I looked carefully at the pictures of the climate marchers last week (and XR this week), particularly at their placards and the messages they contain. I'm always on the lookout for my grandchildren on the school strike days and think the messages might reveal something about what the protesters know and think, although the latter is a bit of a stretch.
I confess to (not so) secretly hoping to see "Rectify the Anomaly" once again [*]. This was an iconic Association of University Teachers (AUT) slogan from the 1980s which mystified everyone at the time, even electrical engineers who know a lot about rectification (and anomalies). Its genius was its applicability in all contexts as there are always anomalies that need rectifying. Sadly, I've not seen it on the streets yet.
Nor have I seen messages such as:
"Give us ESD Now" – "Only ESD can save the World" – "ESD for All" – "Change the Climate with ESD" – "ESD is the Answer" – etc.
In fact there seems to be no link being made between ESD and climate change – even by those who usually think that ESD is the answer to everything, from acidification to zoophilism, as it were. How UNESCO must be shaking its heads. What on Earth has gone wrong ...
..................................
* Nor did I see any "Bend the Curve" posters which is a pity as it would have provided encouraging evidence of what others might call climate literacy. It's short for "bending the curve of emissions" (first a flattening-off of, and then a reduction of the use of carbon) – a strategy which is necessary if we are to de-carbonise in time.
Respond