Mar 28 2009
Citizen Power at the G20
The writer of this blog (me) is certainly not at the G20, (which is starting next week) but plenty of protesters are out there trying to bring awareness of global economic insecurity and climate change to the world. Thousands are marching for jobs, and justice, and environmental awareness and action. People don’t often think of economics and climate change as being related, but they very much are. Everything is ultimately related to our climate, the atmosphere, and the weather, as that all affects food supply and jobs and the economy. As global warming progresses there will be more droughts, more severe storms, and more severe weather in general. This will lead to more food shortages, more displaced people, more refugees, more homelessness, more unemployment, more social unrest, and more division of the poor from the wealthy. It may also lead to more wars for resources, disguised as “liberating” people.
I’m a big fan of street protests even though most of them are ignored by the media. But when the G8 meets or the G20 or any group of the wealthy who determine the fate of the poor meets, protesters will be there. For many protesters it’s just about having a voice and having a say in their fate and futures. Protesting has always been the ultimate free speech, the empowerment of the average citizen. In London alone it is estimated that 35,000 people will turn out to protest the G20 economic summit. The photo above is of the actual protest in London and is from The Guardian.
What are they protesting? Lack of jobs, lack of control, lack of power — what people always protest. In this case, they are also trying to bring awareness to the need to remake the way the world does things, really and truly fix the economic crisis, and seriously deal with our climate crisis.
The climate change problems will affect the poor much more than the rich, displacing a billion or more people from coastal areas eventually and affecting their ability to live normal lives. The rich will probably be fine, as they usually are.
A spokeswoman for Britain’s unions, Brendan Barber, told gathered activists in London’s Hyde Park that the G20 needed to “take actions to lay the foundation for a better world.”
“If we can generate fabulous wealth, as we can, then surely we can learn how to distribute that wealth more fairly. If we can unleash a technological revolution then surely we can ensure that everyone on this planet gets the food, the shelter and the health care that they need,” he said.
Environmental groups represented at the protests so far include Friends of the Earth and the Climate Camp activists. The Climate Camp activists have been monitored by police and are frequently subjected to surveillance, as are many environmental groups in the U.S. too.
People used “Audioboo” to capture the protests live and you can find these recordings and lots of live blogging here. I’m surprised by how good these “boos” sound. Too bad I don’t have an iPhone, which they require, or I’d do some of them myself.
