Thinking about what I would write about today I decided that I wouldn't write about the little things we can all do in our everyday life that can help guard against the onset of climate change. I didn't want to become another of those droning voices that have started to repel rather than encourage people to become more eco-conscious. For years we've been told to recycle our rubbish, not fly anywhere, take public transport, use energy saving bulbs, eat local and organic food and many of us have dutifully followed. Every day we get new tips on how we can help and we embrace them mostly without complaint. Some of us may have even experienced the guilt of having to purchase a plastic bag at the checkout because we have forgotten to bring our own. For many of us 'being green' is part of our everyday lives but for others the fatigue has started to creep in.
Green fatigue is a worrying yet understandable phenomenon. People feel they are making day-to-day sacrifices but no longer seem to believe they are truly making a difference. People see others not making any effort to curb their carbon emitting habits and loose the will to try and do something themselves. Some people feel that it is the governments that are letting them down, their personal effort seems to pale into insignificance when their leaders are still proposing new coal burning power stations like the one at Kingsnorth which was the centre of last years UK climate camp.
Some feel big businesses are stopping governments making the right decisions for the environment. I've talked to people who simply can't understand why big petrol thirsty cars are still being made. Is it enough that the consumer wants them, or should the government just legislate against them? Here in Ireland we have raised taxes on these vehicles but surely it would be a better solution to stop making them? Is capitalism ultimately killing the planet?
So what is the solution?
Many think that direct action is the only way to mobilise enough power to force governments to change their minds. This week we saw Greenpeace scale the Houses of Parliament in London in a call to make the government live up to their responsibilities and put climate change on the top of the agenda. They received massive publicity for their efforts appearing on all the major news bulletins and in the newspapers. Earlier this year we saw Ireland's first Climate Camp focusing to the peat burning power station in Shannonbridge Co. Offaly. They also drew a lot of press attention to an issue that many of us in Ireland are ignorant of. But can such direct action really make a difference beyond awareness raising?
I'd like to thing that tentatively yes they can. In 2008 Camp for Climate Action in the UK camped out at the Kingsnorth Power Station in Kent. The coal burning station was due to be closed down in 2016 to conform to EU pollution regulations but there were plans to replace it with yet another coal fired power station. The new facility was heralded to be a cleaner coal burning station, it was to be 'capture ready', a term that incensed many as the technology involved in capturing carbon and storing it is still in it's infancy and comes with it's own set of problems. The protesters believed, and many agreed that there should simply be no more coal burning stations built, instead they believe more money needs to be put into cleaner and renewable fuels, some would even be happier to see the nuclear option than more coal.
The camp became big news, not just because of the direct action but also because of the behavior of the police during the camp. This week demonstrators will be celebrating a cautious victory as plans for the new station have been put on hold.
So is this a case where direct action has had a positive effect on climate change? I would like to think so, I would like to believe that there is more I can do than cycling and recycling that has the potential to make a difference. It could also be a way to curb our green fatigue. This past 12 months has shown that we are not scared of standing up to our government, and we have achieved success with policy u-turns on issues such as medical cards for pensioners. Direct action is something we can all take part in and it will also give us back the belief that there is something positive we can do.
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