Two days before what we hope is a historic climate change rally, we are braced for the sneers. Cynics will attempt to dismiss the Global Climate Strike as the whinging of the inexperienced and entitled. Some eagle-eyed observer will spot a protester drinking out of non-biodegradable plastic bottle or hopping into their parents’ SUV and say, as so many have, that those kids would be better off taking personal action and leaving political rallies alone.
We encourage personal action – cutting out beef, eschewing gas guzzling cars and recycling – but today, the most constructive personal action a young person can take is to stage a political rally.
Two years ago, we learned that 100 companies were responsible for 71 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Some pundits quickly pointed out that corporations like ExxonMobil can hardly be held accountable for the consumers who choose to use their product. But those pundits, we would argue, missed the point by several hundred gigatonnes.
It almost doesn’t matter whether you blame corporations or consumers for the massive levels of carbon dioxide that continue to belch into our increasingly tenuous atmosphere. What that report did show in terrifying detail is that the politics of personal responsibility have failed us and there’s no reason to think that approach won’t continue to fail.
In May, the United Nations warned that one million species are threatened with extinction. We need government to lead, to organize. Ultimately, we need the government to save us from ourselves.
Maybe these rallying kids are inexperienced. Maybe they’re entitled. Maybe they even whinge. But none of that invalidates the fact that, this time, the kids are right.
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