MARCH IN DECEMBER

we should have brought a canoe
the filthy december weather well n truly rains on our parade
by the time we start shuffling along millbank
we're already soaked to the skin
and the 'wanted - george bush climate cowboy' placards
are disintegrating
though i do think this criticism is a little personal
georgie boy's only doing what he's told to, after all
come to think of it
where are all the 'gordon is a moron' signs?
we stream past the empty houses of parliament
with its big black security shed
and sail on up whitehall
past the home of the moron
where a letter of protest is presented
as the throng flows up the hill to trafalgar square
the noise of a jazz band
a dancing polar bear
and a big all-the-colours-of-the-rainbow keep up the spirits
with my attempts stalling to get a 'cut the carbon' chant going
and no banner to wave
i make a mental note to come better prepared next time round
as many saucepans and whistles
and as much other noise-making equipment as possible
at the end of the monopoly board in mayfair
a line of police in fluorescent jackets cross grosvenor square
protecting the dull concrete monolith of the us embassy
from the aggressive likes of the south lakeland wdm-ers
up on the tiny stump in the corner of the square
chris huhne announces the exact number of days and hours
that gb has left as president
as if the fossil fool has a monopoly on capitalism
according to caroline lucas
a vegan in a 4wd is better for cc
than a meat-eater on a bicycle
(or a veggie in a vw polo?)
guess that gives me carte blanche to ask santa for a humvee!
george monbiot predictably blows the other speakers away
he begins by telling us about an efficient new system
of carbon capture and storage
that requires no new technology or investment
the name of this revolutionary solution?
'leaving fossil fuels in the ground'
george warns us of a government busy trying to manage energy demand
that asks us to switch to low-energy lightbulbs
and stop using plastic bags
while it utterly fails to manage the supply of energy
opening huge opencast coal pits in wales
and handing out subsidies to north sea oil companies
for every last drop or crumb dug out of the ground
will be burned
george digs out some frightening stats:
at current growth rates
humankind will use the same amount of resources over the next twenty years
as we have since we first walked on two legs
then george utters the dreaded c-word
'capitalism'
a system that depends on never-ending growth
that relies on ever-increasing consumption of resources
so that it makes a return on its investments
a system that would bring down the biosphere
a system that would bring down the human race
a system that would give a new meaning to 'the end of history'
oh a revolution is surely what we need
economic
political
philosophical
ethical
spiritual
revolution
a revolution in our hearts and minds
for there is no planet b!...
we get home and turn on the telly to see the coverage
we sit through stories about a canoeist con man
maggie thatcher laying a wreath at westminster abbey
one of our boys killed in afghanistan
but there's nowt about our march through the cold rain
so what?
so we need to shout louder!