Hope Springs Eternal

On the surface these grievances seem to gain momentum from the actions of the day. Marching, chanting and writing Greenpeace slogans on the side of Shell’s Headquarters are little more than symbolic gestures, physical actions that - like the chalk that they were written with - are quickly washed away. However, the hope that is left is something that cannot be measured in its physical presence, yet it has the power to last a lifetime and feed into the morality and ethics of future generations. It is hope that lies in the fact that thousands of people turned out for an event on a grey London day. Hope that exists in the rousing speeches, speeches which allowed all those present to believe that there is a point to what we are doing. Hope that gains strength from the power of people who believe that this planet is not a lost cause.

So often the line between hope and fear is blurred; the distinction between whether we are hopeful at the possibilities of the environmental movement or overawed by the magnitude of the task at hand boils down solely to courage. In the world we live in the challenges faced everyday on a global scale dwarf individuals and make even the staunchest optimist doubtful of the impact they can have against billion pound multinational companies, who deem human progress as nothing more than the accumulation of wealth. However, by simply turning up to an event like today’s, we can all be aware that we are not alone in this struggle. The impassioned words of Beisha and Kiera from the first nations people of the Canadian arctic show us that in every single corner of the globe, there are people who believe that the preservation of the natural world is central to both individual well-being and social cohesion. Hearing from those whose cultural identity is formed around a harmonious relationship with the natural world illustrates the importance of preserving a way of life that can provide an example of the positives of living akin to nature:

The message was simple. Nature has the right to survive and thrive on this planet, and it is our responsibility to ensure that large and destructive corporations understand that we care more about this planet than about the size of their wallets – or indeed our own. A message screamed through a microphone in the heart of London and reverberated back against the walls of Shell’s Headquarters that no matter how much money was thrown towards the first nations people:

Aurora’s relentless march towards Shell’s Headquarters and the multitude of other events that took place across the globe were symbols of hope, in a world where hope is often side lined in the relentless march for economic growth. The hope lies in a global understanding that more must be done to stop the insanity that invades the thoughts of those who believe that money is the only illustration of progress and is the end goal to all human ambition. Aurora stood for all people, regardless of age, race, gender or class; vapid social constructions often used by those with nothing but money and power to lose to divide us. However, through the organised and peaceful global day of action we showed that we are together, and through that togetherness we showed that we still believe that these issues really matter.

No longer can we sit in the cold darkness of ignorance. We are armed with the knowledge to understand that what Shell plans to do in the arctic is wrong and affects all of us. For too long we have blindly accepted the destruction of the planet on the basis of ignorance and fear. For too long we have placed the environment at the bottom of the pecking order, and instead focused on economic downturns and fiscal stimulus packages. And for too long we have been paralysed by the contrived rhetoric that all hopes of preserving the great wildernesses of this planet are lost. However, today we showed otherwise, as did branches of this organisation across the world. By coming together we showed that there is always hope, as long as good people exist and they believe this planet is worth fighting for.