Lesson 7: Environment

Objectives:

• Explore and familiarize yourself with case studies of organizations and individuals working on environment

• Think strategically about constructive programme in the context of this sector
  

Introduction

As with Climate, there probably still is time to prevent the worst damage to the environment, by taking nonviolent action. For that we may need some inspiration to get into action and start strategizing and mobilising others, as well as joining those who’re already active. Since humans have caused much of the damage, it is also up to us to repair it. While climate change is of course very much interlinked with the environment, here we will also give space to other forms of nonviolent action that restore not just the climate but also Mother nature herself. 

There’s a natural overlap between the environment and climate protection. Also the economy is often linked to these topics, since how we run the economy impacts to a large extent how we relate to the environment. Ecology and economy also come from the same root: “ecos”, or in Greek Οικος (the oi you pronounce as “ee”) which means household. 

In the old story, the one where capitalism is understood as the best economic model, financial capital must continuously be accumulated. However, while knowledge or information can generate capital and our economies are becoming increasingly knowledge based in the global North, the basis of economy is still material. And so it is impossible to have unlimited growth, while the Earth has limited resources. This was pointed out by the Club of Rome already in the 1980s. Yet, the financial crash of 2008 was what actually led more people to look at capitalism more critically and motivated them to explore alternatives. And while changes go fast these days, it takes time to find alternatives that can truly form a new story. In a new story the planet is not being depleted, but humans have a healthy relationship with her that is sustainable. 

Local farming and consumption

There are millions of examples of local farming projects of course. Think about community gardens, ‘victory gardens’ or the many Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects. CSA has become increasingly popular. It provides farmers with a stable market, as people pay for seasonal or yearly subscription and share in whatever harvest is available. It is thus both an effort that’s supporting the environment, as well as a more local needs based economy. In the city of Athen in Ohio, some people set-up the 30 Mile Meal project to assist residents and visitors in finding local foods within a 30 mile radius of a community’s epicenter. This local foods branding initiative unites growers, producers, servers, and sellers under one exclusive identity in order to signal truly local food. The 30 Mile Meal project has now over 300 food and farm participants and enjoys thriving support in several communities beyond. The brand has taken root in communities all the way from Northeast Ohio to West Virginia.

In the 1990 Cuba fell into an economic depression after the collapse of former benefactor the Soviet Union. During the Cold War they had stopped producing food of their own and turned over most of their farmland to sugarcane plantations to supply the Soviet Union. In return for these mountains of sugar Moscow provided Cuba with food, chemical fertilizers and fuel oil for its cars and tractors. Cuba thus lost its main food supply while it was still coping with strict U.S. sanctions. As a response the island became an organic farming pioneer, developing techniques like worm composting, soil conservation and the use of biopesticides, to replace imported supplies and large scale monoculture. By 1995 Havana alone had 25,000 allotments tended by families and urban cooperatives. More recently, in 2020, the Cuban government again called on its citizens to develop its program of municipal self-sustainability with urgency, in the face of the tightened U.S. blockade and the expected food crisis  due to COVID-19. Some Cubans like sustainable agriculture enthusiast Marnia Briones hope the country won’t lose the habits that have arisen from this and previous crises, which some have termed its “green revolution”.

“It’s great more people are planting but it cannot just be when there is a crisis,” said the Havana-based artist. “It should be fomented as a healthier lifestyle for the whole of humanity.”

(See this Reuters article and this one from EcoWatch).

Also in the UK Covid19 has accelerated concerns over food production and consumption. “The necessarily urgent response to environmental crises, the impact of the pandemic and Britain’s EU-exit have converged to provoke a look inward to the state of our domestic resilience, which in many ways has been found wanting,”  writes Ursula Billington, reporting about Grow Wilder, a community food and wildlife haven founded on Bristol’s urban fringe in 2012. The six-acre site is shared by several small land-based businesses, supporting its overall sustainability through diversity. (For more information go here).

Or what about “ocean farming”? GreenWave started a farming system that grows a mix of seaweeds and shellfish that require zero inputs—making it the most sustainable form of food production on the planet—while sequestering carbon and rebuilding reef ecosystems. The “farms” sit vertically below the surface and produce high yields with a small footprint. They claim that “anyone with 20 acres, a boat, and $20-50K can start their own farm”.

Another example that includes organic farming but is on the crossroads of environment, climate protection and economy, is the Dajopen Waste Management Project in Kenya, tackling poverty, food security and unemployment among youths in the slums of Tuwan in Kitale. A big part of their work is waste management and the collection of waste materials for production of recycled items, but also includes training in alternative livelihood opportunities and organic farming, without fertilizers and pesticides. Plastic waste can leach toxins into the water and mixed solid waste produces more CO2, while separated organic/biodegradable waste can be turned into soil. They’re thereby reducing health hazards, pollution and danger of fire (due to toxic gasses). They also are creating job opportunities for street families, youth, women and slum dwellers by training them in a variety of solid waste reuse and recycling using social enterprise approaches. (You can find out more here).

Urban planning 

In the next section, we will learn about an island in Denmark that provides 100% of its own energy from renewables through windmills. But here, we will note: Copenhagen is a green city that received the European Environmental Management award in 2006. The award was given for long-term holistic environmental planning and introduction of a state-of-the-art bathing water forecast. It also has an efficient public transportation system, many bike riders and thus low levels of C02 pollution. But while Amsterdam also does well on bikes and public transportation, the best European city for bikes is actually Vienna, with a 1300 km long road for bikes only. Moreover, both Vancouver and Singapore have the aspiration to become the world’s greenest city. Vancouver runs on over 90% renewable energy, thanks to the city's large supply of hydroelectricity. It has also invested a lot of money and time into expanding their mass transportation network, and making these sustainable, as well as green building. In Singapore, urban development plans must include plant life, in the form of green roofs, cascading vertical gardens (see picture), and verdant walls.The push to go green extends to construction as well—green building has been mandatory since 2008.

Protecting wild areas - 

On an Ecological Pilgrimage, Dianne Whelan Has Become the First Person to Complete the Trans Canada Trail.

How Kenyans are resisting one of the largest development projects in East Africa: After making little progress on their own, climate justice organizers in Kenya came together with youth, farmers and women to fight for sustainable development.

How Wangari Maathai’s daughter carries on her mother’s bold fight for green spaces in Kenya: Following in her mother’s footsteps, Wanjira Mathai is empowering Kenya’s youth to lead the struggle to protect the environment.

The struggle to protect the Sacred Place Where Life Begins — Indigenous groups lead fight against Arctic oil drilling: A nationwide grassroots movement led by the Gwich’in people may soon reach its long-sought goal: permanent protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Saving Water

Since flooding plagues New Orleans, as storms due to climate change increase and the aging infrastructure of the city even struggles to handle routine rains,  a group of nuns opted to turn their convent, damaged in Hurricane Katrina, into an urban wetland that will be able to absorb millions of gallons of stormwater when completed. The water will still trickle down into the city’s old drainage system, but filtering through the wetland will mete out the water from even the largest deluges more gradually, preventing storm drains from becoming overwhelmed. Other cities have implemented similar strategies to intercept, store and slowly release stormwater, but Mirabeau is distinct for its size and for highlighting how, even in dense cities, underutilized or abandoned structures can be repurposed to enhance flood resilience and provide other public benefits.

(See the Changing America story).

In Kolkata, India 10-30% of the drinking water runs down the drain due to roadside pipes that do not have taps, mainly located in the slums. The taps regularly get stolen, so a few citizens decided to set-up a civic society group, Active Citizens Together for Sustainability, to save water and install plastic taps on the pipes that do not have much resale value, accompanied by a helpline people can call. This way they save around 45 gallons of filtered water a day, in a country where drinking water is a development goal. 

(See the Guardian story).

Obstructive Nonviolence & Environment

In Brazil less than 3% of the population owns two-thirds of the land and more than half of it lies unused. The Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra or MST) is the country’s biggest social movement, with over 1.5 million members. MST have used direct action to occupy land and claim ownership through a long, arduous and personally dangerous legal process. To date, 350,000 families now have legal ownership of small farms as a result. But many lost their lives in the process. 17 April is designated International Day of Peasant Struggle in memory of the 19 MST members killed and 69 wounded during a police attack in 1996. The movement has also taken what it has learnt in order to support and educate others, using training and exchange programmes.

The MST movement in Brazil goes beyond the simple redistribution of land. At the heart of the movement is the fight against the corporate takeover of food, and for a countryside which provides healthy food and a decent livelihood for all. It points out that this is not the case for many parts of the world and illustrates one way in which various peoples have taken back land for their own sustenance. La Via Campesina, is an example of another similar but international movement bringing together millions of peasants, small and medium size farmers, landless people, rural women and youth, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It too builds on a strong sense of unity and solidarity between these groups, defending peasant agriculture for food sovereignty as a way to promote social justice and dignity and strongly opposes corporate driven agriculture that destroys social relations and nature. La Via Campesina was born in Belgium in 1993 and today comprises 182 local and national organisations in 81 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether it represents some 200 million farmers. It is an autonomous, pluralist, and multicultural movement, which demands social justice while being independent from any political party.

Quoted from: Rapid Transition Alliance.

Reflection & discussion

• How can you contribute to the (restoration of ) the environment in general? Is there a particular method that “speaks” to you? 

• Identify what principles of nonviolence/ nonviolent organizing were present in the examples of this lesson.

• Add one or two examples of constructive or obstructive nonviolent action and share it with the group. You can also think of something that you think should happen, but hasn’t happened yet.

• Consider how your example, if carried out successfully, may eliminate the need for some or all resistance/obstructive actions in that area and explain this to others. 

Homework

If the environment is something you care about, what action can you do to contribute to the environment that you can start tomorrow? Starting a garden may take some organising, but you could go to the local farmer and buy your veggies there. You can try not to eat meat for a week, if you normally do so. You could take the bike instead of the car, walk more, or write a letter to your local bus company that the busses in Sweden run on biofuel, and if it's possible for them to switch over too. There are really many things that are simple that you can start tomorrow. Pick just one or two things for now and add as you go along.

Additional Resources

In addition to the links in the texts, please feel free to add your own resources to share in the comments.