Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Where Did All These Teen Activists Come From?

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

It seems odd to read stories that pretend that environmental activism is new. I remember being in high school in the 1970s helping build a paper deposit box that we installed at the corner of Victoria and Albert in Metcalfe (there's a small park there now) and picking up the paper to be recycled. We did a bunch of other things too. People have been working for a long time to support the environment, but even more people have been working to extract more resources, emit more waste, and pass on the costs to the next generation. I hope the protesters are successful, and if there's anything I can do to help them, I will.

As a post-script, I sincerely doubt that the protesters learned their message nor their tactics in school. Nor did they get it from the traditional media, which (like this story) tends to belittle both them and their effort. They've had to work counter to both their education and to their media. Their self-organization is a credit to them.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 17, 2024 9:28 p.m.

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