On Friday I joined hundreds of thousands of people around the world on the ‘Climate Strike’ – an originally school-kid-led protest inspired by 16 year old Greta Thunberg, but which has broadened to adults. In fact the kids who did turn up were vastly out-numbered by us greyish heads, although they were given priority at the open mic session at the start. Most who did take up this were very impressive in their confidence, passion and articulacy.

The only problem with the content I had was the tendency for all speakers to call on somebody else to do something. While this is undoubtedly important, and the main reason I was there, I would like to have heard some voices on what we all could do. After all, we’re all consumers, members of organisations and (for the adults) voters. As Ross Perot put it:

The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.

I’d like to hope that everybody who was there was inspired to take some action themselves – at home, at their place of work/education, or writing to their elected representatives to demand action (as an elected representative I can assure you that this is more effective than marching down the highstreet). Because we won’t fix the climate crisis by shouting at undefined others.