06.12.08 - National Climate March

Saturday 6th December saw the 'National Climate March' through London, from Grosvenor Square to Parliament Square, via various parts of Westminster.
Tens of thousands of people turned out, of all ages and from all walks of life, to express their concern over the vast, impending problem facing us all - climate change.

National climate March. Grosvenor Square to Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

National climate March. 'Seize the day' perform in Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

National climate March. Nelson Mandela statue + banner. Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

National climate March. Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

National climate March. Leaflets in Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

National climate March. Vegan demonstrator, Parliament Sq. 06.12.08

The March on Parliament had four main themes -
1) NO to a 3rd runway at Heathrow and the runaway expansion in aviation expansion.
2) NO new coal - no new coal-fired power stations as planned at eg Kingsnorth in Kent
3) NO to the expansion of agrofuels - with negative impacts on forests, the climate and world food supply.
4) YES to a renewable energy revolution and green jobs - a "Green new Deal"

After a march through London with various funky bands and sound-systems blasting their way along the route, tens of thousands of people converged on parliament square, to express their concern over that most universal of problems - climate change.

After some speakers and the fab band 'Seize the day', people dispersed and went on their way peacefully.

HOWEVER, The talk in the crowd was of more direct action, and soon....

Inevitably, the politicians in the UK will pretend not to hear the many many thousands of voices clamoring for change.
With potential climate chaos ahead, what else can a concerned citizen of the UK do, apart from take matters into their own hands?...

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Images copyright Billy Macrae 2008.
These lo-res versions may be distributed freely in connection with this protest.

More pics / contact:

http://www.billymacrae.blogspot.com

billy.macrae.online@gmail.com

Billy Macrae
e-mail: billy.macrae.online@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.billymacrae.blogspot.com

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

???

06.12.2008 18:49

We dont want pictures showing off your photography skills we want pictures that show what happened and an accurate showing of how many people attended and your article lacks factual news and i shant be visiting your blog

Didnt attend

???

06.12.2008 19:04

which "we" is 'didn't attend' referring to? i'm quite partial to some nicely taken pics, and you can watch the news if you want to know how many were there, or wait for further posts which will no doubt appear. what's the point of your beef?

did attend

probably nothing happened

06.12.2008 19:10

as usual, a bunch of people walked around with posters and banners, from A to B . and asked the government to please run capitalism a little differently, a more green capitalism. if that's the case, then this report is fine.

no tech

Didn't even hear about it

06.12.2008 19:25

Didn't even hear about this march this year.

Sim1

Nice pics

07.12.2008 11:55

Take no notice of the state trolls (they've definitely started to get a foothold on here). Thanks for the posting and lively pics. x

anon

Hearing about march

07.12.2008 18:50

"Didn't even hear about this march this year."

The march was well publicised by the groups which are involved. Are you involved with any of them? If not, get involved with one or more of them. They are listed at the bottom of

http://www.stopclimatechaos.org

Also put this in your diary. This time next year there will be UN talks in Copenhagen, as it is spelt in English. If you can't get to Copenhagen then there will be events around the world to mark the talks. You now have no excuse for not being involved in December 2009, which is the last chance to even stand a chance to avoid catastrophic climate change.

A N Other

Publicity

08.12.2008 00:20

I think there is an issue raised by the person who hadn't heard about the march. I knew about it only through emails lists, Indymedia, and other campaigning web sites. That's mainly how we publicise things nowadays, isn't it? I never saw a poster or a flyer.

I think the decline of the political poster is a loss. The effect of a poster is not just in publicising the fact that an event or action is happening, but cranking it up, raising the political temperature and general awareness. The best posters can make a powerful and persuasive point visually, too. Electronic media can't do this; very useful and informative for those already in the loop, but not in the public realm in the same way as posters and flyers.

I know, I know. I've been nicked for flyposting several times myself. Bloody cold job this time of year, too, especially if you end up with wallpaper paste all down your trousers. Oh, and printing costs money. I do understand why it's tempting to see putting up a website as a substitute. Warmer, quicker, cheaper, but not an effective substitute, I reckon.

No doubt there were posters printed for the march, but I never saw any. Perhaps they were all over in some places, but not round where I live or visit. Point is, they don't stick themselves up, so everyone is to blame -me included.

Am I just an old fart complaining we didn't have no websites when I were a lad? Or is this worth thinking about?

Stroppyoldgit

Tens of thousands? Surely not...

08.12.2008 14:33

I was there on the march Saturday, but tens of thousands?? I don't think so- nearer 3000
(and no i'm not a plod trying to underestimate as happens) I've been on every single one of these marches since the beginning, but the numbers have dropped back down again recently. Too many think it's either not worth bothering or than all's being sorted. ( as the sea levels rise sinking Tuvalu, and the ice melts so polar bears start the long swim south to Scotland for a start.

pirate