Pretty powerful video from our friends at Greenpeace. I guess this video came out a little while back – but I haven’t seen it making the rounds before. Check it out!
The youth climate movement draws the line in the sand!?
Published by Matt Leonard, July 5th, 2007 Climate Challenge , Climate Justice , global warming , Video , Youth Leaders 11 Comments11 Responses to “The youth climate movement draws the line in the sand!?”
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That was easily one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. Very nice. And yes, it is time to draw the line.
Holy Crap. Does that kid have access to fire arms?
Hahaha, I had the same thought andrew. I do not want to mess with that kid.
I’m just glad he’s on our side…
Can’t say I’m a fan of this… way too angry and the recycling of the Bush rhetoric (“You’re either with us or against us”) is unsettling. Who is this designed to appeal to?
Oh man. That video is….ridiculous. Not in the best of ways. Maybe if we are trying to start clean energy street gangs…After I saw that I wanted to go hide from this kid, not go out and fight the good fight.
To clarify: If this is meant to convince anybody to join the fight for climate justice, it is not an effective tool. However, I do think it is entertaining to watch if you don’t take it too seriously.
And I do agree with the time to draw lines bit, there are a huge number of people (ie politicians) in the gray zone – saying all the right things, but never taking any action.
Adi: I disagree. “With us or against us” can be a very powerful statement. It is the context and meaning that really matters when it is used. I see striking differences between it’s use by Bush and this child. I think it’s far more disturbing and reckless when a man with so much power and responsiblity says it. Children making vague threats to adults is spooky, if not thought-provoking — just look at how many responses this post has elicited (and herein lies the purpose!)
Amy: At 3:38am I don’t think many videos would make me want to go out and fight the good fight either
I think many are right to point out that this child’s apparent anger – while justified in my opinion – may not make for the most effective call to arms.
Still, listen to this words, recognize the intensity with which they are spoken, and realize the truth in his message: climate change doesn’t just put “the future” at risk – it puts our future at risk, the future that today’s young people will inherit, live our lives in, raise our children in.
This video helps show that for today’s youth – and for those yet unborn, if only they could speak – the climate crisis is real, it is urgent, and it is of the highest priority: our very future hangs in the balance.
And yet we cannot solve it without the assistance of today’s adults – those who hold positions of power, wealth and responsibility. Unless we begin today to make the necessary investments and set the public policies that change course towards a sustainable future, today’s youth will be left without the tools we’ll need to rise to our greatest challenge: de-carbonizing the planet and building a sustainable energy future.
To those in power today we must say: “We’re your children and grandchildren, your neighbors, friends and as some of us enter the workforce, your co-workers.
Who’s side are you on? Will you help us? Or will you condemn us to a dark future? We are ready to rise to the challenge – but we can’t do it alone!”
Thanks, Matt, for posting this. I too missed it when it was released. Cheers,
Jesse Jenkins
This video, featuring a not-so-angry child, is far more effective:
I am 28 years old, and I have no fear of this kid. I want to find this kid, and I want to help him. I have been on the so-called front lines of environmental activism for years. I have done everything from encourage recycling programs and fair trade and local commerce policies to getting a masters in Rural Development with a focus on sustainability. After going through the non-violent, peaceful ways and looking back at all the environmentalists who came before me I have to say ITS NOT WORKING!!!
It is easy to say “oohhh, I am afraid of this kid because he is not cute and cuddly and playing with his iPod” if you are not one of the people who will be experiencing the horrors of environmental degradation. It is easy to insult him and say he is doing it wrong if you are not one of the people facing the barrel of the eco-collapse gun. Those who say his reaction is not going to be effective are in one of the following groups: the adults who do not care, the youth who live a privileged life, or the activists who have not been at it long enough to see the uselessness of polite tactics.
But his response is not only justified, it is down right MILD in comparison to the threat against him. I just became a father, and when I look at my son all I can think is “Will there still be trees when you are my age? Will you live to have children of your own?” THIS IS A WAR PEOPLE!!!
In a war two or more sides fight for something, a cause, principals, resources, land, or rights, but the price is death. Well guess what, this is a war over all of those things and the price is death on a mass extinction scale! I applaud this young man and the Greenpeace network for publishing it.
Sustainable energy solutions are all too expensive to be in mass use. Why? Because the governments of the world give subsidies to the carbon-based energy companies. What should be his response, “oh well, you just go ahead and pay my killers I’ll just go play with my Nintendo.”
Sustainable agriculture is all but a joke why? Because the chemical companies that provide the fertilizers etc. are charging too much to the farmers so the farmers have to go big (and conventional) or die off. What is he supposed to say “It’s ok if I cannot drink the water in a rural stream, I will just go swim in the polluted lake a few miles over.”
Sustainable housing is too costly to implement and where it is not, it does not fit with some useless regulations. What is he supposed to do, say “Well, this house that would provide all my energy and food needs for free for the rest of my life is nifty, but hey, it does not fit with an outdated and inapplicable building code, so oh well. I will get three part time minimum wage jobs to barely make enough money to pay the energy bill for my house that leaks like a sieve.”
Get the point. The war is on, I say lets get our weapons of knowledge, buy land for sustainable communities and fight the war of education. I also say that when it come time kid, just say the word. I’m for your future and the future of my son!