Environmental Protest Groups

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
’Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And they put up a parking lot
(Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi)

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Facts about the state of the global environment read like quotes on a poster for an epic Hollywood movie – expanding deserts in Africa, huge forest fires in Indonesia, serious shortages of fish in Europe, thousands of deaths from air pollution in Brazil, disappearing forests in the Amazon, melting ice-caps and increasing radiation levels in the polar regions. But just as there is no evil Lex Luther or Ernst Blofeld responsible for these disasters, there is no Superman or James Bond to save the world. The human race has caused these problems and we are going to have to work together to solve them.

However, many people feel that the governments of countries around the world are not taking environmental issues seriously enough. To allow the voices of concerned people to be heard, a large number of protest groups have been set up by ordinary people to raise awareness of the issues, and to put pressure on politicians to act before it is too late. A few of the organisations have become household names, particularly Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. Two smaller groups, Surfers Against Sewage and Reclaim The Streets, are less well known, but take themselves just as seriously.

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS)
Surfers Against Sewage was founded in 1990 by water sports enthusiasts, who were becoming more and more concerned about the health risks they faced when using beaches in Cornwall in the UK. Human and toxic waste pumped into the sea was causing serious illnesses, and beach goers felt that they were “playing Russian Roulette with their health” every time they went into the water.

SAS alerted people to the problem by going to public events with their surfboards, where they handed out leaflets wearing wetsuits and gasmasks. They soon attracted the attention of the media and other concerned water users from around Britain and were able to put pressure on the government to ban dumping untreated waste in the sea, rivers and lakes. The group was so successful that in 1998, only 8 years after they started campaigning, the government agreed to spend 8.5 billion pounds on cleaning up Britain’s aquatic environment.

Surfers Against Sewage has acquired a cool image over the years. In 1999 the director of The Beach, a Hollywood blockbuster starring Leonardo Di Caprio, wanted to use the SAS logo on actors’ backpacks. SAS refused permission however, because they were concerned about the environmental damage that making the film had caused to the tiny tropical island of Phi Phi in Thailand.

Reclaim The Streets (RTS)
Reclaim The Streets was started in London in 1991 to campaign “FOR walking, cycling and cheap, or free, public transport, and AGAINST cars, roads and the system that pushes them.” RTS began by protesting against road building through unspoilt areas of the British countryside, and now have expanded their activities to draw attention to environmental, political, economic and social injustice around the world.

RTS campaigns by stopping traffic and turning roads and motorways into huge street parties. Members of the group dig up tarmac and plant trees, make beaches and paddling pools for children to play in, decorate the street with colourful banners, and give out free food and drink. A huge sound system is set up, bands, jugglers and clowns perform, and hundreds or even thousands of people dance and party. The carnival is usually broken up by the police after a few hours, and in the past some of the demonstrations have been marred by violence between police and protesters.

RTS doesn’t have any clear aims, and says that it is a ‘disorganisation’ rather than an organisation, since there is no one in charge, but the methods that the group uses have caught on, and are now used worldwide. As the RTS website says, “The Reclaim The Streets idea has grown up and left home, street parties and suchlike often happen without anyone in RTS London hearing about them until afterwards.”

Protest and the Internet
Both SAS and RTS have extensive websites providing information about their activities, and providing links to like-minded groups around the world. It seems that nowadays the Internet is helping more and more people express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, and work together to find solutions to the problems that the modern world faces.

Glossary
aquatic (adj): living or growing in, happening in, or connected with water.
banner (n): a long piece of cloth, often stretched between poles, with words or a sign written on it.
blockbuster (n): a book, film, etc that is very popular and successful.
campaign (v): to organize a series of activities to try to achieve something.
enthusiast (n): someone who is very interested in and involved with a particular activity or subject.
epic (n): a story or film which is very long and contains a lot of action.
Ernst Blofeld: the villain in some James Bond films.
found (v): to start an organization, especially by providing money.
household name (n): someone or something that everyone knows.
injustice (n): (an example of) lack of fairness and lack of justice.
issue (n): an important subject or problem that people are discussing.
Lex Luther: the villain in Superman.
mar (v): to spoil something.
paddling pool (n): a shallow pool that small children can play in.
polar (adj): relating to the North or South Pole.
protest (n): when people show that they disagree with something by standing somewhere, shouting, carrying signs, etc.
reclaim (v): to get something back from someone.
Russian roulette (n): a very dangerous game of chance where each player aims at their own head with a gun which has one bullet in it and five empty chambers (= spaces where bullets could go).
sewage (n): waste water and waste from toilets.
status quo (n): the situation that exists now, without any changes.
tarmac (n): a thick, black substance that is sticky when hot and is used to cover roads.
toxic (adj): poisonous.

Your texts
Aasha from Pakistan says “The environment has become a very critical issue of the times due to excessive and unjust use of natural resources. Everybody should try to protect the environment not only for ourselves but for the next generation. It is good that at least some people are seriously working on the issue, however, it is difficult to determine who is using appropriate methodology which really can bring about a tangible change. SAS is doing wonderful work in this regard but RTS’s attitude reflects the mutilated thoughts of a certain part of society. One cannot bring about environmental change while creating environmental problems him or herself. The environment is not all about streets, roads, plants or mountains; it contains much broader meanings. Free food and street parties cannot motivate people to protect their environment because such initiatives may cause certain type of environmental problems. Whereas, SaS’s work seems more focused and directed. They are putting their efforts in a realistic way and hitting the right target.”

Berk writes “Yes, I agree with what the article says. I have been thinking about the environment since my childhood. And I make an effort to save the environment on my own. But I am in Turkey and here neither the government nor politicians nor the public think about the environment. So here, nothing is being done for the environment. It remains my hope that a more green, clean and healthy world will pass on to the next generations.”

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Carmen Cucu writes “I agree that there is an environmental problem worldwide. And I see it clearly in my country where the cities are becoming less green. There are fewer trees and green areas in Bucharest and more shopping centres and parking areas.

The two organizations from the article tried to do something in order to change something in the environmental area.

The first organization, Surfers Against Sewage was successful and I think that the success is due to the way they tried to pursuade the government that they need to invest in cleaning the water. The image of the protestors wearing wetsuits and gasmasks was impressive.

From my point of view, the second organization, Reclaim The Streets, was overreacting with their claim. I understand that we have to protect the environment, but doing that by stopping roads being built is not realistic.”

Your turn
What do you think of this article? Do you agree with what it says? Send us your opinions.

Links
Planet Ark: Reuters' daily World Environment News
Greenpeace: world's pre-eminent environmental organisation
Living on Earth: weekly environmental news and information program

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