Climate Camp 15th-23rd August

Húrin

Hi all forum posters

I am an organiser of the upcoming event Climate Camp, taking place this month in Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly. Come along if even for just a day - no entry fee!

It consists of 9 days of workshops, sustainable living, direct action and movement building for climate justice....because nature doesn't do bailouts!

The Climate Camp is a place where anyone who cares about climate change or social justice can meet, live, learn and take direct action together. It's happening this August 15th-23rd, in Co. Offaly, Ireland.

The camp will be 9 days of great food, live music, workshops and action for a just, sustainable future.

You can come for as long as you want – it’s up to you.

What can I do there?

Build: Learn how to make a solar shower, erect a marquee, or cook for two hundred people. We aim to make the camp a model of sustainable living, and we need you to help us do it.

Meet: Concerned about climate change? Feel like our current economic system is fuelling more than one crisis? You’re not alone – join Irish people from all walks of life to share ideas, make friends and start taking collective action.

Share and Learn: Discover alternatives. Get up-to-speed with the science and economics. Learn the skills you need - from how to build a yurt and grow your own veg, to how to take direct action and talk to the media. With over 70 workshops to choose from there'll be several to suit your interests.

Take Action: Find like-minded people. Get trained-up and share your skills. Make plans. Whether you want to make a silly costume, stop a train full of peat or coal, or encourage strikes in the fossil fuel industries there will be people here to join you. Join our day of action against the peat industry on August 22nd. And get prepared to join people taking direct action all over the world, including global days of action for climate justice in December 2009.

The climate camp is being organised by volunteers and anyone can get involved.

We have four aims:
To create a space for education
To take direct action against the root causes of climate change
To create a model of sustainable living
To build a movement for climate and social justice


To sign up for updates or get involved visit www.climatecamp.ie

What think ye?

D.U.M.B

I think the camp is a brilliant idea. I may try and make it up for one of the nine days.

Good luck with this

turgon

What exactly is "social justice"?

dvpower

turgon wrote: »

What exactly is "social justice"?

That's only on point 4 of the aims. Probably towards the end of the meeting.

Húrin

@turgon: social justice is a widely used term and we are using it in much the same way as many other groups use it. I know your views and you probably don't agree that the present distribution of wealth in the world is unjust, but that's life.

dvpower wrote: »

That's only on point 4 of the aims. Probably towards the end of the meeting.

Actually, social justice is central to the purpose of the camp. The list of aims was whittled down to four from roughly sixteen initially suggested aims. One of the widespread misconceptions in Ireland about climate change (CC) is that it is an "environmental issue" that only environmentalists are concerned about. In fact, the changing climate is affecting the developing world (who have done the least to cause CC) much more severely than us so far. This is due to accidents of geography but also due to their lack of capital to invest in adapting to CC.

We are pointing out that western efforts at mitigating emissions need to take into account the views of developing countries in a way that ensures that their needs (i.e. the ability to grow enough food) are not sacrificed for our greed (for perpetually increasing GDP).

turgon

Im highly interested in the environment and climate change. I dont see why you have to alienate people by including very divisive topics in what, tbh, should be a camp about climate change and not social justice. Given the title and all that. "United we stand, divided we fall," etc.

BroomBurner

turgon wrote: »

Im highly interested in the environment and climate change. I dont see why you have to alienate people by including very divisive topics in what, tbh, should be a camp about climate change and not social justice. Given the title and all that. "United we stand, divided we fall," etc.

To me, it sounds like a great camp and mainly about climate change. Do you not think that social justice is a part of the effect of CC? I think it is. I think it would be entirely remiss and ignorant to believe that climate change isn't effecting those in the developing world more harshly.

Perhaps you just don't understand the concept of social justice in terms of the effects climate change has on it.

Good luck with the camp though, OP, sounds like a great idea.

Húrin

turgon wrote: »

Im highly interested in the environment and climate change. I dont see why you have to alienate people by including very divisive topics in what, tbh, should be a camp about climate change and not social justice. Given the title and all that. "United we stand, divided we fall," etc.

I don't really see how one can divide climate change from social justice. It is a basic fact that greenhouse gases have been primarily caused by western countries making themselves more prosperous. The resulting climate change is making many of the other countries in the world less prosperous.

If you want to visit a conference where the dominant attitude is somewhere along the lines of "plunder the resources while we still can, get our economies on renewables, sure the poor can burn for all we care" may I suggest joining the travelling fan club of the G8?