Tag: environmental movement

Climate Change = Mass Murder. Rebel for Life

Posted on by kathiemm
Extinction Rebellion Protest and DIE-IN, NYC January 26, 2018

by  Susan Spieler, PsyD

Note from Kathie MM: It is still January 2019, the month of resolutions, and we should continue to celebrate all the New Year’s resolutions made by people working to make the environment great again–thereby trying to ensure a future for life on earth.  There will be no peace and social justice without an enduring environment and no enduring environment without worldwide citizen activism. Susan Spieler shares a great example of a movement whose time had come decades ago. Join the Extinction Rebellion!  And Join Engaging Peace.

When people feel endangered, disputes intensify.  When food and water are increasingly scarce due to wildfires and droughts, people become desperate and violence increases. Passivity regarding environmental issues is giving way to climate activism.  Of particular interest to proponents of peace and social justice is a new non-violent activist movement called Extinction Rebellion (XR) that seeks media attention by organizing highly visible and well-orchestrated events.

This movement made its first appearance in London where the ER provoked arrests by stopping traffic on the London Bridge. And, on Saturday January 26, 2019, the first US XR event of the year began in NYC in front of the Plaza Hotel and was followed by a march along Fifth Avenue with brass band parade music.

I was there.

Susan Spieler at Extinction Rebellion event in NYC, January 26, 2019

The event culminated at a major tourist attraction, Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink, where a group of activists, dressed in black, did a DIE-IN on the ice, forming an XR icon with their bodies.

Meanwhile another activist climbed to the top of the huge golden statue that faces the skating rink and hung a very large black banner. (Note the activist on the top of the sign, to the left, in the photo below!) The banner said:

“CLIMATE CHANGE = MASS MURDER

                                           REBEL FOR LIFE

INTERNATIONAL REBELLION WEEK

                                         APRIL 15, 2019”

For more about the January 26 action, you can read  here.

To prepare for the April 15, 2019, event, read here.

SUSAN SPIELER PSYD

Susan is a clinical psychologist/psychoanalyst practicing in Manhattan. As Director of Continuing Education at a psychoanalytic institute in NYC, she developed a program for mental health professionals about Climate Psychology. As a member of NYC’s Resilience and Emotional Support Team, she provided mental health services to evacuees after Superstorm Sandy (2014). She has presented psychoanalytic papers about climate change engagement at international psychoanalytic conferences. And as Coordinator of NYC Grassroots Alliance, she organizes monthly climate events for the public and has been involved with climate activism in NYC. Susan is an active member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility and is on a committee that is preparing to launch a North American branch of ClimatePsychologyAlliance.org, which was founded 7 years ago in the UK.

 

Can they call YOU a terrorist?

Posted on by kathiemm

During the Cold War, people–particularly those who called themselves conservatives–often accused individuals they didn’t like of being “dirty Commies.”

The Senator Joe McCarthy era was a scary time for socialists, liberals, artists, writers—anyone who intimidated the right wing, or made conservatives feel inferior. (A chilling treatment of this era can be found in Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Lacuna.)

The Cold War is over, but the U.S. government, with the help of the right wing, has given us new epithets for people distrusted by the right wing. You know the label—“terrorist.”

Consider the wording of the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act (the Ag-gag laws), passed in Missouri, Iowa, and Utah, designed to stop animal rights and environmental activists from reporting abuses on factory farms:

“Special interest extremists continue to conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of society, including the general public, to change attitudes about issues considered important to their causes. These groups occupy the extreme fringes of animal rights, pro-life, environmental, anti-nuclear, and other movements. Some special interest extremists — most notably within the animal rights and environmental movements — have turned increasingly toward vandalism and terrorist activity…to further their causes.” (quote from pdf document from corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council)

How about YOU?

  • Are you concerned about the treatment of animals in factory farms?
  • Are you concerned about the environment?
  • Do you oppose nuclear weapons?
  • Do you consider yourself a feminist? Beware: that’s all it takes for some people to call you a terrorist.

Don’t let the name-callers intimidate you. Joe McCarthy left Congress in disgrace. Follow the lead of the Montreal Raging Grannies  and support nonviolence, humane behavior, and social justice. Better yet, tell us what you are already doing to make a positive difference in this country and in this world, both now during the season of non-violence and throughout the year.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Militarization and the future of life (Earth Day, Part 2)

Posted on by patdaniel

As we discussed in our Earth Day post, the environment is both a casualty and cause of war.  It’s time for the peace and environmental movements to join hands in solidarity. A number of organizations are working at the intersection of these important efforts.

Environment and security:Earth from space

Promoting environmental conservation as a means to peace:

Education for peace and environment:

Legal aspects of war and the environment:

Environmental and human health effects of war:

Anti-war activists can profit by understanding the causes and consequences of war from the perspective of ecological systems. Similarly, the sustainability movement will be well-served by acknowledging the profound effect that militarization has on the future of all life on earth.

Pat Daniel, Ph.D., Managing Editor of Engaging Peace

Earth Day during wartime (Part 1)

Posted on by patdaniel

Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day. Today we honor the Earth by calling attention to the common goals of the peace and environmental sustainability movements.

But first, some context: Assessing the impact of war on the environment can be fraught with complexity, but here is a sampling of those effects:

It works the other way, too–that misuse, destruction, and scarcity of natural resources can be the cause of war.  Examples include conflicts over oil in the Middle East, rare metals in the Congo, food shortages and water scarcity in South Asia and throughout the world. More and more, climate disruption is becoming or is predicted (pdf) to be a source of conflict.

In other words, environmental degradation is a threat to global security.

As you celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, please consider what it will take to stop the intertwined scourges of warfare and environmental destruction. Even more important, make a commitment to do something about them.

Pat Daniel, Ph.D., Managing Editor of Engaging Peace