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Environmentalism in the Time of Covid-19

The coronavirus has forced us to stop our protests just when our movement was gathering steam. This time last year the fight for climate justice was finally reaching the public eye. Luckily, there are still things you can do to support the fight against climate change, on a personal and global level.

This is UKSCN’s official stance on Covid-19. Essentially, we must stop gathering and protesting to preserve the health of our communities. UKSCN is urging the government to help workers and communities before global corporations, and not to allow people to “use this crisis as an excuse to trample on human rights, civil liberties and democracy”. Obviously they were right to worry about this given the recent racist incidents in the USA and Canada. It’s all very well hearing general stances like this, but I’m here to translate these into specific actions you can take to further our cause.

Local/Personal Actions

Research your local recycling facilities and their rules. If you’ve been slacking in terms of sorting your rubbish lately, now’s a good time to get back into the habit. Also, some changes may have been made due to covid-19 so it’s worth checking that out.

Support local businesses if at all possible. It might not be safe to go directly to them, but many are offering temporary delivery schemes. Your local farms, bakeries and other suppliers will be struggling. Now is the time to give them all you can. If you can’t buy from them, give them publicity.

Many more people will be using public footpaths and trails, inevitably leaving rubbish in their wake. Consider going on a litter pick with members of your household if you have the correct equipment and if it is safe to do so. You will need bin bags, heavy duty gloves and litter pickers. Avoid needles and canisters, and anything else that could pose a risk to you. If you sort the waste into multiple bags you can recycle it!

If you and your household are not at risk for severe covid-19, research local community support groups that you could volunteer with. Though I despise it, Facebook is the best place to find them, usually on a town or village community group. You’ll be delivering food and support to vulnerable people living near you, which will make a real difference in staving off loneliness for them.

Finally, reconnect with nature! Remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Personally, I’ve been getting to know the birds in my back garden - we have a lovely goldfinch family and a small army of starlings relying on our feeder. If it’s safe to explore green spaces near your house, you could practice identifying different species of plants and animals. You’re helping to save them! This can be a fun family/household activity that helps them understand your perspective as well as giving them something to do.

Social Media

Condemn ecofascists. What’s an ecofascist? It’s someone who thinks humans should sacrifice their wellbeing for the good of the planet. More accurately, it’s someone who is using climate change to justify their prejudices. You’ll have seen them posting about how coronavirus is saving the earth and that we are the real virus. It’s simply not true. Remind them that the way to mitigating the climate crisis is through technology, legislature and community, not through culling the human race.

Take part in an online FFF strike! Greta Thunberg is leading the way once again. All you have to do to take part in the strike is post a picture of yourself with your sign, and gain as much publicity as you can. Just because coronavirus has stopped our in-person strikes doesn’t mean we can’t disrupt people’s feeds with our message. Alternatively, you could create some art, music or writing to share. Remind people we’re still here and we’ll be ready to reclaim the spotlight when this is over.

Stand up for science. Avoid sharing misinformation if you can, and use factual information to further your point. Of course, arguing online is frequently pointless as someone who didn’t use logic to get themself into a position can rarely be logically argued out of it. Don’t waste your time if you feel you’re getting nowhere. And don’t resort to namecalling.

Spread news. Don’t let corporations and governments get away with injustice while they think we’re looking the other way. I won’t leave an example since a billion more will have happened by the time this is posted, but you all know what I’m talking about.

And that’s it! Don’t feel bad if you can’t do anything right now due to personal circumstances. There’s a bloody pandemic going on, it’s unrealistic to expect anything more than survival. Nonetheless, I hope we can preserve some of the momentum this movement had, and once this is over we can go back to saving the world.

#thoughts of spork #fridays for future #ukscn #environment #climate change #climate justice #environmentalism #eco friendly #earth day #science #climate crisis #school strike for climate

Where will you be today? 🌍🌏🌎

globalclimatestrike.net

#globalclimatestrike #climatestrike #climateaction #ukscn

“i am here missing my education that i need for the future, but if i don’t do things like this, there won’t be a future.”

On the 24th of May 2019, I attended a Youth Strike for Climate March. The man leading the march asked people if they wished to speak - I raised my hand. This is a video of me speaking. I decided to keep it short and sweet.