Splashy Climate Protests Get Attention, But What About Impact?
Meet social-movement researcher Dana Fisher
Update - Broadway was the latest venue for a splashy “radical flank” protest, this time by Extinction Rebellion’s NYC contingent, which craftily built a “play” around the play of sorts by invading the star-studded adaptation of “An Enemy of the People,” Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama on pollution and self interest. I tweeted about it quite a bit and will be going to see the play in May. Read the amazing firsthand account of Time Out New York’s drama editor and chief critic Adam Feldman to get the feel for how the night played out. The video clip here is just one of several vantage points captured by activists who secreted themselves in the audience (tickets are not cheap, but there’s lots of money flowing to these edge-pushing groups these days, as we’ve discussed here). The organization’s detailed press release has lots more on their strategy and theory of change.
Original post - Please watch and share this great conversation on the tactics and goals of climate activists with Dana Fisher, a movement-focused sociologist who directs the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity at American University and is the author, most recently, of Saving Ourselves – From Climate Shocks to Climate Action.
We explored what’s known (and unknown) about climate activists’ impacts on climate policy, from fossil-fueled backlash to the role of a “radical flank” in building mainstream engagement. Here’s a great moment describing what you might call the “Bill McKibben Effect” on the greenhouse effect:
Social media and TV have been regularly peppered with splashy climate protests of late. I’ve written about them a lot and think they’re both counterproductive and an inevitable part of the landscape. Here’s the “Reverend” Billy Talen, a passionate longtime “laughtivism” campaigner for action on consumption, climate and corporate crime. (I did a webcast with Fisher, Talen and others: A Climate Prankster, a Mayhem Funder and Sociologists Debate the Role of In-Your-Face Activism.)
Also read Fisher’s recent Nature commentary (with two coauthors): “How effective are climate protests at swaying policy — and what could make a difference?”
You can also watch and share the webcast on Facebook, LinkedIn , X/Twitter or YouTube:
If you missed them, I encourage you to look back at my earlier conversations with Fisher and other researchers in this arena. As she told me a year ago, you may as well ignore heated claims over all the well-financed climate-emergency pranks like tossing soup or paint on famous artworks; researchers can't yet gauge if this or any other social tactic matters if the measure is cutting CO2:
