Sometimes it’s hard to describe an experience. Sometimes words, film, or photos fail to capture the overwhelming feeling that we are witnessing something truly extraordinary. We say, “You just had to be there.”
Enter the media. No one can be everywhere at once, so there are people whose job it is to go collect stories, verify them by checking a second source, and then paint a picture for the folks back home. People rely on the media to keep them informed about what’s going on in the world. And while the media can’t capture every detail, while there will unavoidably be some omissions and differences in emphasis, as reporters, it is part of our job to tell the whole story, and to pick out the wheat from the chaff.
This is why the coverage so far of the December 12 march in Copenhagen, Denmark is so disappointing to me. During the event, I was working in downtown Copenhagen alongside Tcktcktck, 350.og, and Avaaz staff, collecting photos and videos coming in from actions all over the world. Behind me, a huge 2 by 5 foot screen showed local TV coverage of the march.
I was inside a media hub, surrounded by information, and the positive messages that kept flooding in. But until I heard verbal accounts from marchers and observers, and saw the footage that Ekta Kothari, Project Survival Media videographer, had shot during the day, I assumed that this particular action, the march in Copenhagen, had been pretty scary. Most of it wasn’t.
Upon her arrival in from the cold, Ms. Kothari, put it this way, “Honestly, since I was much ahead of the arrests, for me it was just a very powerful moment, like one of those which usually make history. It’s a real shame that despite such a magnanimous effort, the media can only focus on the downside of events!”
So, let’s take a moment and focus on the event itself. In order to motivate between nearly 100,000 people to walk for over three hours in the frigid streets of Copenhagen, Parliament Square to the Bella Center, (the location of the climate talks), the message must have been pretty powerful. It was: Marchers were calling for an agreement on climate change that recognizes what the science is telling us: We need to get back down to 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to avoid critical warming feedbacks, and to ensure a livable planet. Marchers were also calling on our political leaders to fulfill their duty and pen a climate treaty that reflects scientific targets, and takes the aggressive action that we know we need.
The march was one of over 3,000 events around the world, from marches to candlelight vigils to the pealing of church bells.
At various stops along the way and at the Bella Center, marchers got to hear from an awesome succession of environmental and climate leaders, including: Marina Silva, former Brazil Environment Minister who, along with rubber tapper leader Chico Mendes, formed the independent trade union in the state of Acre; Vandana Shiva, physicist, philosopher, environmentalist, and one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization; and youth climate organizer Deepa Gupta, who helped lead the effort to bring 160 youth from the global south to the climate talks.
The positive energy around the march and the speeches was overwhelming, and those who where there came away with a sense that they had just been part of a great moment in this movement, and in our planet’s history.
Yes, arrests happened. Yes, it’s important to mention that. Arrests are sexy, and it’s okay to maybe even give them a bit more attention than they deserve. But the main story was that hundreds of thousands of peaceful walkers showed united support for a solution to climate change. That this message is quickly being drowned out is worrisome.
As a young person, I am determined to share the positive side of this day’s events. My generation cannot afford the continuation of a polarizing conversation around climate change, based on selective and sensationalist media coverage.
Youth need the world to hear the core message: There were millions of people this weekend who stood up and declared their support for a ‘real deal’ that adheres to scientific targets, to come out of these talks. And, encouragingly, they are ready to take positive action, and demanding the same from our world leaders.
With that, I am so appreciative of this video by Ms. Kothuri, which shows us sitting at home what the march was like to tens of thousands of people.
COOL STORY, BRO