When I first heard the name, I found it off-putting. Who would want to join a group called “Extinction Rebellion”? In late 2018, both words smacked of the lunatic fringe. The public discourse surrounding climate change (it wasn’t a “crisis” yet) mostly revolved around ideas like “sustainable development” to avoid “extreme weather events.” No one…
The Strike was scheduled to start at noon, but a crucial pre-strike meeting occurred offsite at 11am. There were two organizers, one marshal (responsible for keeping everyone safe and non-aggressive), one “arrestee supporter,” and four “arrestables.” Most of us were strangers outside of email, and it felt a bit surreal introducing yourself to the people…
You get a lot of strange looks when you tell people you intend to get arrested. Most often, they assume you misspoke, and that you’re trying to do the opposite—break the law, but evade arrest. It’s hard to persuade anyone that there are reasons to want to get caught. It helps a bit to bring…
By now, if you aren’t aware that there is a looming climate catastrophe, then you’ve either been living in a cave (good job keeping your carbon footprint low!) or you are deep in denial. Other parts of the world may be receiving different signals, but here in Canada, the CBC has finally (sorta, kinda) stepped…
Summer is here–sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy, likely to be the hottest summer humans have ever known. Should we do something about that? I haven’t posted for awhile. First, I was on vacation, and then I took some time to adjust to my summer job, which I won’t be talking much about here. In between, however,…
A fairly quick update today, as I’m supposed to be spending this evening packing for a 10-day family vacation. Well-earned, if I do say so myself. This week was partly spent planning for an event at the end of June, and then delegating whatever tasks I couldn’t complete, so I didn’t have to keep planning…
Recently I have started half-joking that all of my pre-activist careers, skills, and talents were basically training me up for this task. I am, or was, a playwright and director–jobs which, let’s face it, didn’t provide much recompense or security or even renown. But if I hadn’t spent 25 years of my life writing plays,…
It’s been one week since we marched, but I’m still as sore as I was right afterwards. I guess that’s because I haven’t really given myself the chance to rest. In fact, the day after our Sydney action, I carpooled two hours to Antigonish, to join an XR demonstration outside the provincial Liberal AGM. The…
Sydney’s Open Hearth Park has a remarkable history closely tied to environmental recovery. In a way, it is a green miracle: less than 20 years ago, it was one of the most polluted sites in Canada, the “tar pond” tailings of the massive steel plant that supported Cape Breton’s economy for decades. Today, thanks to…
Whenever I direct a play, I start at the drawing board with a hundred thousand wild, impractical ideas. I move recklessly into the design process, talking to all the other team members as if my fantasies are definitely going to become reality — because how else can I inspire the best work from my actors,…