.
BPSDB These are the six inspiring activists who have committed to a
water only Fast (hunger strike)
until there is a Just Settlement in Copenhagen,
at least 43 days, and possibly beyond…
.t
.
Anna Keenan
Anna began fasting on November 6 at the UN climate talks in Barcelona, along with Sara Svensson, and will continue fasting throughout and perhaps beyond the Copenhagen climate talks, with a presence inside the conference, with Sara, Diane and Daniel
“I am 23 years old, from Brisbane, Australia, and I am a youth climate change activist, a 1940’s jitterbug swing dancer and a former circus acrobat.
I have attended the Bali and Poznan UN climate meetings, and am a proud member of the growing international youth climate movement.
To reach the UNFCCC COP14 in Poznan last year, I travelled with four other young Australians from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) on a great ‘overland journey’ through Asia and Russia to reach Poland, instead of flying. In 2009 I have been a freelance climate activist in Europe.
I graduated from university in 2007 with two degrees – Science (Physics and Mathematics) and Arts (Economics and Environmental Studies).
One could say that I have had a diverse activist experience – from writing government advisory papers to being arrested in direct action against coal.
But in the same way that business-as-usual is leading us all to catastrophe, I now feel that activism-as-usual is clearly not forcing politics to change fast enough.
This is a race between a political tipping point and a scientific one, and currently science is losing.
We have now reached the time when a new and higher form of activism is needed, hence my participation in Climate Justice Fast! I intend for this moral, principled action to give politics a major wake-up call – we can’t ignore the science any longer.”
Writing: The most climate-vulnerable nations are our moral leaders
Blogging: at CJF
Chuck Burns
What is important are the multitudes that suffer because of our own greed. St Augustine said if you have more than you need, then you are stealing from the poor. I began a juice fast October 7 – primarily to reform my own life. The deeper I fast, the more I see how much more I need to reform. I plan to intensify my fast in order to intensify the reformation. I then decided to join the water-only fast from November 6 through the end of Copenhagen, and join my voice with all the other Climate Justice Fast-ers in their cry for justice.The world is in desperate need of change. If we don’t change, we will all suffer the consequences.
Writing:
Diane Wilson
Diane began fasting in Texas on the 6th of November, and will continue fasting from now until, and perhaps beyond the end of, the Copenhagen climate talks this December. She will travel to Copenhagen for the summit where she will join Sara and Anna.
“I’m a fourth generation fisherwoman that has been fighting environmental issues on the Texas Gulf Coast for over twenty years but this hunger fast is just the second time I’ve did anything on global warming. My environmental activism started after the county where I live, Calhoun County, was ranked No. l in the nation for toxins to the land, according to the 1989 Toxic Release Inventory.
In twenty years of what I call my baby-like naivety I have seen something that I never expected to see in my lifetime and, in fact, is what is currently spurring my hunger strike. In one lifetime, I have seen the consequence of what unclear thinking, tunnel vision, and short term unsustainable living can inflict on a community, town, fishery, and a bay. WHAM! Fish houses shut down. Boats rotting in the harbor. Business shut down. Oysters stressed out. Bay full of mercury. Crabs full of mercury. Cattle’s DNA mutated. Rampant cancer. I have seen everything from dolphin die offs, to political buy-offs, kick-backs, worker deaths, fraudulent reports, exposures, stressed out oysters, mercury superfunds, contaminated seafood, and everything you never wanted to know about super-sized industries hell bent on destruction.
So you see, when the reports and statistics and the stories come out about global warming and the message is clear that we need to cut our greenhouse emissions, I understand. And I understand because I live with stunted inaction and misinformed disbelieve all the time. It lives and breathes where I live in Texas. We are bringing the roof down over our heads– but yet, what do we do in Texas? My home counrty is bringing in two coal burning power plants, a nuclear power plant, a liquid natural gas terminal the size of three footballs fields that will require dredging up a bay where hundreds of thousands of pounds of mercury were lost by a malfunctioning Alcoa plant. That is the reality of my home.
I am a co-founder of: CodePink, women for peace and justice; Texas Jail Project, changing jails in Texas, one jail at a time; Injured Workers Union, an advocacy support group for injured chemical workers. I am been a shrimp boat captain all my life and now write.”
Writing:
Blogging: at CJF
Micheal Morphett
Writing:
Blogging:
Mikayla Irle
Mikayla began fasting in the US on the 6th of November, and will continue fasting from now until, and perhaps beyond the end of, the Copenhagen climate talks this December. She is 19 years old, an award-winning cross-country runner, and in February 2009 attended the ‘PowerShift’ conference in Washington DC, alongside more than 10,000 other young people from across the USA who agree that climate change is the defining issue of their generation, and who will work and campaign until the problem is solved.
“We choose what to believe using our God-given reasoning abilities. It’s true; I’ve chosen to “have faith” in what scientists overwhelmingly suggest. There are theories (ahem…mainly funded by fossil fuel industries) that run counter to the mainstream climate change theory, but presented with the evidence, I cannot apathetically accept the consequences implied by the majority of climatologists, geologists, meteorologists, ecologists, biologists, and paleontologists. Our mundane, everyday activities are driving the world to a state of crisis, but I believe the collective goodwill and courage of a caring humanity can move us to a new place of sustainability and justice.”
Writing: Trombone and Contemplation
Blogging at CJF
Paul Connor
Paul began fasting in Canberra, Australia’s Capitol, on November 6, where he will continue fasting on the protest lawn outside Parliament House, until and perhaps beyond the end of the Copenhagen climate summit this December. He is joined in Canberra by Michael, who will also fast for the entire period.
“I am 29, and currently studying Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Melbourne. I have long been uncomfortable with the inequality of our planet, and after studying global justice issues at university and traveling through Asia and Africa found myself becoming more and more passionate about fighting for a better world.
I am involved with CJF mainly because of the incredible injustice at the heart of climate change: that those who it effects the most are those who have the least ability to cope with it, and who have done the least to cause it. That is something I cannot be complicit with, and to me, CJF represents doing just about everything I can about it.”
Writing: Do extreme actions ‘alienate the mainstream’?
Blogging at CJF
Sara Svensson
Sara, 25, from Sweden, began fasting on November 6 at the UN climate talks in Barcelona, along with Anna Keenan, and will continue fasting throughout and perhaps beyond the Copenhagen climate talks, with a presence inside the conference, with Anna, Diane and Daniel.
“I was 5 years old when I decided to devote my life to the creation of a sustainable future. I’ll celebrate my 25th birthday during CJF, and I’ll be 65 in 2050.
I’ve been involved in different kinds of climate activism for most of my life. I studied International Project Management for Social Movements and NGOs, combined with environmental science.
I’m undertaking this fast out of love. Love for life, for our beautiful planet with all its species and future generations. There’s nothing more important I can do in my life than to contribute in the strongest possible way, with full devotion, to set an end to climate change and injustice and be part of the movement that will lead us to a sustainable future.”
Writing: Why I’m Fasting for Climate Justice
Blogging at CJF
Please see: Climate Justice Fast! taking climate activism to the next level for the inspiring Barcelona press conference by Anna and Sara, and
Climate Justice Fast begins Nov 6th, how will you be helping? for ways to support the Climate Justice Fast.
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“Since 1982, spring in East Asia (defined here as the eastern third of China and the Korean Peninsula) has been warming at a rate of one degree Fahrenheit per decade.” Earth Gauge
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