As I write this more than a hundred activists are winding their way through Edinburgh to a temporary camp set up next to the headquarters of RBS. It is of course, this year’s Camp for Climate Action, aka Climate Camp, who are targeting the taxpayer-owned bank for their funding of tar sands extraction in Canada. Up to a thousand activists are eventually expected to join the camp which will likely act as a springboard for other affinity group demonstrations and actions. I’d be there myself if I wasn’t brassic at the moment.
While the camp is brimming with activists it seems to be lacking in media attention. This time last year newspapers and TV news stations couldn’t get enough of the camp, which then targeted Blackheath for incursions into the City of London. Today, the story is buried in the Guardian’s environment pages, which is surprising considering the attention lavished on Climate Camp last year, while both Sky and BBC neglect to grace the action with any coverage.
So why is there barely a ripple in the media this year? To start with, I was taking part in the camp last year, so maybe my views of its coverage are somewhat skewed compared to this year, but I distinctly remember there being a tangible excitement at the Blackheath camp; the Guardian was even liveblogging it.
Here’s some ideas I’ve had:
Police Brutality
Last year’s camp followed in the wake of the death of Ian Tomlinson and righteous indignation at the behaviour of police during the G20 protests, as well as the arrests at Ratcliffe. Blackheath was to be the first test of the police’s new ‘community’ approach to dealing with large scale demonstrations. All eyes were turned to London to see how the Met would cope and no doubt many in news orgs were hoping for some head bashing to spice up their reports. (Of course, this failed to materialise). On another note, it will be interesting to see how the police do behave this time round, given that media spotlight is focused elsewhere and it’s a different force.
Environmentalism as a FadClimate change and other environmental issues were hot topics last year as we built up to Copenhagen in December. Summits, reports, conferences, demonstrations etc. were ten a penny. Since the damp squib that was Copenhagen it’s almost as though such issues have dropped off the radar, perhaps replaced – in the UK at least – by a focus on the new government and their drive to cut everything that moves.
London-centric MediaThat bit of the country outside the M25 may as well be somewhere foreign to a media obsessed with the capital. Hell, Scotland practically is foreign to our national newspapers! Making the trek up to Edinburgh to cover a protest is maybe a bit much to ask, but then again there are plenty of people already there for Fringe. Furthermore, last year’s camp was right on the doorstep of most journalists, just a short tube/DLR/bus ride away – it was begging to be covered in as much detail as it was.
A-Level Results DayThis is always top story, maybe it was a bit of a balls up to swoop on the same day lots of pretty young girls flood the press and 24-hour news? But saying that, even the environment pages are giving little coverage to the camp.
Media MistreatmentThe handling of the media at Blackheath was a little authoritarian, as I criticised in a blog post at the time. In one isolated case a photographer was even assaulted by a camper. Saying that though, the media still had freedom to explore the camp and the policies espoused by the camp weren’t rigorously enforced. It would take a journalist with a very thin skin to be put off reporting the camp this year. Moreover, actions like Climate Camp feed on the oxygen of publicity provided by national media. Perhaps a more accurate criticism may be a weak courting of the national media this time around. It’s hard for me to say not being involved this time, but where have the press releases and videos etc. been this year?
Protest as IrrelevantThere may be some weight behind this. For all the protests and demonstrations last year, it would seem very little was achieved at Copenhagen in particular. But on the other hand, Kingsnorth has been ditched and, likewise, the third runway at Heathrow. Furthermore, it was these protest movements that helped draw to people’s attention the behaviour of police, not just at demonstrations but year round as evident in the targeting of ‘domestic extremists’. Climate Camp is also incredibly mediagenic (if that’s a word), being the kind of middle class, ‘good’ protesters that the Guardian and its ilk swoon over.
I myself have become somewhat disillusioned with such types of protest lately, especially since Copenhagen and find myself questioning their role in wider environment campaigns. What is certainly true though is that they rely massively on the media for growth and publicity for their causes, and this seems to be lacking this time. I sound like I’m writing the camp off before it’s even begun but it strikes me as strange the current media silence and it would certainly be interesting to compare the media coverage this year to that of 2009 to see what activists can learn from it.
Anyhow, I wish Climate Camp the best of luck!
We may not of heard the last of Kingsnorth yet:
Coal-fired power stations win reprieve – The Guardian
E.ON presses ahead with Kingsnorth carbon capture project – Energy Efficiency News
I think another reason the camp hasn’t yet received much coverage is because they are essentially targeting an office complex on the outskirts of town. Unlike previous years where they targeted airports and power stations, which of course brings a greater police response. Although the camp is just over the road from Edinburgh airport, so I’m sure that will getting a visit from the campers over the next few days.
I’ll be heading up to Edinburgh tomorrow to document the camp, despite the aforementioned assault, it’ll be interesting to see how the coverage continues over the next few days.
I had wondered whether the location may have had something to do with it, but then Blackheath last year was a bit of a non-location, so to speak. Also, RBS are still regarded with some distaste by the British public, I’m sure many people would like to do more than just camp outside their headquarters… but as I also mentioned above, I guess this anger has subsided somewhat, especially with the coalition government’s cuts agenda.
I’ll keep an eye out for your coverage, I look forward to it. Hope you have a better experience this year too!
Sorry, this a bit off topic but your mention of climate camp got me thinking.
I often wonder whether activists have a clear goal in mind at the end of their activism. What do you want climate camp to achieve? Yeah, yeah, I know, reduced CO2, but what would that world look and feel like.
It’s not too hard to have a smallish CO2 footprint as a youngster. Money’s often in short supply and so is time but presumably you want to have a job, a home and some of life’s luxuries? My CO2 footprint was probably at it’s lowest at Uni. I lived in an unheated house and walked or took the train. I had a tiny black and white TV and very little else. I wanted more.
Have you thought about the CO2 footprint of all the things you want out of life? Travel, good food, fashionable clothes, electronics, a house, a car, kids, etc, etc? If your plans come to fruition you’ll never get most of those things. Seriously, with current technology, all those things are very CO2 costly. I know, I know, people keep promising that it only needs some serious funding and oodles of renewable power are just round the corner. Nah. It’s a lie. Even if they cracked safe, reliable fusion tomorrow it would be tens of years before there are enough working stations to provide a fraction of the energy we need. And they’ve been on the verge of cracking fusion for decades. What if it never happens in your lifetime?
Forget renewables, they currently provide a mere 2% of UK needs and then only when conditions are right.
In other words, if you are serious in your goals, almost everything you might want is unavailable for your future. Are you prepared for that? What sort of life do you envisage for yourself and (if you have any) your kids?
You should be aiming at a carbon footprint of about 2 tonnes (global population permitting), a level last achieved in the UK about 1850. An alternative is to think of modern Brazil, although they achieve it by vast inequalities. Now remember, that 2 tonnes includes any new things you buy. If you buy something that saves a tonne a year you still have to add the tonnes it took to build it (something governments forgot with new car incentives).
I’m not trying to distract you from worrying about CO2 but it’s impossible to achieve a goal without planning it meticulously. How can you lecture others on cutting CO2 if you don’t do it yourself? You need to know what your ideals are going to cost you.
Some people have in their heads a bucolic image of a society making handy crafts and entertaining themselves telling stories and singing… I’ve just never met anyone who would actually be happy with that. I’m not saying it’s not the right way to go but people have to readjust their goals to accept that as their future. People like you.
So please, sit down and plan your future with very small amounts of CO2. Discuss it with your fellow campaigners. Perhaps you will discover the secret to a happy, low carbon lifestyle? Or maybe you’ll be fired up to design a new energy source? Or maybe you’ll just appreciate how hard it will be to give up what nasty old carbon based energy sources have done for you.
You would enrich your site by including the discoveries you make
Thank you for the comment. I think many people in the Climate Camp do actually have a vision of their low carbon world, in fact, the camp *is* that vision. I’m not sure if you’ve visited any of the camps but they run on DIY renewable generators, use compost toilets, recycle water etc. etc. Further, I think for many people involved in this and similar campaigns, the desire to have new consumer products is somewhat lacking. Being generally of an anti-capitalist nature we recognise the important role consumerism has played in causing climate change and as such reject such material existence. Not outright, not everybody there is a utopian, “let’s get back to mother nature” ‘hippy’ but there is certainly a realisation that such consumer behaviour is unsustainable.
I don’t think there’s necessarily an overarching, commonly held idea of this future, low carbon world, such is the disparate nature of the Climate Camp movement which at once is radical but also open and encompassing of new people, something that isn’t always easy to reconcile. Further, my main criticism, not just of Climate Camp but many environmental movements, isn’t necessarily lacking a vision of the future but a realistic means of achieving it. On the other hand though, we also need to have some kind of vision before we can try and plan our journey there…
Climate camp is not just for summer it’s for life.
Lot’s of people enjoy camping and roughing it but reducing CO2 is forever. Imagine camp in the snow, or torrential rain, or burning heat, not just once, but day in, day out, year in, year out. Theoretically we might return to ‘normal’ temperatures, which would be like what I experienced as a child in the sixties and seventies. Cold winters and hot or wet summers. There was even a campaign one summer to bathe with a friend because water was so short. It was an era where people only bathed once a week so it was probably equivalent to a very short shower a day. How much cleanliness do you now consider essential? Have you ever had to drag clothes into bed with you to warm them up enough to put them on? Or sleep in them? Whatever you can imagine, 2 tonnes of CO2 would be harder.
Think of all the things that made up climate camp. Where did it all come from? Tents don’t grow in trees. Nor do generators or wind mills or solar panels. How did everyone get there? How many clothes did they bring and did they get a ‘real’ wash when they got home? Where did the stuff come from to capture the rain? What about the tools? New consumer products aren’t all battery operated gizmos. Consumerism for the sake of it is bad but you’d be surprised how many little things you take for granted in your life. If we didn’t live in a world where most things are available you be amazed at how hard even the simplest of tasks can be.
Have you ever watched The Good Life? It’s actually an excellent study in how complicated it is to return to nature. The couple only survive because they start with as much as they do and are surrounded by excess. Watch how many things they have to beg, borrow or scrounge. Their free time was tied up simply existing. The space they needed to support themselves was larger than most people ever attain.
It doesn’t mean that that life isn’t a happy one but never, ever see it through rose tinted glasses. It’s hard and dirty.
For people to recycle, there first has to be a product. I’ve got a houseful of refurbished, second hand furniture. It’s only available to me because someone else bought it and then moved on. My CO2 footprint is only so low because I can reuse. If there’s no throw away society I become a consumer.
Do I need as much stuff as I’ve got? No. Do I want it? Yes. Now you might see that as needless greed but I’d point out your flight to the US (over 3 tonnes CO2). Did you need to go to the US? No. Did you want to go? Yes. One man’s luxury is another man’s waste. (Kudos for actually admitting to the flight
I’ve never treated myself to a transatlantic flight. I’d never been abroad before I was 17 and I last took a short flight 3 years ago. Does that make me the better person? No. We just each want different things from life.
Until you look honestly at yourself and wonder how many lapses in commitment you’ll make, you can’t judge others. Will the Jamie of 10 years from now be happy living at climate camp? Or will he be like the rest of us, hoping to move to a slightly bigger home to make room for a study? Will you want espadrilles fashioned by your neighbour or will you want a new pair of branded trainers? Do you have a mobile phone? Do you need it or do you just want it?
Think of everything around you, from the light switch to the curtains. They don’t last forever and when they fail, not everything is easy to fix, but everything causes CO2 emissions. Add it all up. It’ll shock you.
Am I picking on you? Yep, sorry. However I’m aware that if catastrophists are right and CO2 is the big bad wolf, it’s not enough to have good intentions or cut back a bit. If believers in AGW theory won’t examine their lives properly and honestly asses what they can and can’t give up, what hope is there of convincing everyone else?
Self examination may lead to a breakthough.
PS My monica TinyCO2 partly refers to my carbon footprint which is about 3-4 tonnes. I do nearly all the things suggested to cut my footprint. I don’t offset because it’s a ripoff. I achieve that level by having a very odd life that few would enjoy or be able to match. I also have quite a few of life’s luxuries so the CO2 cost was already spent before CO2 became an issue. It’ a lot easier being green when you’ve already got what you want.
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I would like to be a part of this Climate Camp. But on which day and time will this Camp start? thanks for making me aware of this camp!
The camp is ongoing at the RBS headquarters on the outskirts of Edinburgh. For more information on the camp visit their website or follow their feed on twitter.
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