#Fridays4Future

[6stronghands]

PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION - LEGIT NEED A LOT OF INPUT

what would you call a Gen X climate activist group?

i know this seems like a superficially ridiculous question, but this *will* be an issue in the first meeting of a local group i’m organizing, like there’s a lot of cool things about Gen X. i know that’s hard to believe right now, but we’re not all total losers totally. we’ve got a few good qualities, i mean look at the kids we raised, you guys are INCREDIBLE. 

but

i do *not* want to waste an entire first meeting just arguing about the name, and sitting around arguing about band names instead of writing the fucking music is very on brand for these dizzy bitches (i’m also dizzy bitches, if things weren’t such an emergency, this would be fun to do in lots of first meetings, but we’re literally out of time, i need to streamline shit as much as poss). 

most of you don’t know me very well, but i promise i’m nice and also i promise you cannot say anything too dumb to me, the ADHD Queen/ high school dropout/ god’s dumbest little angel. i say dumb things on every level in every situation and setting. It’s What I Do, please shout stuff out to me, i literally can’t think of a single good name and i don’t know why.

please tell me ideas for Gen X Climate Activist Group names 

[michaelcosio]

Amazon is using union-busting Pinkerton spies to track warehouse workers and labor movements at the company, according to a new report

Katie Canales Nov 23, 2020, 11:42 AM PST

Amazon is hiring detectives from the notorious Pinkerton agency to spy on warehouse workers and monitor them for labor unionization efforts, according to a Monday Motherboard report.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that Amazon has indeed recruited operatives from Pinkerton, the spy agency that has a centuries-long history of upending worker union activities, among other services.

Per Motherboard, Pinkerton spies were "inserted" into a warehouse in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2019 to look into an allegation that job candidates were being coached for job interviews.

Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski told Business Insider that the firm partners with Pinkerton to "secure high-value shipments in transit," not to gather intelligence on warehouse workers, and that all activities are "fully in line with local laws."

Motherboard obtained internal emails written by members of Amazon's Global Security Operations Center in 2019. The leaked documents reportedly show Amazon analysts tracking union organizing activity of workers in Europe, with members having the ability to stay updated on labor organizing efforts conducted at warehouses, right down to the date, time, location, and the number of workers involved.

The report also revealed that the data analysts used Facebook and Instagram to monitor the activity of social justice and environmental activist groups, including Greta Thunberg's Fridays4future and Greenpeace. Amazon said the company's analysts do not create social media accounts to track social movements.

Some of the documents suggest that the same monitoring tactics used in Europe could be being used in the Americas, according to the report.

Levandowski told Business Insider that "like any other responsible business, we maintain a level of security within our operations to help keep our employees, buildings, and inventory safe. That includes having an internal investigations team who work with law enforcement agencies as appropriate, and everything we do is in line with local laws and conducted with the full knowledge and support of local authorities."

The Pinkertons were used as a resource by 19th-century industrial bigwigs to spy on unions and to break up worker-held strikes. Steelworkers held a strike in 1892 that devolved into violence and the death of a dozen people when Carnegie Steel Company recruited 300 Pinkertons to act as armed guards, according to History.com. The event led to some states passing laws to prohibit the use of third-party security forces in labor disputes.

As Christy Hoffman, the general secretary of UNI Global Union, told Motherboard, Amazon's deployment of Pinkerton spies to monitor workers' strikes echoes the same tactics used by 19th-century industry tycoons and comes as the company remains under the microscope of anti-trust investigators in the EU and in the US.

"For years people have been comparing big tech bosses to nineteenth-century robber barons, and now by using Pinkertons to do his dirty work, Bezos is making that connection even clearer," Hoffman told Motherboard.

The developments are the latest in a string of evidence that highlights Amazon's robust efforts to monitor and crackdown on its workers unionizing. The retail giant has been staunchly opposed to labor unions — the firm listed, but quickly removed, a job opening earlier this year for an analyst that would monitor employee's efforts to organize.

While CEO Jeff Bezos and his ecommerce giant have profited heavily from home-bound customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon workers have been advocating for better working conditions, staging strikes and protests. Christian Smalls, a former warehouse worker at Amazon's New York fulfillment center, was fired after the company said he ignored social distancing recommendations during a walkout in March. Leaked documents, obtained at the time by Motherboard, revealed an internal effort to mount a PR campaign against Smalls. The documents reportedly revealed that Amazon's top lawyer called Smalls "not smart or articulate" and said the company should "make him the face of the entire union/organizing movement."

A separate Motherboard report from September found that Amazon had been using a tool to monitor dozens of private and public social media groups to find drivers that were organizing strikes or protests.

[babyawacs]

ecology matters but the right handling is sustainablesystem making v erygood business sense to act ecologically itis n o t implying the con sumer shouldpay for green footprints else its bad consumer/ incontrar y to large emmittents @wwf @Greenpeace @Fridays4future @KensingtonRoyal

ecology matters but the right handling is sustainablesystem making verygood business sense to act ecologically itis n o t implying the consumer shouldpay for green footprints else its bad consumer/ incontrary to large emmittents @wwf @Greenpeace @Fridays4future @KensingtonRoyal I am Christian KISS BabyAWACS – Raw Independent Sophistication #THINKTANK + #INTEL #HELLHOLE…

[pie-bean]

Magpie (briefly) leaves their job (exploiting the local environment and its wildlife) in order to spread the word about climate change

[conchabae]

Greta Thunberg and Friday’s 4 Future

"I don't care about being popular. I care about climate justice."

This statement by Greta Thunberg is very powerful. Every generation has had youth that to some extent like the idea of and strive for success, fame and power, but these aspirations have been warped and are all too important amongst our younger generations today. This is directly linked to the nature of internet culture and social media which profits and promotes extreme beauty ideals, materialistic possessions and expressions of grandeur alongside a fixation on followers, likes and the analytics of online “popularity”. Yet, we still have cultural norms that view the youngest in society as the progressives, those who are responsible for shifting and building a better tomorrow. Many Western teens today spend their free-time on beauty tutorials, fashion and other forms of entertainment. There’s beauty in that Greta Thunberg, a well-off Swedish white girl, who could turn a blind eye to injustices in the world, fights to unlearn and speak up against climate injustice. In addition, she fights to spread awareness and put pressure on global governments to make needed systemic change. Greta claims she doesn't care about being popular, because she clearly does not do this for being liked and famous, she knows that fighting for climate justice and sustainability is not popular or “trendy”, she does it because it is what she cares about, and because it is right.

It is because of her honesty and dedication, that she has moved and awaken millions of other western people. Ironically, she has become an iconic and famous figure for defending the environment. It is admirable that even with a platform which has received millions of followers, praise from celebrities, as well as invites from famous politicians, she has never given up her principles to become more likable and her message stays the same, even when it is uncomfortable to those who know they do not do enough for the earth.

I did not live in NYC last year, but there was a climate strike in Foley Square in 2019 as well as strikes all across the world. I was inspired by Greta’s movement and participated in the school strike for climate in Stockholm. It was amazing to see so many people of all different backgrounds and ages participating in the city’s center to hear climate activists and my friends and I boycotted school to support the Friday’s 4 Future campaign.

The long term dedication and commitment movements like Friday’s 4 Future and Black Lives Matter have shown for years now, have woken me up to my complacency to my reality, when it does not align with the world I want to live in. I was 13 years old when the Black Lives Matter hashtag and conversation started. I was 18 when Greta Thunberg started striking for the climate. I realize now that it is not only the people we see highlighted in the news who can make important change, it is all of us. Greta Thunberg’s book No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference, really was a wakeup call on how climate change, which is inevitable with our current ways, is a crisis and an urgent issue that can only be resolved by facing it head on.

 Photos from the Stockholm strike taken by: Lotta Fernvall / AFTONBLADET

These are a selection of a few photos taken at the global Climate Strike in 2019, but these are all taken in front of the Swedish parliament, where the movement began. It is surreal how people in the thousands came to join her on this historical global strike in her home country and all over the world, when she started striking all by herself at this exact spot. Greta Thunberg has been the catalyst for heightened awareness and care about climate justice.

I think many people, including Greta Thunberg herself in the trailer for her Hulu documentary, attribute her hyper focus on the reality and danger of climate change to her having Asperger’s syndrome. While a common symptom of Asperger’s syndrome is to have an “obsessive” interest in a particular subject, I do think we should not dismiss her drive, passion and heart in climate justice just to her condition. Greta’s ability to push against her discomfort with social networking, to perform speeches in front of millions, and exchange awkward pleasantries with powerful public figures to access their platform, shows huge amounts of bravery and heart. It is a character strength that she has tunnel vision on the science of climate change and carbon emissions, and this helps her continue to educate herself on the topic. This is something that many of us locals do not show interest in, especially since most of the information is clouded in complicated and exclusionary scientific language, often in lengthy journals.

She does not just care about the environment for the knowledge, she wants to save the world, and save future generation’s right to fulfilling and happy lives. I have so much respect for her and trust in her intentions, and as Greta has said herself, she does not struggle with Asperger’s, she has it. Her journey to activism and contributions to the world should not be pigeon holed or minimized by her condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced us all to experience a different state than our regular normal, has made it more clear than ever, that many of our customs and way of life are not sustainable. As the prevalence of police brutality and other systems of oppression are harder to ignore, I think we all are becoming more aware of daily injustices. In the first months of quarantine in Europe, reports were showing photographic evidence that wildlife and ecosystems were improving and thriving because of the reduced human activity that used to scare away wildlife and pollute ecosystems. The visual that is etched into my mind are the rivers in Venice, Italy. Because of the mandatory quarantine, no boats or gondolas were in use, and the rivers all over the water city cleared to a vibrant blue. It took me back to a trip there when I was 12, and how the waters were so green and muddy we joked that falling in would be a health risk. It was somewhat bittersweet to see this imagery, as it was beauty that was rare to see, and that it is rare because of us!

Photos taken of clear water in Italy, taken by @ikaveri on Twitter. 

In this same pandemic, we have also seen the red and orange skies of LA, filled with clouds and rainfalls of ash. This was heartbreaking for the world to witness, as we learned it was the cause of not some dreamy sunset or blood sun, but because of the massive forest wild fires that have devastated families and communities by burning down homes and making the air unbreathable in some places.

Photo credit: Brittany Hosea-Small / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP VIA Getty Images

There is no quick fix for the climate and like all social issues, we need to be committed and address it from various angles. We need to vote in political representatives that acknowledge climate change as fact, which unfortunately is the first crucial step we must take unlike other democracies with the same quality of education and science. We need to then protest and put as much pressure as possible on local, state and national politics to enact policies that lead to reduced emissions. We must reduce the amount of influence and investments fossil fuel corporations receive from taxpayers, and invest federally into sustainable alternatives. Unfortunately, most Americans do not even realize how much their lifestyle destroys their land but also the global climate temperature. We need to create a social shift in attitudes around consumption in all forms and this starts with widespread education, so perhaps media and specifically social media is the strongest and quickest way to do this.

“If a few girls can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school for a few weeks, imagine what we could do together if we wanted to.”

I think this quote by Greta emphasizes the power of the people being unified and organized. When we are organized is when we are truly unstoppable and cannot be ignored by the appointed leaders that be. We outnumber them all. We need to organize and stay focused to make real and much needed change.

“Adults keep saying - We owe it to the young people to give them hope - but I don’t want your hope.

I don’t want you to be hopeful.

I want you to panic.”

- Greta Thunberg in her Our House is On Fire speech.

I think the discussion around Greta Thunberg and her activism is interesting and there are three camps with different receptions of her in online discourse. I think the first camp were responsible for her becoming a household name globally. People who felt overwhelmed about climate change, had made some attempts at doing their part, like only riding public transport and going vegan. The first camp mainly consists of the younger generations that were somewhat aware but overwhelmed with the amount of structural issues that contribute to climate change. They were the force that joined Greta at her strikes in Stockholm outside Swedish parliament, and the ones who organized strikes in their own home countries. The second camp, were those like me, who found out about her a bit later when a strong media buzz was already present and notably by media that did not intend to further her purpose and emphasize the importance of climate justice, but just used her for novelty, headlines and clickbait instead. Many marginalized people questioned some of Greta’s viral rhetoric that often spoke of her being “stolen of her childhood and dreams'' as we saw a European, well-off white girl, who was being invited to speak to the most influential politicians, embraced by Hollywood A-listers and was also being honored at protests around the globe for her strikes. What could she possibly know about struggle? We respected her passion for climate change, but convinced ourselves that she needs to scold politicians and those who actually hold power for change, so we carried on with our lives and continued to live in comfortable denial. The third camp consisted of active climate change deniers, and conservatives who weaponized her Asperger's and the fact that she was a young woman (can’t forget to add ageism and misogyny to edgy memes eh?) and aimed to assassinate her character and validity in the form of “jokes” and memes. The third camp often brought up her privilege not only as a critique, but as a means to silence her and the topic altogether. Many influential right-wing politicians, including Donald Trump, partook in this to distance their followers from having any interest in her, or climate justice.

“Greta Thunberg is the spark but we are the wildfire.” - Naomi Klein

As I mentioned earlier, Greta Thunberg’s book has taken away my criticisms of her global status. She has brilliant values, an in-depth scientific understanding of the subject she advocates for, and her emphasis on climate equity, which many white activists fail to acknowledge as an important factor, all made me a supporter of Greta. I do not care about the trolls and those who have tried to ridicule and minimize the honor in her life mission. She is probably one of the most inspiring individuals and change makers of my time. Her book and speeches have amazing rhetoric that unprogrammed a lot of my own learned helplessness about the environment. It also reminded me of my individual responsibility as well as my government's responsibility to stop global warming from happening and create a sustainable world. We need to put in the work, we only have so much time left before it is too late, whether we like that fact or not. Her stance that climate change is black and white is so effective and true: “either we reduce global emissions by 50%, or we do not.” It really is that simple. We need to activate so we can enact the needed solutions to meet that goal. Reading Thunberg’s book has inspired me to take more action and make more sustainable choices and unlearn a lot of U.S. consumerism culture. I have educated myself more throughout quarantine by learning about zero waste methods and the environmental benefits of veganism. However, while personal accountability is great, it is a form of privilege to be able to buy more sustainably, especially when the current market place mainly offers unsustainable products as the most affordable. We must also learn how to politically fight for actual policies and political change that force systemic and societal change .

“We have a new wave of contention in society that’s being led by women. … And the youth climate movement is leading this generational shift."

- Dana Fisher

In late 2019, The Washington Post conducted a poll that found that 46% of teen girls said the climate was “extremely important”, while only 23 % of teen boys said so. Furthermore, more than twice as many black and Hispanic teens participated in school strikes on climate change than their white peers, and girls were more likely to participate than boys. This data is one of several including Dana Fisher’s, a sociologist and researcher at the University of Maryland, who found similar ratios when studying the populations of activists and participants in the Washington, DC 2019 climate strike.

I think the ratio of who shows up for the environment points to social roles at large. The likelihood of caring about climate change can do with one’s privilege and ability to empathize with abstract or foreign problems that one may not be negatively affected with (right now). While we all hold some form of privilege, all women have experienced some form of sexism and misogyny, and therefore are more likely to be able to empathize with marginalized groups they do not belong to, and advocate for social movements that address injustices they may not themselves experience.

There is a correlation between those most marginalized in society, being the most active in social reform and revolution. Because when one is in the lowest or lower social casts of society, and has the least social freedoms and privileges, one has nothing to lose and everything to gain from change. This is why we can see in many social justice movements across the US, that black queer people and specifically black trans women, have consistently been at the forefront for important social progress.

When it comes to climate change, there is a certain amount of empathy required, especially when you live in a western country, or part of the world where you have an excess of resources at your disposal and you are comfortable with the status quo. That is something we all need to address and with that comes a checking of ego. Is my temporary happiness more important than other people’s well-being and lives? Am I contributing to the exploitation of people and the destruction of the planet? My planet?

I do not often see men on a large scale extending this type of self-reflection and empathy for social problems, either in small social settings or in positions of power. This is similar to how many men do not reflect on how it feels to be catcalled or sexually harassed as a woman. This is not because men are predisposed to be heartless rather, I believe this is a cause of social conditioning. Women are more conditioned to be team players, to listen and exercise great empathy at all times, otherwise she is socially scorned. Men are not expected to show these traits to the same extent, and often can rely on this lack of social standard and their own privilege to ignore social issues all together. We need to unlearn that issues women care about are insular to “women’s issues”, for they are societal problems, and we need to encourage and expect young boys and men to be equally accountable for a better world.

It is so inspiring to see so many young teens following Greta’s initiative, like Alexandria Villaseñor, who after experiencing an asthma attack during a wildfire in California, not only took the time to educate herself on the dangers of this phenomenon, but also organized Friday’s 4 Future strikes in NYC with the US Climate Strike group. Since then, she has also spoken at countless international conventions about climate change, and alongside Thunberg and 15 other youth activists, filed a legal complaint against UN nations who had not upheld their Paris agreement climate goals. This is so badass and I did not even know about this until today. In fact, there are countless teens all over the world, many of whom aren’t of legal voting age, who are suing local / federal governments and organizations for environmental malpractice and for jeopardizing their futures! 

As they should! Let’s all keep fighting for a better and sustainable future.

Students and youth striking in Seoul, South Korea. Photo credit: Chung Sung-Jun / GETTY IMAGES

Young people striking in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo credit: Jeff J Mitchell / GETTY IMAGES

Youth striking in Hong Kong. Photo credit: Kim Cheung / AP PHOTO

[thefarmersblog]

Found these at Waterstones! They’re such a good idea! I have a small question though. Wildflowers are different for every ecosystem - for example, at the farm camomile is really common and grows everywhere, but in the Park in town it’s more the dandelions and daisies. If they’re not wild to your ecosystem, wouldn’t some species even be harmful? I’d like there to be more biodiversity around, but I wouldn’t want to disrupt the ecosystem and harm it. If you know more on the subject please tell me if there are different flower capsules for different places. Thank you!

[timmurleyart]

Black gold dig.💀⛽️💲⚫️🔥🌍💵💰

[alba-flores-es-la-reina]

[anjalikescats]

politicians: teenagers should do more in politics

teenagers: *join fridays for future*

politicians:

politicians: no not like this

[phans-aesthetic-adventures]

Our World in 100 years. The left side shows the world with an average global temperature increase of 1°C. The right side shows an average global temperature increase of 3,7°C. Our current trend is around 4°C !!!

[casualcomicbookkid]

uh @ climate deniers

Try looking at it this way.

If we do something to stop dangerous climate change and it turns out that you were right: Well done. climate change was a hoax & we were all crazy about nothing. Haha we get to laugh at all the idiots. What a bunch of morons, am I right? But hey, at least our energy comes from free, sustainable sources, & our air is a bit less polluted.

But if well over 90% of active climate researchers (!!!) were right and nothing was done about climate change: Well done. People like you are the reason the planet is fucked for all future generations & history will always remember you as the reason why we allowed the mass extinction of human, plant and animal species. Congratulations.

[explorerofmyownsoul]

reposted from Pinterest

[laflimpa]

Greta Thunberg is every RPG main character ever that isn't taken seriously by the grown-ups til like halfway through the game and then becomes the leader of a powerful organisation to defeat evil and save the world

[sowonderfuledm]

Check out a new music production by "So Wonderful" titled "We Can Have a World" dedicated to "Fridays for Future"!

[6stronghands]

wrong in the head is what i am

I was on vacation once with my ex and he had been more challenging than usual the whole time, he said and did kind of awful things always, but he liked an audience for his shit, so vacations were always harder than daily life with him, and I was just kind of staying very calm and quiet, trying to hover under his radar, which was the best way to deal with him when he got like that. We were on the beach, and I left my shoes up by my towel so I could walk in the water, and when I got back up to shore, someone had taken them. They were Italian sandals that I’d found for twenty bucks at TJ Maxx, beautifully designed wood and leather, just wonderful shoes. I started crying, and was immediately so embarrassed and also mad at myself that I could handle a bad husband but then flip out about lost shoes, I felt shallow and dumb and naked and weird about it. 

This weekend I saw the leaked pics of the new electric Mustang design, and I’ve been really sad about them. I feel the same way now, as I did then, on the beach. 

All day, every day, I spend hours working on my city climate action plan, and on other activism. I spend hours every week protesting and researching and going to meetings and writing and it’s all kind of devastating because people are still confusing climate crisis adaptation with recycling and talking about saving the Amazon or going vegetarian or whatever, when we should all be acting like the non-religious-fundamentalist-non-asshole version of preppers, like for real you should make sure you’ve got food and water and meds, etc, for everyone for a month, you should do whatever you can to make yourself hard to kill, you should get as much education as you can, you should save every penny, all of that shit. You should ask your city council what they’re doing to prep and adapt for the Anthropocene, like for real, you should find out if they’re taking it seriously. Remind them that a crisis should be....wait for it...treated like a crisis. 

It’s so tricky to wrap my head around everything that’s going on; it’s really, really bad, hard timing to have all the political shit at the same time as the environmental apocalypse, it leads to a lot of cognitive dissonance, a lot of emotional and mental hardship. I wake up every morning mostly cheerful and ready to kick ass but by the end of the day I’m really tired and sad and hopeless-feeling. I know this about myself now, I know that I have to stop working on climate or political stuff at night, I have to knit or play with my dog or watch harmless shit on tv or whatever, I have to remind myself that the sun will come up again and that I’m copacetic during the daytime. 

But it’s morning and I’m still sad because the electric Mustangs are hideous. Like, no joke, they’re so ugly. I know I’m a weird fit for environmentalism, because I love cheeseburgers and loud cars and both of those things are just not sustainable. It’s gonna be around fifteen thousand dollars to convert my Mustang to battery power; I thought the conversion kits were two thousand and I was so, so wrong. And it’s not like lithium is a renewable resource, it’s not like electric cars don’t have problems. I only eat cheeseburgers once every few months now, and I feel guilty even then. I know this isn’t the purity olympics, I know this is about structural change, but cars and burgers are obvious symbols of bad design, bad intent, bad business, not human or planet friendly. 

I know there’s not an invention in the world that can get rid of all the CO2 or methane, that there really isn’t a Hail Mary type thing that’s going to keep the planet from drowning and burning and starving. I know that feedback loops are already in play, that the earth is going to change in ways that will make human life very challenging. Not impossible, but very, very challenging. People are suffering, animals are suffering, things are really hard and bad, and they’re going to get worse, but hey, I’m not weepy about it, no, no, not me, not Captain Headfuck. I can handle all that, apparently. 

I’m the one who cries about shoes and the end of a dumb, cute, stupid car. I feel so sad and weird and naked and dumb about it. 

[timmurleyart]

Greta. 🟡🔵🇸🇪🌿🌳🍏🍐🍀🌲🌵