Written by Matt Prosser
There's a poetic irony, that so many bodies so at odds are all facing that same challenge. To find ways to rescue that most essential of lifelines, a connection to the wider world, the ability to move thought and artifact, to keep those veins that make us not just human but humanity flowing.
Two such bodies, that hopefully may ultimately find themselves at a point of cohesion, are the actors in the undeniably essential aviation industry, and the actors in the equally undeniably essential activism groups aiming to make sure that the new social synapses we form in the wake of upheaval are a conduit for human and telluric health.
The aviation industry, in short, needs to find a way to maintain our essential infrastructure of logistical interconnection and provide for the whim of the individual at a time where rampant consumerism is not there to prop up the economically dysfunctional practice of selling what has come to be a basic amenity to the highest bidder.
Activists need to find a way to make sure our environmental conscience is kept as the priority throughout, and find a way to do that when 'Strength In Numbers' is so incredibly difficult to achieve.
Enter; The Emergency Room. Alongside XR and Greenpeace, these passionate cultural actors have made it their task to find ways to draw us together for a greater cause from the comfort of our own homes.
Starting on Extinction Rebellion's national day of action on aviation, alongside a movement for 'regional rebellion' (Telegraph 2020), a call to action has come in the form of Aviation Action Week. A series of demonstrations, interactive exercises and educational endeavours, the purpose of the action is to raise awareness of the contribution of the aviation industry to the global climate crisis, and the necessity to exercise our right to demand that the actions of our governments and those bodies that stand to determine our planet's future reflect the best interests of us all.
These issues are not just a part of the future, they are of immediate significance and they matter to people, they are in the hearts and minds of people looking at the world and understanding that we need to take action to preserve it. Real people, like those people undertaking this creative action, care because they know they need to.
Phil Croxall, one of the creative minds editing and producing film work to aid the action, has provided a concise statement regarding the situation at hand; “Aviation releases a lot of carbon and other damaging particles into the atmosphere so reducing the number of flights we take is an essential part of preventing catastrophic climate change.”
Martin Phillips, a member of the 'Landing Crew', highlights the importance of community will being heard, and keeping the priorities of environmental responsibility at hand; “We must make central government stand by its promises of creating a greener future and respect the local democratic decision to reject the plans for expanding Bristol Airport. There are better ways to travel, or even not to travel”
The point of this piece, however, is to draw attention to the process behind the purpose, in the hope of both publicising the action and encouraging the esteemed reader to think about how they may make a difference in a world saturated by new differences and differentiations.
Maintaining momentum in a world forcefully separated is an obstacle. Martin went on to contribute his perspective on the challenges faced presently. “Without being able to meet together in large groups it has been difficult to maintain the urgency and enthusiasm for the cause during lockdown, but we must. We are in a crisis and have no time to lose.” noting further that “...we've had to focus on the issues as a source of motivation, which in some ways gives us greater validity”.
The problem; bring people together without actually bringing them together, towards a common cause.
The Solution; innovate, as our respective activist representatives have, and provide both powerful statements and organised, interactive, actions that anyone with a few minutes and a lust for a better world can take part in.
At time of writing, we've seen a demonstration by the 'Landing Crew', now a repeat offender in the sphere of local climate action, and a novel idea in the form of a 'Creative Action Call-out' encouraging members of the public to make paper aeroplanes with messages for the government regarding our convictions towards ecologically sound industrial machination.
The air of rebellion in the simple act of making a paper aeroplane is deeply ingrained into the British social conscience. Who out of you didn't rip a page from a text book, labour lovingly over your creation, and send it careening across the classroom? Beyond this intimation of irreverence, we have an ineffably relevant statement. We, as individuals, are tiny. We simply don't have the capita (or the environmental justification) to commission jumbo jets scrawled with sentiments of global conscience.
We do, however, have creative spirit and something to say. Things that when given a platform, may change the way the world thinks about some of its choices. By providing a simple, accessible and enjoyable activity for the public to take part in in their spare time, the challenge of creating a conduit for the combination of our aggregated social influence is met. By highlighting a message for people to write on their own aeroplanes (aided by guides to make particularly impressive vessels) each day, we are provided a picture of the nuances at play.
On the first day, 'No more unconditional bailouts for dirty industries.' (The Emergency Room 2020), drawing attention to the perceived misspending of public money on unrestricted financial aid provided to bodies in the aviation industry over recent months (Desmog 2020).
On the second day, 'Introduce a frequent flyers tax now!' (The Emergency Room 2020), highlighting that 70% of flights are taken by just 15% of people (A Free Ride, 2014), a clear issue with the aviation status quo.
On the third day, 'Buy Local, and avoid the hidden carbon footprint of air freight.' (The Emergency Room 2020), providing a practical means for the public to make an impact and referencing the disproportionate contribution of air freight to global emissions, outlined thoroughly by AirportWatch (2008).
On the fourth day, the most recent at time of writing, 'tax aviation fuel on internal flights' (The Emergency Room 2020), with the hope of reducing the emissions avoidable by providing better alternative public transport infrastructure.
Whilst the statistics regarding international flights seem more significant comparatively, considering it would take us 10000 trees and 10 years to compensate for the 4416 tonnes of CO2 emissions made weekly by domestic UK flights (LeaseFetcher 2019) this only emphasises the scale of the issue in international terms.
As mentioned, alongside the interactivity of arts and crafts, a number of pieces of media have been produced by 'The Landing Crew', and others. By providing a condensed and accessible series of creative actions, and concerting their release and promotion alongside each other, we are provided with more than a selection of information bites.
Instead, we have an event. An activity to engage with, a cause to be a part of, and a thing worth sharing. We show a more rounded view of the world as we see it, and why it's so important that we enable change. Instead of being a series of faceless claims, we become humans connecting with humans through our shared understanding and values. Our culture.
We might not be able to stand in the same two meter square, and we might not be able to buy a couple of jumbo jets each, but we can draw eyes to a cause and encourage people to engage with it, at a time where a saturation of information (often misinformation) makes standing out a difficult thing to do, especially when doing so literally is a different beast than it once was. According to Statista (2017) over a quarter of those recently surveyed in the US rarely trust the news they read on social media. We now live in a world where just sharing information is not enough. You need to make people engage, and you need to make people believe and then use that gravity to bring the right elements into the myriad of public awareness to make the right changes to preserve ourselves and our world.
This is where activism necessitates creativity. We need to make bold enough statements to capture hearts. One of many prodigal influencer/artist/activists of the modern age, Banksy, recently drew the focus in headlines with a refugee rescue boat funded by and covered in the artwork of the aforementioned environmental actor (Guardian 2020). The rescue mission itself is undeniably a worthy and essential humanitarian effort, though ultimately that boat is a drop in the ocean. However, the spotlight on the situation and the fact that there are simply too many people who need help for the amount of help provided, and the deplorable attitude of international bodies in these regards, has brought the issue more weight in international discussion (Artnet 2020).
The core of the message here is clear. Whilst we may feel ineffectual, and whilst our individual efforts may not be enough to halt the progress towards catastrophe, creatively targeting the right areas with the means we do have available to us can create a beacon of hope to build the traction necessary in the international forum for our voices to be heard.
Every generation has faced its own set of detractions to overcome, and the actions devised to approach those detractions have developed new ways to stand up for what we believe to be right. By finding ways to understand the next page of our civilisation, and how we may act within those confines, we develop the future of humanity. Our friend Martin notes that “There has been a greater use of social media that has perhaps allowed us to move faster and reach out wider than before”, when thinking of what our own New Normal may bring to the table.
As much as we have been pulled apart, we may now in many ways be closer than ever before. We have been united, in face of a common adversary, and one can only hope that that spirit is held when moving forwards. Perhaps the stark comparisons between unheeded warnings of a pandemic may effect how we treat unheeded warnings in future. Whether that be the #FutureOfFlight, or any of the other futures that await us.
𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆
A Free Ride., (2014) About [online] A Free Ride. [Viewed 01 September 2020] Available from: http://afreeride.org/about/
AirportWatch., (2008) Carbon emissions of air freight compared to other modes of transport [online] AirportWatch. [Viewed 01 September 2020] Available from: https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/.../carbon-emissions-of.../
Artnet., (2020) Bansky Accuses European Officials of ‘Deliberately Ignoring Distress Calls’ After a Migrant Boat He Financed Was Stranded in the Mediterranean [online] Artnet. [Viewed 02 September 2020] Available from: https://news.artnet.com/art.../banksy-refugee-boat-1905003
Desmog., (2020) Analysis: Aviation Industry Coronavirus Bailouts Contradict Governments' Climate Commitments [online] Desmog. [Viewed 01 September 2020] Available from: https://desmog.co.uk/.../aviation-covid-bailout-climate...
Guardian., (2020) Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean [online] Guardian. [Viewed 02 September 2020] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/.../banksy-funds-refugee...
LeaseFetcher., (2019) How much CO2 do we emit from domestic air travel each week? [online] LeaseFetcher. [viewed 02 September 2020] Available From: https://www.leasefetcher.co.uk/.../domestic-flights...
Statista., (2017) Fake News - Statistics & Facts [online] Statista. [Viewed 30 August 2020] Available from: https://www.statista.com/topics/3251/fake-news/
Telegraph., (2020) Extinction Rebellion to target airports over bank holiday weekend as part of new protest action [online] Telegraph. [Viewed 30 August 2020] Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/.../extinction-rebellion.../
The Emergency Room (2020) 30 August. [Viewed 30 August 2020] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/391135821533574/posts/663167554330398
The Emergency Room (2020) 31 August. [Viewed 31 August 2020] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/391135821533574/posts/666548067325680
The Emergency Room (2020) 01 September. [Viewed 01 September 2020] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/391135821533574/posts/667365293910624
The Emergency Room (2020) 02 September. [Viewed 02 September 2020] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/391135821533574/posts/668017167178770
This post was written by Matt Prosser.
I'm a writer, speaker, and musician in disguise as a retail worker - trying to write, speak, and music my way to a better world and more comfortable clothing. I've written a lot but shared too little, though that's something I'm trying to change.
Comments