The government has put a lot of initiatives in place to make Glasgow appear greener. Some of it is actually good, like funding allotments and research. However these kinds of initiatives don't address the core issue of how we have been disconnected from the land, violently through capitalism and colonialism.
This has been documented by many authors more informed than I (see Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer). 'Nature' has been packaged into a fun thing for tourists and the wealthy to enjoy, not something that is intimately linked with our existence in this planet. We get our food in supermarkets, exchanging it for money and most don't think much about it outside of that. And why should we? The messages we get from media and from our education is to work hard and we will be rewarded with more products. Fancier cars, prettier homes, nicer things.
And in this recession, the cold reality of capital lies heavy on us. Working harder means staying out of debt, or being able to afford rent, or being able to eat. A situation caused by mega-corporations to line their own pockets, a crisis that has been abysmally addressed by the government. Instead, they tighten up on environmental crime. Little yellow signs around our community reminding us that this space is not for us, it's for the rich who don't enjoy the aesthetic of furniture given away freely. Living Rent reported in detail about the impact of rising rents. Housing issues are having a devastating impact on both the physical and mental well-being of my neighbours. How can we expect people to care for their neighbourhood when they are being priced out of it? How are people supposed to feel good about these 'green' initiatives when they are experiencing benefit cuts? Greenwashing is just another aspect of capitalism. The government has turned saving the planet into simple tasks like earning carbon credits or recycling. Anything to keep the power structures as they are, anything that doesn't call for systemic change. These rising rents are indicative of the rising spectre of gentrification, threatening to push us out of our homes.
A refugee who wishes to remain anonymous came to me saying she placed a single ice cream stick in a garbage bag next to a bin, and has been slapped with an £80 fine by a pair of intimidating police officers. She explained that it made her feel "helpless, anguished, afraid that they would... Take me away without being able to defend myself". Additionally, they told her she won't have to pay a fine if she picked up the ice cream stick, which she did. They gave her a ticket anyway. This kind of mistreatment doesn't discourage littering. All this does is breed resentment in working-class communities for the 'green' initiatives the city is putting in place, furthering our alienation from the land that feeds us. We don't need more policing, we need an end to repression. We need to implement rent controls as demanded by Living Rent to limit the impact of this recession. Living Rent is Scotland's tenants union, the modern day's Mrs Barbour's army if you know your history. Find out more about what they say about rent controls here. They are helping to build a unified, international, working-class movement that stands together and says "ENOUGH!”
Education on the land often lacks key points I believe are essential for engaging our communities. Firstly, these courses are often based on 'first world' ideals and divorces students from the environments they have kinship with. That connection to the land is a vital thing to nurture, as is well-documented by indigenous scholars. However, this perspective is slow to seep into the majority of education. Secondly, these courses are targeted towards certain groups in society and tend to be inaccessible to large swathes of the working class. Everyone must be offered the chance to learn and heal with the land that feeds them, but this isn't something that can be done under capitalism. We don't need to completely overthrow capitalism to do it though, there are loads of examples of communities that have worked together to educate and learn from each other. The community working on Agnew Lane have the right idea, building a community garden with no locks. A better world is possible and you might be surprised who around you might help you build it.
No, we can't save the planet while capitalism reigns. So what can you do? Organise, join your workplace union or your tenants union. I don't care if you work in an oil rig or a meat-packing plant. You too can save the earth.
Edit: The title photo is the book cover of a book called Neoliberal Scotland: Class and Society in a Stateless Nation. A book we have not read yet but plan to.