-
Adapting for an Uncertain Future: A conversation with Rupert Read
I joined the HEART Community Group for this online talk followed by a Q&A.
-
Europe’s Warmest Winter | TRT World
“The next step has to be we start to take leadership into our own hands… The moderate flank stands for mass action on climate, action that will consist largely in “doing” what needs to be done in response to this crisis. We all now know that there IS a crisis, and that Government are not acting adequately on it. It’s time for us to do what is necessary, together, from the ground up, to make our communities resilient, and to make our workplaces and businesses and progressions truly climate-positive.” – Rupert Read Excerpt courtesy of TRT WORLD. Watch the full interview here.
-
Mourn and organise: On the power of truth in a world awash with lies
This article first appeared on ABC Religion and Ethics. Upon learning that he was about to die, the Swedish-American labour activist and songwriter Joe Hill wrote a telegram to Bill Haywood, the founder of the Industrial Workers of the World. It read: “Goodbye, Bill. I die like a true blue rebel. Don’t waste any time mourning. Organize!” The (para)phrase “don’t mourn, organise” received a boost in popularity when a collection of Hill’s songs were released under the title “Don’t Mourn — Organize!: Songs of the Labour Songwriter Joe Hill”. The phrase was subsequently used by the Boston Globe as the title of an article honouring the American playwright, philosopher, and socialist thinker Howard Zinn when he…
-
Biodiversity: Targets, Optimism, and Lies
This piece, with Victor Anderson, was originally featured in Green World here. Great rejoicing has followed the biodiversity agreement recently arrived at, just in time for Christmas. For example, ‘The Times’ editorial began: “The agreement in Montreal by 195 countries to protect wildlife and ecosystems, with 30 per cent of Earth’s lands and oceans protected by 2030, is a rare piece of good news in gloomy times.” The Environment section of the European Commission tweeted: “The new global #Biodiversity Agreement will ensure that nature keeps sustaining communities & economies for the next decades.” The nub of our claim here today is: this “ensure” is a lie. Target-setting is very different from implementation and achievement.…
-
The King’s Speech
This article first appeared on Brave New Europe. An alternative to the Queen’s traditional Christmas message has been broadcast since 1993 which, more often than not, gives insight into a serious issue. What if in 2022 it wasn’t needed? Eco-philosopher Dr. Rupert Read, urges King Charles to use his massive platform to highlight a critical issue close to his heart. What follows. Drawing frequently on words that he has already publicly spoken, is the speech that Charles III ought to give, in his address to the nation on December 25th. Good afternoon, on this, Christmas Day. Sadly, as many of us have experienced especially in the last few years, there…
-
An unprecedented crisis and lack of sufficient awareness
“The moderate flank stands for mass action on climate, action that will consist largely in “doing” what needs to be done in response to this crisis. We all now know that there IS a crisis, and that Government are not acting adequately on it. It’s time for us to do what is necessary, together, from the ground up, to make our communities resilient, and to make our workplaces and businesses and progressions truly climate-positive.” – Rupert Read. Excerpt from panel discussion with Robin Celikates, Andreas Malm, Eva von Redecker, and Rupert Read on the question “What is to be Done? Climate Crisis and Political Activism”. This was the closing event…
-
The rationale for the new moderate flank strategy
Excerpt from panel discussion with Robin Celikates, Andreas Malm, Eva von Redecker, and Rupert Read on the question “What is to be Done? Climate Crisis and Political Activism”. This was the closing event of the Conference “Politics of Nature: Philosophical Perspectives on the Anthropocene” (Oct 20-21, 2022), organized by Thomas Khurana (Center for Post-Kantian Philosophy, https://cpkp.net/) and the ICI Berlin (https://www.ici-berlin.org/).
-
‘Stubborn Optimism’ Will Pave the Way to Climate Disaster
We can’t seriously address the climate emergency until we admit that some of our hopes have died, writes Rupert Read.
-
Will disruptive action help save the planet?
Is there any point throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting and mashed potato at a Monet? Two activists give their views
-
“Adversity is the first path to truth”: How climate grief could be the making of us
This article was first published on ABC Religion and Ethics, here. Gone is the age of natural disasters. The climate disasters of today are of a profoundly unnatural character. They are the product of pumping the atmosphere full of carbon dioxide, methane, and a litany of other greenhouse gases. The dire wildfires, droughts, and flash flooding we have seen in the past few years are only a taste of things to come. When confronted with the sobering reality of climate breakdown, it is tempting to give in to one of two impulses. On the one hand, there is the allure of wishful thinking, naïve optimism, and New Age (toxic) positivity.…
