So Pibroch’s tour of Scotland 2023 was launched at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen on Sunday 2nd April.
It was great to present Pibroch to a great audience after weeks of rehearsal and years of preparation. Great, too, to recieve such appreciative feedback. Pibroch was described as:
“Impressive and powerful”
“A thought-provoking gut-punch of a work”
As planned, we held a discussion on Pibroch’s key themes and audience members’ individual responses. 26 folk stayed on for a lively and informative discussion providing new insights and perspectives on Climate Justice and its relation to the events of 6th July 1988. It was moving to hear the responses of offshore workers with direct experience including one of the men who survived the conflagration on Piper Alpha that night.
Thank you to Steven Gray of ATUC for joining me on stage to stimulate discussion and ideas.
For me, the key takeways from the discussion – what I heard on the night – are listed below with some supportive references for those who would like to learn more.
What I heard about Climate Justice in Aberdeen…
I heard that the UK is a currently a marginal contributor to GHG production compared to Russia, USA or Saudi Arabia.
Source: Analysis: Which countries are historically responsible for climate change? – Carbon Brief
I heard that UK trades unions such as RMT, Unison and Unite are now at the forefront of demanding and visualising a transition away from fossil fuels.
I heard that people wonder what we should teach our children in the light of the evolving emergency.
I heard that some people wonder whether cars are a bad thing.
I heard that a large proportion of power consumption is associated with the Data Economy ….and that a large proportion of that is expended on junk data and cryptocurrency mining.
Source: Crypto Energy Consumption | Moneysupermarket
Note: Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are even more carbon-intensive. See also…
How much energy does the Internet use? | HowStuffWorks
DIGITAL CLEANUP DAY – Digital Cleanup Day
I heard that folk think justice sits at the centre of the push for change.
Environmental Justice Foundation | Protecting People and Planet (ejfoundation.org)
I heard that voters wonder how their elected representatives can influence change within a democratic system.
I heard that folk search for answers as to what needs to change.
I heard that change is complicated and layered.
I heard that the response to climate change sometimes goes to the heart of who we are as people/ individuals.
I heard that Mecca will become too hot for the Hajj, the pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam
Too Hot To Live: Climate Change In Saudi Arabia | Earth.Org
I heard that the arts have a place in rendering the challenges and the threats more concrete, tangible & visceral.
I heard that folk need to remember – and some still do – that it wasn’t always like this. For example, the ratio of cars to households in Liverpool in the 1980s was 1 per 9 households.
I heard that the arts can explicitly memorialise those lost to climate change the memory of individuals as well as ideas