Climate Strike Day on Metafilter

September 20, 2019 8:21 AM

Today is the Global Climate Strike. You'll see an overlay on each subsite the first time you visit it today, and we'd like to invite folks to use this thread to talk about what you're doing for the strike!
posted by restless_nomad (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 8:21 AM (65 comments total)

That overlay was so different in style and also didn't mention MetaFilter specifically ("Our website") that I thought for a second that the site was hijacked or something and rushed here to MeTa to check. Glad to see it wasn't the case.

Thanks for doing this!
posted by ODiV at 8:26 AM on September 20, 2019 [24 favorites]

The main climate action event in Boston today is a five minute walk from my office. So I will head over during my lunch hour. Hoping to bring some co-workers with me.

I used to be pretty involved in activism through a politically-minded marching band that played a lot of these events. But I've been inactive there for logistical and musical reasons lately. And since the birth of my son, trying to make time for activism has felt overwhelming. But this is the least I can do.
posted by serathen at 8:29 AM on September 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

Also, I had the exact same reaction as ODiv. If you can make the overlay a little more MetaFilter branded, it would be less jarring, I think.
posted by serathen at 8:31 AM on September 20, 2019

The climate strike overlay comes as a single thing with relatively minimal configuration options, hence why it's not using a particularly MetaFilter look.
posted by frimble (staff) at 8:34 AM on September 20, 2019 [11 favorites]

I think this is great, thank you!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:38 AM on September 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

I sold my last car getting on twenty-five years ago and adjusted my relationship with transportation, mobility accordingly. It can be done. Convenience does equal death if you let it trump rationality. As for The Strike, there being no public actions planned on my remote island, I suspect I'll be mucking around online using sarcasm as a sword ... and eventually, I'll go for a long walk.
posted by philip-random at 8:38 AM on September 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

My kid is there. They have a school group heading over there but I told them it was a perfectly good reason to skip school and much, much more valuable than sitting in yet another Latin class.
posted by bondcliff at 8:38 AM on September 20, 2019 [13 favorites]

Thanks for doing this. I didn't know about the digital overlay option, but because of Metafilter, I've added it to a few sites I run.

Also, maybe jarring is good? I understand it will confuse some people, but I think it is worth it to increase awareness about the strike.
posted by gwint at 8:39 AM on September 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

Also, the post on the blue about the strike is here. It's already off the homepage, unfortunately.
posted by gwint at 8:40 AM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

One of the many reasons I am cranky about my job is that I wouldn't be able to get away from it for this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

And poo - the Digital Climate Strike has a plugin for Wordpress.org sites, but I have a wordpress.com site and can't use it. :-(
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:46 AM on September 20, 2019

I went down to the march in Brighton, UK on my lunch break (kind of wish I'd booked the whole day off really, the weather is lovely). It was busy, and noisy, and very good-spirited. There were a lot of school kids (and people of all ages), and at least one whole class with their teacher watching the march go by. Apparently we had around 7,000 people.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:48 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm walking over to my local one soon. It's organized by a 12- or 13-year-old, and I feel like I'm going more to support a young activist than for the climate message.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:55 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm not doing anything today but there are activists planning to shut down DC for a climate action on Monday and I am supporting them as a medic. Stay safe everyone!
posted by an octopus IRL at 9:02 AM on September 20, 2019 [10 favorites]

Herr Duck and I were planning to go, but then got wrapped up in a project. It's for a nonprofit that we are both on the board of - promoting sustainability and environmentalism in our city. So I guess even though we're not at the March, we're doing something environmentally helpful.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:22 AM on September 20, 2019

ODiV: That overlay was so different in style and also didn't mention MetaFilter specifically ("Our website") that I thought for a second that the site was hijacked or something and rushed here to MeTa to check. Glad to see it wasn't the case.

gwint: Also, the post on the blue about the strike is here. It's already off the homepage, unfortunately.

Perhaps the (now slightly dated) banner about MetaFilter's 20th anniversary could be updated to link to this MeTa thread and that MetaFilter post?
posted by filthy light thief at 9:40 AM on September 20, 2019

Toronto's big do is next Friday the 27th, starting at Queens Park. Gather at 11am and march at noon. I'll be there.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:45 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just FYI, I could not close the overlay when I opened MetaFilter in IE.
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:50 AM on September 20, 2019

I am working at the library today, I think so other people can do Climate Strike things. There's a big thing in town but the local folks who are working on it are people I can't really be around, so I've been doing my own thing. The biggest thing for me as far as attention to climate change (as someone who already works for a low footprint by not eating much red meat and not having a family) is that I'm cutting back on air travel. I do a lot of public speaking for work and I felt like it was the biggest thing I could do to work on my resource hogging. So I'll be flying less and requiring carbon offsets as part of the cost of doing business with me. I have to admit I'm not entirely unhappy about this (I enjoy travel less and less in these weird times) but it's definitely a personal sacrifice.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 10:02 AM on September 20, 2019 [9 favorites]

Convenience does equal death if you let it trump rationality.

PSA: Many things that could be labeled as "irrationally convenient" are actually designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. Sustainability has to include accessibility.

I'm under medical orders not to drive at the moment, so there's been one less car on the road since April. I'd like to start composting, but the family is not on board with that and it's not something I can physically do by myself. I switched to Oui yogurt and reuse the containers for homemade soy candles.
posted by Ruki at 10:23 AM on September 20, 2019 [8 favorites]

Not a huge fan of overlays as an advertising gimmick. I support this cause, but let's not make a habit of this.
posted by SPrintF at 10:54 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just FYI, I could not close the overlay when I opened MetaFilter in IE.

I've disabled the overlay for IE, because it was causing problems, and the level of control I have without digging too deeply is basically to display it or not.
posted by frimble (staff) at 11:15 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just got back from the Boston climate strike. Lots of kids, lots of good signs, lots of adults giving speeches.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:21 AM on September 20, 2019 [6 favorites]

Back from my local one. Maybe 70 people overall, with people dropping in and out. Very cool.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:46 AM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I didn't skip work today, but I did put down an offer on a home that, if accepted, means my kids and I can live our entire lives within walking or train distance to friends, school, work, groceries, amenities and activities. Hopefully that counts as doing my part.
posted by davejay at 12:06 PM on September 20, 2019 [7 favorites]

Toronto's big do is next Friday the 27th, starting at Queens Park. Gather at 11am and march at noon. I'll be there

Shouldn't big overarching action....be on the same day....
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 12:20 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I went to the Astoria climate strike and it. . . wasn't. There was nothing there other than the usual Friday lunch for houseless folks. So I went back to work and I am feeling like it was all an unhappy metaphor, sigh. But sometimes that's just what happens in small towns in overwhelmingly rural areas too and maybe everyone went to Portland.
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:35 PM on September 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

I didn't know any of this was happening, because apparently I live under a rock. I have an important appointment with a doctor on Monday, but time permitting I'll try to bike down to DC to see what's going on there.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:48 PM on September 20, 2019

No comment on the cause, but dang this overlay is really obnoxious. It's on every domain, so as I switch from ask to meta to mefi it just keeps taking over my screen. And because I use desktop and phone, I've seen it at least 6 times already. Could we have not just put a banner at the top of the site like we do for every other announcement / thing we do around here? Maybe I'm just excessively grumpy today, but... seconding not making a habit of this.

I actually came here to Meta to mention the ads had gotten out of control and then realized this was a thing.
posted by cgg at 1:02 PM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I ordered a free "Earth Can't Wait and We Can't Either" sticker off of an email sent by moveon. The confirmation email says it will be delivered in 3-4 weeks. Are they walking it over to save on emissions? Does the earth even have that long?
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:11 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I feel so hopeless about this. You start reading what it would take to lower your carbon footprint, and it reads like "No meat, air conditioning, plane rides or cars. Also, think about not having kids. Hope you like living like a monk!" And that taking the systemic actions would make the American middle class riot, and they would be willing to kill off a large chunk of the people who would be most affected by climate change.
posted by zabuni at 1:16 PM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

No comment on the cause, but dang this overlay is really obnoxious. It's on every domain, so as I switch from ask to meta to mefi it just keeps taking over my screen. And because I use desktop and phone, I've seen it at least 6 times already. Could we have not just put a banner at the top of the site like we do for every other announcement / thing we do around here? Maybe I'm just excessively grumpy today, but... seconding not making a habit of this.

I fully support the cause itself but instead of “don’t make a habit” I would say “don’t ever add bullshit fucking pop ups interfering with my usage of metafilter again”.

Never before have I had to add an ad filter on this site. I am not pleased to have to add one today.
posted by Fleebnork at 1:23 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

You are not the boss of Metafilter.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:30 PM on September 20, 2019 [7 favorites]

Love the overlay! I just got back from the SF strike. So, so many smart kids leading the way. It's a no bullshit generation and I can't wait until they start running things.
posted by aw jeez at 1:33 PM on September 20, 2019 [10 favorites]

I went to the St. Paul MN climate strike today. It was a solid turnout -in the thousands- and they had a wonderful lineup of young people speaking. It was a very diverse group of kids represented by the speakers (primarily young WOC, including Ilhan Omar's daughter, who spoke about the difficulty of entering white spaces to discuss climate), and over and over again they made the point that intersectional, inclusive climate action is essential. The biggest cheer came up when one of the speakers said capitalism was the biggest obstacle in fighting climate change. The second biggest cheer was when a young woman from the local branch of the International Indigenous Youth Council asked everyone to acknowledge they were standing on Dakota land. Later they staged a die-in inside the Capitol's rotunda. Numerous chants and signs mentioning the Green New Deal.

I don't have the opportunity to go to many protests but I was really struck by how diverse this crowd was. Minnesota has a (justified) reputation as being overwhelmingly white and segregated. but I saw a very different Minnesota there today.

Favorite chant: "Metal straws are not enough!"

The kids are here and they are mad as hell, you guys. It was really something. I'm glad I witnessed it.
posted by castlebravo at 1:35 PM on September 20, 2019 [13 favorites]

Just as another data point, I'm actually really grateful for the big pop-up, because it's easy to close, it only loads once on each subsite, and it pointed me to very important information that I would otherwise not have seen. Yeah, it's obnoxious, but I'm kind of an idiot, and a person like me needs something to be obnoxious in order to get the message. In the grand scheme of things I'm way, way more concerned about the actual cause itself than the existence of this pop-up. It's not the world's biggest inconvenience as far as I can tell.

As for hopelessness, I get it, but I'd rather try to build momentum towards something good than stall out now. I'm not exactly winning at life, but I'm willing to be one of 5 people at a rally if that means something over nothing. For years we've been saying we need people in the streets, and now it's starting to happen -- my only hope is that it keeps building long after this particular thing is over. Anyway, I saw a group of kindergartners marching with signs today, and now I know what it was about.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:39 PM on September 20, 2019 [20 favorites]

Toronto's big do is next Friday the 27th, starting at Queens Park. Gather at 11am and march at noon. I'll be there

Shouldn't big overarching action....be on the same day....

I believe most of the big cities in Canada are marching next week because Thunberg will be up here by then.
posted by rpophessagr at 1:49 PM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

An overlay on web sites seems a small thing to complain about when compared to global climate alteration
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:51 PM on September 20, 2019 [18 favorites]

Taking action is a pretty good inoculation against climate despair. I’m at the Seattle one right now. The march had an estimated 10,000 people. Pretty good! But I hope it’s 100,000 next time. Volunteer! Donate! Campaign! Teach!
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 1:56 PM on September 20, 2019 [6 favorites]

I took my kid to the one at UC Berkeley today (knowing that they probably would be overwhelmed by SF). It was kind of great seeing so many kids out there. I had some nice conversations with middle school and elementary school kids, and I liked that my kid loved seeing the bigger kids with their signs. By quarter to noon it got too packed (which was wonderful to see), and the kid asked to go home for a nap so we hopped on the bike and went home. They chanted "Hey Hey Ho Ho Berkeley is a union town" through lunch, only finally figuring out today's chant was "Hey Hey Ho Ho fossil fuels have got to go". They also peppered in some "This is what democracy looks like".

I hope this keeps growing as a movement.
posted by kendrak at 2:20 PM on September 20, 2019 [4 favorites]

I went out to support kids from some local schools doing a march in the little suburb North of Seattle that I live near. It was 27 people and got a lot bigger as we went along and picked up people along the way - maybe 60 people by the end. It wasn't the huge energy of big city protests, but there were a lot of people honking and showing support, and hopefully it got things in the mind of people for whom protests in the city would usually be far, far away.
posted by Zalzidrax at 2:30 PM on September 20, 2019

Just got back from the Fort Worth TX strike. Took my kiddo and three of the other preteen kids from his hippy dippy progressive school. One of them took my sign and started leading chants! The other two had never been to a march so I felt good that I got to take them.

We even got hassled by the cops for congregating in front of City Hall and "blocking" the way against our permit which only allowed us if we "kept moving" which is BS. But as I told the kids, if you don't get hassled by the cops it's not a real protest.

(funny/not funny bit was the cop doing the yelling kept almost saying "This is private property!!" but of course, City Hall is in fact public property, so he had to pull himself up and bitch about the permits.)
posted by emjaybee at 2:32 PM on September 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

> I went out to support kids from some local schools doing a march in the little suburb North of Seattle that I live near.

I wonder if we were at the same one. Shore to Shore?
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:48 PM on September 20, 2019

My partner and I walked over to Cal Anderson. My 15 year old son lives with me now, he skipped school and went over to Cal Anderson an hour or so before I did. He marched with the crowd down to city hall, I felt overwhelmed at Cal Anderson and went back to our apartment. (we live close to the park).

My son's out in the city, he'll be back in a little while.

Got mixed feels. I want something to happen. I want to see positive change.
posted by nikaspark at 3:23 PM on September 20, 2019

This is cool and the auto workers are still on strike so, there in lies a form of irony.
posted by clavdivs at 4:23 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Evanston, IL, nice turnout! 300ish? My sign.
Some great speeches by Evanston Township High School students and others, including one student who is also active with a group trying to protect the Boundary Waters. Forbes story.

The billionaire who will benefit from a major Trump Administration reversal — one that could allow him to mine in the Minnesota wilderness, according to a New York Times report — is Andrónico Luksic, a Chilean businessman who also happens to own the $5.5 million Washington mansion leased to the family of first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.

We're shocked. All of us.
posted by Glinn at 5:03 PM on September 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

Berkeley showed up to represent. (no real surprise there). The inspirational factor was magnified by the number of folks who struck me as high school age. I missed out on the gathering point on UC Berkeley campus so I don’t have a good sense of numbers total. Marching downtown maybe 400ish?
posted by pipoquinha at 5:07 PM on September 20, 2019

I wonder if we were at the same one. Shore to Shore?

Yep! It was kind of a last minute decision - hearing about the climate strike on NPR reminded me about it, and made me think that hey, maybe this is more than just a nice dream. And I'd worked this current job long enough that no one would hassle me for calling out one day, so I figured I didn't have an excuse to not show up, especially when there was one within walking distance of my house.

It was good seeing that so many of the people along the way were supportive. I just... it seems like it's the least I can do to show up one day to say "Yes, I like existing." I hope that this is the beginning of it really starting to sink in that yes we've all got a major problem and we can and must act to fix it. And I am very thankful to the young woman who organized this particular march and all the young people who are out there trying to push the adults out of their stupor and into real action.
posted by Zalzidrax at 5:34 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

An overlay on web sites seems a small thing to complain about when compared to global climate alteration

It is possible to care about the climate and not want shitty pop ups on websites at the same time.
posted by Fleebnork at 6:06 PM on September 20, 2019

GOT MY ATTENTION.
Oh, I agree the little things just blurg up and out and block like a gastrointestinal ME/THEM cause on a photonic placard.

It's nullifying and gaseous, the cost of doing business but as to MetaFilter.

How many times has this been done on MetaFilter 1-10-35 times? Seems a small thing to do for a worthy cause and kids skipped school and you have too love that.
posted by clavdivs at 6:26 PM on September 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

There was a respectable gathering in the small town in Colorado that I am visiting. A deep red town with college and high school students who rallied late in the day and were joined by a fair number of oldsters. Maybe 100 to 150 folks all told and I found it cheering.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:16 PM on September 20, 2019

I increased work on climate change in my field (higher ed).
posted by doctornemo at 10:05 PM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I am generally not a fan of pop-up takeovers, but for this I feel it was worthwhile. It's an emergency, y'all.

I tried to find the protest in Rennes, France. Got to the park late, wandered around but couldn't find anyone (it's a big damn park and they were not specific about which area they were congregating in). Intersected with the protest just as they got to the Parliament de Bretagne. It seemed like a good turnout, but I don't have other protests here to benchmark against.

I was surprised and very happy at the protests in Australia. Biggest protest ever in Tasmania!
posted by rednikki at 12:39 AM on September 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

Shouldn't big overarching action....be on the same day....

They're actually doing climate strikes every Friday, so you'll still be joining in international solidarity.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:04 AM on September 21, 2019

Looks like the fash have organized the day after to march through the Village and that's going to be ... a hell of a thing.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:12 AM on September 21, 2019

I made it to the end of the Seattle march at City Hall. Met up with a couple of friends and a delightful kindergartener who was having (gasp) an unexcused absence. The kindergartener was a little confused when the adults all teared up when the group sang Which Side Are You On.
posted by centrifugal at 9:59 AM on September 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

Fwiw, I was fine with the overlay.
posted by cooker girl at 10:00 AM on September 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

Went to the march; rode the bike of course.

Neglect was to all the trash blowing around the park, and in the alleys, and along the bike paths. Trashcans were of course overflowing. About every fourth beverage was in a re-useable container; so that is something I suppose.

Kudos to all the nicely dressed kids; doing it how they learned it.
posted by buzzman at 10:17 AM on September 21, 2019

Here in the Netherlands we're doing this on the 27th. I may or may not go to Den Haag. In any case, in the evening I'll be teaching folks how to make seitan.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:32 AM on September 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Teach me how to make seitan. That has got to be a great skill!
posted by Bella Donna at 5:04 PM on September 22, 2019

I posted an AskMe question about making seitan last year, and it got some good responses!
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:55 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

I didn't even see the overlay and I was certainly on the site the day of with no ad blockers. Does anyone have a screenshot for the curious?
posted by lesser weasel at 6:28 PM on September 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

lesser weasel, it was the third (dismissable) one on this page.
posted by mosst at 7:11 AM on September 24, 2019

New Zealand's out...here's a vid of students marching from the university in Wellington towards the main meeting point, and this is the meeting point about 15 minutes before start time.
posted by Pink Frost at 4:29 PM on September 26, 2019

Had to cancel out of running a workshop at McGill in Montreal tomorrow: over 300,000 expected, with Greta in attendance. McGill was trying to claim they'd still be open, but the march goes right through the campus, so maybe not.
posted by scruss at 4:37 PM on September 26, 2019 [2 favorites]