15 conference on the 18th December (when doubtless the smiles, handshakes,  cameras and exquisite food and drink will satisfy the 110 world leaders who will fly in to publicly display their commitment to the common cause) it seems that the outcome of an unremarkable response to the climate change issue is already a given – a 25% to 45% target reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 level to be achieved in 10 years.  It is unremarkable since the current commitment is estimated at merely 18%, and if the EU financial package is any predictor of the willingness to reach further, then it will be a struggle to reach 25%.  There is no action listed to specifically work to a temperature change target, so where did the greenhouse gas emissions figure really come from?  How about a pure lack of imagination and commitment beyond rhetoric?

It makes me angry.

I do not condone unjustified violence against another nor civil disorder.  However, I do wonder what is required to make the developed world look up and see beyond its greed and self-interest.  Surely this issue alone demands a violent response; an approach that passionately embraces the real problems and aggressively makes the changes that are required in industry, science and society?

Is it really so important that the people at large are bored with hearing about climate change in the media?  Will people really avoid paying the taxes and experiencing a little of the hardships that are required that the world leaders should merely provide face time instead of proper solutions and real cash?  Obviously people at large, my generation perhaps,  can only follow the X-Factor or Strictly, we need to ensure that we don’t even have to think instead of face up to the huge burden of responsibility we have for our children’s future.  Our smiling politicians have it all in hand to keep everything safe and peaceful and wealthy.

It makes me feel sick.

I wonder sometimes if we have become too happy to live a life without real consequences.  Its OK to buy cheap food and clothes without considering the impact on the producers and manufacturers, the poisoned farmers, the exploited women and children and the desolated forests.  Its fine to break the law as long as you don’t get caught we’re told.    Live for now – you only have this moment.  Well maybe its all true – but somehow I don’t think so.

Perhaps the easy availability of contraception has messed with our minds.  We can fuck without worrying about it – so perhaps we can fuck up our world in the same way too?  But condoms don’t stop the sea rising, or the weather patterns changing and the polar ice-caps melting.  The pill won’t fix the starvation and death or even the global unrest. And just like its our children that have the unwanted pregnancies in our contraceptive ridden western societies, its the children that will face the consequences of our couldn’t give a diddly attitude.

Our morals stink because we don’t think or care about our responsibilities.

So perhaps violence is required.  I hope the youths arrested at the Cop-Out15 conference aren’t just anarchistic trouble-makers (though of course we will never hear otherwise).  I hope its our young people standing up for themselves a whole lot more than most of us seem to be standing up to our responsibilities and the consequences of our actions.  But we need to bring on the real violence that is necessary to wake us up to our future in the hope that its not already too late.