Submitted by: Eva Baker
19.04.11
Dan Glass is a bit of a hero round these parts. He’s long been a fan of the work we do at Ctrl.Alt.Shift, and an even bigger fan of causing trouble wherever he goes. A dedicated environmental activist, Dan’s organised with groups like Plane Stupid and So We Stand, and is one of the most creative and charming mischief makers you could ever hope to meet...
So Dan, you organise with a lot of grassroots activist groups in the UK, tell us more about that?
Well I am a community activist with Plane Stupid, a direct action network against the social and environmental impact of the aviation industry. In my view, when it comes to climate change, you have to target the root causes of the problem, and the aviation industry is one of the biggest causes of rising CO2 emissions. The high-emission industries, such as aviation, perpetuate the biggest unsustainable psychological experiment in history – that humans can manipulate speed, time and ecological stability without consequences. The great thing about Plane Stupid is that we also look at the impact of an industry where profit is put before people, and do all we can to genuinely support communities in the UK that are negatively affected by airport expansion. Living with the daily onslaught of lies from the aviation industry as well as the surprising incidence of trauma associated with living in the polluted shadow of flight paths, it’s incredibly important that people are supported to resist isolation and be empowered to take action. The other group I work with is the mighty 'So We Stand', which is based on the principles of connecting environmental, social and racial justice. So We Stand is a people’s movement for empowering social change and building self defence strategies against aggressive forces to better our lives and communities. We provide training, support, and solidarity to grassroots struggles for environmental, social and multi-racial justice. We engage with popular education to build a culture of creative action and self-determination, connecting different local experiences of injustice to protect life. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be alive. People are no longer putting faith in a political system that has failed too many times to act in time, despair is on the down and active re-imagining of our futures is on the rise. We know there's no time to waste.
'I believe that if we want to fight for a better world we also have to fight for creativity, and the creation of an inspiring world, rather than a world where pollution, profit and passivity reign'
What is your perspective on environmental injustice?
Environmental injustice is a broad term that applies to all sorts of problems and situations faced by many people. Environmental justice means that everyone should have access to a safe, healthy environment, and to environmental resources. Environmental (in)justice affects some groups of people more than others. Part of fighting environmental injustice is therefore addressing the social injustices that mean that some groups are better able to protect themselves from environmental problems and have more access to environmental resources.
In 2011 I think it’s important to see environmental issues as issues of self-defence. You have to defend your communities and fight for your rights, and the severity of climate change means that we have to act now. It only takes a small peek out of the window to see the ever-growing accumulation of 'natural' disasters – whether this will shake humanity’s faith in our ability to dominate the Earth is yet to be seen. The reason we have got to this frightening place in the planet’s history has a great deal to do with 'individualism'. This rampant human individualism has led to our disconnection from what we depend on to keep us alive. This alienation from our inter-dependency with a healthy ecosystem may unfortunately be the ultimate undoing of the arrogance of certain demographics of the human species. For thousands of years communities have lived at peace with our ecological surroundings and species, though in recent years we seem to have lost the plot. We disassociate ourselves from the natural environment and don’t realise how much we need it, or how implicitly linked to it we are. Environmentalism isn’t a self-righteous debate; it’s a matter of life or death. We all need clean air to breath and clean water to drink. Whilst it’s humiliating at the rate we are hurtling towards disaster, people are starting to fight back and look for alternatives. People are finding the motivation to do all that is possible to prevent an ecosystem collapse and find the courage to fight. I think we are increasingly living at a time when climate change is an issue of self and community defence, not some finger-wagging, organic-shopping accusatory thing that most people can’t afford to relate to.
'I shook the Prime minister’s hand and said, 'Don’t move Prime Minister. Don't worry, I have super glued myself to your sleeve. You can run away from my hand, but you can’t run away from climate change''
Do you think that creativity is important during campaigning, and could you give us an example of when creative campaigning has worked for you?
I think we have to be creative in the actions we take, and there’s only so much of the public’s imagination that campaigning can take up. I believe that if we want to fight for a better world we also have to fight for creativity, and the creation of an inspiring world, rather than a world where pollution, profit and passivity reign. Embedding a culture of art, music and creativity reminds us why the human race should live on – we don't want to replicate institutional capitalist boring profit-driven logic in our community activism when we strive against the system which perpetuates these characteristics. Creativity can provide the magic which sparks our imaginations and make a process for change enjoyable and empowering, rather than earnest, preachy and do-gooding. I guess the most iconic example of creative campaigning I’ve ever taken part in was in July 2008, when I took the interesting decision to superglue myself to Gordon Brown.
You did what?!
I’d been given an award for my work with Plane Stupid around supporting communities affected by airport expansion – and the gob-smacking polluted reality of living in such intense conditions - and the patron of the awards ceremony was none other than Gordon Brown, the man that was pushing for airport expansion in the first place! I thought this was the perfect opportunity to say ‘nah mate, that’s not right.’ I didn’t want to be complicit in the problem, or advocate that level of hypocrisy. I practiced super gluing myself to my housemate for about a month beforehand; he’s the unsung hero of the whole scenario! So as I received the award, in front of a huge audience, I shook the Prime minister’s hand and said, “Don’t move Prime Minister. Don't worry, I have super glued myself to your sleeve. You can run away from my hand, but you can’t run away from climate change.” My Polish grandmother was so proud I was in the paper, though I don’t know if she quite got the message about exactly why I had become so famous overnight…
To read more about what Dan's up to visit his website here
Interview: Eva Baker
Photos: Dan Glass
