To March or not – Jan 2010

On December 5th, the eve of the Copenhagen UN climate summit, is the Climate March, ‘The Wave’ in London. A few hundred thousand people are planning to make a walk around, make a big noise and hopefully persuade our UK leaders to make a difference in Denmark. I’ve been on a few marches before, locally and in London, for example before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 where a few million of us walked the streets of our capital. One of the banners from that one that I’ve never forgotten is a picture of Mr T Blair with a teacup on his head and the quote, ‘Make tea not war’. By the time you read this we shall all know if a deal worth the name was made in Copenhagen. Many are saying this is the absolute last chance for the world to plan an organised reduction in CO2.

So, back to the march. I’ll be there along with others from the Green Group. But will it make a difference? Well it certainly didn’t in 2003 but even in those heady days of my youth I didn’t really expect it to. Marching for me is not just about changing politicians minds, a near impossible task at the best of times, but is more about showing support for a particular cause as well as re-igniting my motivation. Walking with and meeting huge numbers of strangers all together for the same reason is quite a buzz, I guess it is the tribal/pack mentality in all of us coming to the surface. On the environmental front, especially in a rural location where there is a small if incredibly active group doing great things, it can be tough to stay motivated when so many people either don’t agree with the challenge or shy away from it.

So I shall go, meet up with friends and strangers alike, have a march, have a rant, feel better, more motivated, come home work hard and hope.

And however things go in Denmark, I shall carry on making the changes I can, helping others who share my interest and endeavour to do it all with a smile.

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