I was in Hereford last week (9th August) to take part in a vigil for Cressie Gethin, one of the “Whole Truth Five” who were handed down draconian sentences by Judge Christopher Hehir on July 17th for their part in planning a demonstration on behalf of Just Stop Oil. Cressie got four years – more than any of the violent criminals who’ve been sentenced for their part in the recent race riots so far.
I find the disproportionality of this sentence all but unbearable. My whole life has been driven by the idea of Intergenerational Justice, captured in this very familiar definition of sustainable development: “development that meets the needs of the present in a way that does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Remember that? You may not have heard much about it over the last 14 years, given that the Tories did everything in their power to excise it from our political lexicon to ensure that nothing should stand in the way of the same old exploitative, planet-trashing development so beloved of today’s political classes. (And Labour is no better on that score, by the way).
In effect, the whole notion of Intergenerational Justice has been turned on its head. Instead of older generations doing everything they can to ensure a better, more secure future for all those who come after them, today’s younger generation finds itself doing a lot of the heavy lifting to secure a still liveable future not just for themselves, but for their parents and grandparents.
Cressie is 22 years old.
I’ve come to the conclusion that most of us are now afflicted by SSDD – Severe Selective Deafness Disorder. Test out your own hearing by assessing how you respond to this one single data point from the climate frontline – regarding the number of days where the average sea surface temperature exceeded 21o C (average sea surface temperatures drive much of our global climate).
| 1950-2021 | ZERO |
| 2021-2022 | ZERO |
| 2023 | 90 |
| 2024 | 129 |
So, what are you doing with that data? Parking it? Ignoring it? Or really hearing it? Whilst realising that there are many data points at least as shocking as this.
Many young people today can barely believe these data points are proliferating across the entire climate frontline. Yet our politicians are still struck dumb – through ignorance, inertia, cowardice, “psychic numbing”, or downright self-serving dishonesty and corruption – just follow the fossil fuel money that gets them elected and keeps them in power.
This dereliction of duty leaves many young climate campaigners both angry and utterly grief-bound – a cruel form of anticipatory grief as they contemplate the horror story that awaits hundreds of millions of people in their lifetimes. INEVITABLY.
That kind of grief does not go away, or even recede – as is the case (one hopes) with the death or loss of a loved one. It repeats endlessly, day after day.
Far from being the “great healer”, time becomes exactly the opposite, as every day wasted in denial or delay further diminishes our prospects of avoiding the kind of personal and collective trauma looming larger and larger.
Time doesn’t heal climate grief. Indeed, it steals the dreams and hopes of us all. But especially the dreams and hopes of young people.
There will be further vigils for Cressie. For all young people already sentenced or on remand. So, dear readers, you might ask yourself this, as people no doubt “very concerned” about accelerating climate change: what can you do to show solidarity with those already doing so much on our behalf?
At the very least, please will you listen to these remarkable words from Cressie herself. https://x.com/JustStop_Oil/status/1822946652115566742
And if you can then lend your support directly to JSO Activists that would be brilliant.
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/uk_climate_activists_loc
