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Last month, climate activists disrupted a performance Enemy of the peopleIbsen’s play currently running on Broadway, starring Succession Actor Jeremy Strong and The soprano Actor Michael Imperioli. Activists messageIn short: “There is no theater on a dead planet.”
Ibsen’s play is a highly topical choice, telling the story of a doctor who identifies an environmental threat to the health of his community, but faces a violent backlash when he tries to sound the alarm. The demonstration acknowledged this, beginning when one demonstrator said: “I object to the silencing of scientists,” drawing a clear parallel between Strong’s doctor character and many climate scientists who have fought for decades to bring environmental issues to the forefront. After apologizing for interrupting the performance, the protester continued to highlight the effects climate change is already having on our environment — particularly how rising sea levels will, eventually, flood New York City — before being forcibly escorted outside.
And apparently the activists, a group called Extinction Rebellion NYC, succeeded in being heard. The event generated news coverage as well as response from actors. Strong even responded in character while it was happening, asking his teammates to “let them talk,” and after the show ended, Imperioli posted on Instagram in support of the group’s mission.
Rethinking climate change messages
As someone who also cares deeply about climate, I of course support Extinction Rebellion’s overall mission, as well as their tactic of interrupting life as usual to bring public attention to dire issues. My criticism is on their message – it is not a “dead planet” that we should be afraid of. It’s something worse.
There’s not much room for nuance in a time-bound protest, of course, but I fear that the “dead planet” rhetoric will do more to stifle the movement than it helps. The language suggests that we are heading towards a moment when the Earth will become completely uninhabitable. But mass extinction may not be exactly what will happen – at least, not in our lifetime. The most likely fact is that the planet is lively and full of suffering.
Perhaps unfortunately, the evidence does not tell us that climate change will lead us to a single catastrophic point at which all humans, or even all life, will become extinct (although some species certainly will). In all likelihood, there will be life on Earth for a very long time, and we should be very concerned about the quality of that life. The global temperature will rise, many coastal areas will go under water, and there will be more and more extreme weather events. It is important to realize that humanity will not die before things turn from bad to worse: many people will be alive and will have to endure the conditions our species has created.
Theater-going audiences may not be the most affected, but rather the most vulnerable among us, including people with disabilities, people of color, and those experiencing poverty. An EPA report found that black communities are more likely than others to see higher rates of childhood asthma, as well as temperature-related deaths. Latino communities are more likely to face disruptions to their livelihoods; Many of them work in agriculture and construction, which harsh weather conditions can make difficult, if not impossible.
Extreme weather can devastate entire communities, killing many and forcing survivors to migrate elsewhere, not to mention making access to basic life necessities more difficult. Across the world, we are likely to face food shortages as climate change disrupts agriculture. The wealthy in rich countries will likely remain insulated from these effects, at least for a while, but these things do happen, and they will only get worse for the people who already bear the brunt of it.
When decades of dire predictions don’t come true
In 2017, New York Magazine I published an article entitled Uninhabitable land, where the first title is the word “Doomsday”. This should give you a sense of its overall tone and message. Shortly after the article was published, a group of climate scientists responded with corrections and clarifications, deeming the article alarmist and ultimately misleading.
There is nothing new about climate activists invoking the language of apocalypse. It has been 62 years since Rachel Carson published her book Silent spring. Although global pesticide use has risen by 80% since 1990, we can still hear birds chirping and bees buzzing. Scientist Paul Ehrlich wrote in 1969 that the “end” would come within 15 years, by which he meant “the complete collapse of the planet’s ability to support humanity.”
However, the world’s population is much larger than it was in 1969, and we are still here, in fact, some of us living quite comfortably. Disrupting wildlife and access to food are certainly major issues that deserve our attention, but by making dramatic claims that fail to show them, we are only undermining ourselves.
I understand the motivation to use language that conveys a sense of urgency when discussing the climate crisis. It’s hard to overstate how serious things are, and how dangerous things could get. But “the world is going to end” is a clumsy and misleading statement to describe the actual crises we can expect, and it damages the movement’s credibility. At a time when many still deny that climate change is happening, or that it is caused by human activity, the last thing we need is to be seen as crying wolf.
On the other hand, there are many who believe that the effects of climate change are so inevitable that it is pointless to do anything about it. Apocalyptic rhetoric will only fuel this feeling of despair, not motivate us to action.
As Penn State University meteorology professor Michael Mann said in response New York Mag “The evidence that climate change is a serious problem that we must deal with now is overwhelming in its own right. There is no need to exaggerate the evidence, especially when it feeds a paralyzing narrative of doom and despair.
Protest is effective, including especially protest that interrupts the lives and leisure activities of the most comfortable people in our society. We just have to be careful with the words we use and stay true to the facts. The fact of the matter is that the planet will not explode like a balloon over a lighter. There will be no “doomsday” where everything stops. We must prepare for the actual future, which is arguably bleaker than immediate extinction. Most likely, even if we do not mitigate climate change, the world wont cease to exist; Instead, the people and animals in it will face horrific consequences.
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