As the protests have expanded and gained support from new sources, what began three weeks ago as a group of mostly young people camping out on the streets has morphed into something different: an umbrella movement for people of varying ages, life situations and grievances, some of them first-time protesters.
Attendance at our national parks has decreased by over 20 percent since 1988– this is the first time in park history that we’ve witnessed a steady decline in visitors. According to scientists, these trends may be early signs of a fundamental shift away from an appreciation of nature (“biophilia”) and towards “videophilia”—the new human tendency to focus on sedentary activities involving electronic media.
Worryingly, in every major green group, managers, administrators, communicators and fundraisers outnumber campaigners and researchers. Too many staff have become obsessed with the process of running an organisation. Interminable meetings, not action, are the order of most days. All too often, fundraisers and PR teams, not campaigners, call the shots.
