How to study in peace while the world is collapsing before our eyes?
Posted at 5:00 am
On a pandemic morning, the day after the release of yet another devastating report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jacob Pirro seriously asked himself that question. The climate justice activist took a philosophy class at the University of Montreal via Zoom. The course focused on Zeno’s paradoxes. As he struggled to see a concrete application, he got caught up in another paradox: “But what am I doing here, studying Zeno’s paradoxes while the world is burning?” »
In view of the climate catastrophe, Jacob therefore decided to do the only thing that made sense to him in the short term: drop out of his studies to devote himself fully to the climate.
“We drop out of school because the system has let us down, because our struggles are the only hope for a better future. From a very short future,” explains the 22-year-old young man in an appeal1 co-authored with Isabelle Grondin Hernandez, 23.
After a year of law school, Isabelle also dropped out of college this fall to devote most of her time to the fight for climate justice. Together, she and Jacob, both part of the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES), just founded the movement Le temps de militer, born out of a surge of love, anger and realism at this “snowball picking” gathering momentum “This is the climate crisis.
To those who tell them to “think about their future,” the two young activists reply that, unfortunately, they are doing just that. They honestly would have preferred to do something else. “I was forced to be an activist,” says Jacob. It’s not a passion for me! It’s the end of the world! »
An environmentally conscious decision made under the influence of emotions? no Rather a rational decision by Ecolucides, they explain to me. Otherwise they wouldn’t be sitting in front of me in a café for the very first interview of their movement, but curled up in their bed…
I quote the appeal of her movement again: “We should study in order to have a career, to earn money, to buy a house, to start our families. But what job? money to buy what? What house for those who do not come from a rich family? What family if our desire to have one erodes with every heat wave, wildfire, drought, tsunami? »
The cry from the heart that Le temps de militer addressed to the student community a few weeks ago has already found the support of about 80 signatories, including a dozen professors who support the movement. This is a testament to a radicalism that is becoming ever more necessary for activists here and elsewhere who are realizing that the climate emergency is still not being addressed “urgently”. Hence these soup throwers in the museum, which have caused so much discussion and are accused in the media of not having attacked “good targets”. Hence these Antigone Collective protesters, chained to facilities at a Valero oil terminal in Montreal East, who ironically, while attacking “good targets,” didn’t deserve the same media attention – Jacob was one of the disappointed climbers who braved the cold , wind and hail with almost indifference that day2. Hence these students on indefinite political strikes, who say the climate catastrophe won’t give them time to graduate from high school.
Her open letter received a great response, resulting in several testimonies from students who suddenly felt less alone. An environmental science student who was due to graduate from high school next year told them she didn’t see the point in it anymore. “The study of the climate crisis is borderline ironic. It delays concrete measures that can be taken now to reduce climate damage and save lives. And then what good is a diploma that gives scientific credibility that our leaders ignore anyway? she wonders.
While some activists have reduced their class hours to balance study and community engagement, few have dropped out of college altogether. With their call, Jacob and Isabelle wanted to show that this is a possible path for those who, of course, have the privilege of walking it.
If Isabelle was in a precarious situation, she obviously couldn’t have afforded it, she specifies. “I have a status that allows me to fully contribute and work part-time. »
It is not up to the initiators of this movement to ask all students to drop out. “We believe that science, indigenous and local knowledge, and active listening to those affected by injustice are key to social change,” they write in their appeal.
The idea is to gather as many people as possible, whether they are students or not. Society still needs university graduates in many areas, they say nothing else. “You have to educate yourself in many areas. But it also needs campaigns and a mass movement for climate justice,” emphasizes Isabelle.
They are no more delusional about COP15 than they are about COP27. Jacob’s summary? “It is people who destroy the planet who meet to understand how not to destroy the planet …”
Of course we can ask managers to do better. But the necessary changes will not come from them. “Winners of the game shouldn’t be expected to go out of their way to change it. In the short term, they win at a game they make themselves. But in the long run, everyone loses. »
The power of science and fact remains confined to negotiations with the ruling class, they note. In the face of capitalist power, it is not enough. The hope lies more in collective mobilization. “We have come to a point where it is not the facts that will convince those in power. If so, they would already be convinced. »
I would have liked to have been able to contradict them by encouraging facts in support. But I could not…
As I exited the café where Jacob and Isabelle were speaking to me in clear, thoughtful terms about their hopes for our burning planet, that old Midnight Oil refrain came to mind: “How do we sleep while our beds are on fire?” »
It dates back to 1987, well before they were born. Thirty-five years later, we’re still sleeping with gas and the same question arises. More relevant and burning than ever.