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Let's stand by them

21/3/2019

 
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The Bass Coast contingent to the student strike on climate change at Southern Cross Station
By Moragh Mackay

On March 15, strike action was taken by over 30,000 students in Melbourne calling for political action on climate change.  They were joined by more than 150,000 people Australia-wide and over one million worldwide. 

​The students took a day out from school to make their collective voice heard, saying not enough is being done to keep global temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the point at which science tells us runaway climate change is the most likely outcome.
My friends and I marched with our children.  We started as a group of five and ended up filling a 45-seater bus travelling to Melbourne from the Bass Coast.  We arrived at Southern Cross Station around 10.30am, as did hundreds of others from regional Victoria and we gathered together before marching up Collins Street to Treasury.  An observer may have assumed that we co-ordinated our arrivals, but it was simply chance driven by a common purpose.

​As we marched along the footpath bystanders smiled, waved, took photos, some beeped horns and cheered, some showed strong emotion, even tears.  Yet others felt compelled to shout aggressively “You kids should be in school!”  Before I could express my outrage, the students were quick to respond, holding high their banners with great catchphrases like “System-wide change, not apathy”, “Denial is not a policy” and chanting “Coal don’t dig it, leave it in the ground, it’s time to get with it”. 
​

The enthusiasm and energy in the chanting was infectious and my friends and I were soon in full voice, in solidarity with these young leaders as we marched to the top end of town.
We were 500 strong marching up Collins Street, arriving at Treasury to loud applause by a crowd that covered the steps and spilled across the entire intersection of Collins and Spring streets.  Within 30 minutes we were at least 30,000 strong. Other estimates had us at 40,000. ​
“The whole day left me empowered and hopeful. Surely a change will happen soon.”                         Isabel Rooks
“I’m so proud of the number of people who came to support climate action.”​                                     Makaela Batty
“I feel like we are not being listened to by the politicians and they forget that we will be voting soon.”
Harriet Fallaw ​
 “It’s fallen on us to do something. I came home from the strike feeling totally inspired because it is the younger generations taking action.”
Tarkyn Dann
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Speaker after young speaker called out the inaction of our leaders in Canberra and called on them to create policies that would lead to meaningful action on reducing emissions and keeping global temperature increases below 1.50C.  I couldn’t help but feel that the power of these young people and all those they had inspired to turn up would lead to more significant change than anything governments are likely to achieve.

After the rally we discussed the day and how we could keep up the momentum of change.  Some of our students are making a short video to show at a public event, some are writing articles for the local papers, others will tell their friends and invite them to attend the next strike action, maybe locally.

Amongst the adults we discussed how we could ensure our children’s voices, and concerns, are heard and responded to appropriately.  Specifically, how we could counter the naysayers who, as more and more children speak up, seem to be reverting to a stance of “children should be seen in school and not heard”.   On the way back to the bus station, pondering this perverse response to children finding their voices, I was prompted to visit one of my favourite bookstores to search for some sage advice on how to constructively respond to what I now recognise as the bystander effect. 

Described in the School of Life ‘How to be a leader’ book I purchased, this effect, also known as bystander apathy, goes some way to explaining why, despite the majority of society now accepting climate change as real and dangerous, too many people in affluent societies continue to live in ways that are causing emissions to rise, not fall.  Experiments that led to the bystander effect explanation, showed that when faced with a harmful situation as a lone bystander 70 per cent of people would try and help.  Facing the same situation in a crowd only 40 per cent of people step up to assist.  Our tendency in a crisis is to wait and see what others do, hoping they will take the lead. Now we wait for our leaders to tell or show us what to do.
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Well, as our children are now shouting from the streets, our national leaders have not been leading in ways fit for a climate changing world.  And our children are calling it out because they are the ones who will feel the brunt of this inaction.  Runaway climate change will kick in around 2030 if we don’t radically change the way we live now, not in five, 10 or 20 years. Now!  It’s time to listen to our children, and make sure the world they inherit is every bit as good as, if not better than, the one we previous generations have enjoyed. 

We need to stop being bystanders. There is so much that every one of us can do.  Stop using plastics, stop buying food that only goes to waste.  If you can afford it put solar on your roof or invest in renewable energy projects.  If you can afford it, install batteries too; we need greater uptake of batteries to drive down prices.  If you can afford it make your next car an electric car; again we need greater uptake to drive down prices.

If you can’t afford these things join a community energy group that is leading the transition to renewables and making it a just transition, fair pricing and benefit sharing feature strongly in the new distributed energy system. Join the Take2 Pledge or complete your emissions profile using an online tool and find out the myriad of things every one of us can lead on to make a real difference.  Do something, because bystander apathy will not save the earth we love or our children’s future.

I acknowledge and pay my respects to the First Nations of this land and call for the political inclusion of their voices in the governance of this Country.  In the words of one young person at the rally “Some people can manage a Country for 60,000+ years without wrecking it”.  

Dr Moragh Mackay is a resident of Bass, Victoria, Chair of the Energy Innovation Co-operative, activist for energy equity and the rights of the First Nations people of Australia. Contact her at Moragh@dcsi.com.au or 0418 969 083.

stefan
22/3/2019 11:25:54 am

Wouldn't it be better if the children received an all around Education at School, first with a heavy emphasis on hard science practical reality and consequences; before being subjugated to various Belief systems/Religions by their Elders/Teachers?

Moragh Mackay
23/3/2019 12:14:06 pm

Stefan, please put your assumptions aside and listen to what the students are saying. Now more than ever is the time to hear and to act for their future.

Pamela
24/3/2019 11:05:24 am

I agree with you Stefan. It seems to me that the grownups have decided no-one is listening to them anymore so they've brought in the emotional angle. Adults should be setting an example for young people instead of using them as fodder. My research also shows that this march was not organised by children. It was backed by School Strike 4 Climate Action and the primary backer is the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, a non-profit company registered as a charity with an all-adult board and 68 adult staff. Some of the protest signs were obviously provided by a professional organisation.
School children are still learning and I worry for the future when I see them being coerced into action like this without the benefit of experience. We are continually seeing prophecies of "climate change" not eventuating or being changed to suit the results. Emissions and world population are the problem, not climate change. Let the kids stay in school and learn how to be well-rounded adults.

Phil
20/5/2019 05:10:20 pm

I agree Stefan, when these children actually learn the true science and understand it instead of hysteria spread by adults with ulterior aims they may have a different point of view. I doubt any could quote real facts as put forward by independent scientists instead of the UN . CO2 is the gas of life at 150ppm plants begin to die at 50ppm we all die be careful what you wish for.

michael whelan
22/3/2019 12:09:02 pm

Thanks Moragh I was so proud of these young people speaking up on their own behalf. I was there with Mary, my daughter Celia and grandson Thomas who is 10 weeks old. Thomas has more at stake than most of us and I know he will one day thank these young people for acting on his behalf.

Lorrie Read
22/3/2019 02:55:02 pm

Congratulations to all the kids who marched, and the ones who didn't but would have liked to. In the absence of organised protest from other sections of society it is great to see school children taking the initiative. Well done, and thanks for a great article.

Daryl Hook
23/3/2019 10:12:21 pm

The future looks a whole lot brighter with young people taking the lead.

Lisa Wangman
16/4/2019 11:54:59 am

Thanks for a great and inspiring article, this gives me hope for our future! I think the tide has definitely turned, action like this to raise further awareness, coupled with communities working together to share and disseminate knowledge on ways to adapt to our future climate are the way forward. Hopefully the tide continues to turn and it will soon become the 'norm' for a larger percentage of us to look for and instigate changes in our lives to more sustainable ways of living.


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