The Climate Column

Stung into action

Patrick Dunne

As we emerge from winter (although some days it doesn't feel like it), we may ask ourselves how to make the most of the light and energy that grows each day. How can we emerge fruitfully from the hibernation of winter, while allowing ourselves compassion if we were dormant in our activism during the darkness of December and January? The modern world demands productivity: eight hours a day, five days a week is the standard irrespective of the time of year, but how many among us are doing unpaid and unaccounted for labour for children, parents, partners or neighbours on top of their official ‘work’, and how many are underemployed or in fragile employment without the benefits, structure or even the dignity supposedly imparted by regular employment? How can we recognise the value and rhythms of ‘fruitfulness’ over ‘productivity’? Can we allow ourselves to grow and emerge in spring, bask in summer, shed in autumn, and rest in winter? Are we of the cycles of the earth, or are we of the windowless factory— a piston hammering day and night under artificial lights?

This is by way of recognising my own struggles coping with the demands of ‘what I should be doing’. We cannot fight every minute of every day. It cannot be sustained. It should not be sustained. How does the out-of-season fruit taste? How fresh and vibrant are spring bulbs that emerge in their own moment, compared to those that are demanded year-round by capitalism and consumption?

Nettles appear when they will. They are a sign of reclamation of damaged earth. Edible, useful, beautiful, productive. A bounty of nutrition, and a stinging encounter to the incautious. A haven for butterflies and a relentless blessing in a garden. An eruption beyond our control in every corner of the land. Fruitful and emergent in the warming conditions of spring.

So we must be in our climate activism. Emerging in conditions that allow us to flourish and be plentiful, beneficial to our ecosystem. This is a signifier of community health, an impetus to interconnection, inclusion and mutual benefit. I love the folk that have kept the Zoom calls going over the winter, the newsletters and the updates sent out. They have prepared the soil for the mass emergence of shoots— the protests, campaigns and actions that need to take place this year.

The British Government has approved a new oil field (Ambrose, 2022). Shell and BP are due to announce giant profits, even as the British public faces a drop in standards of living due to the spike in heating costs (Kollewe, 2022). We have a government that is promising its right wing a dilution of an already poor Net Zero policy, so as to help shore up a collapsing administration beset by scandal (Webber, Whale and Mathieson, 2022). It is bleak. But shoots emerge in spring, and there is a local group, action or campaign near you today that would welcome whatever energy or activity you can give. Or perhaps you yourself will start a campaign— for your local woodland, against your local oil pipeline, or for your local elected representative.

Fresh Nettles can both nourish and sting. They are abundant, and they are to be celebrated.

References

Ambrose, J. (2022) ‘North Sea Abigail oilfield plan approved despite climate goals’ in The Guardian, 1 st February 2022, www.theguardian.com/environment

Kollewe, J. (2022). ‘BP profits hit eight-year high thanks to soaring gas and oil prices’ in The Guardian, 8 th February 2022, www.theguardian.com/business

Webber, E., Whale, S. and Mathieson, K. (2022) ‘Fears Partygate could kill off UK’s net zero plans’ in Politico, 3 rd February 2022, www.politico.eu