Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
Spring is already in the pipeline. Avian messengers cum couriers of the season will soon appear in our skies. Among other birds of that ilk, swallows will be sighted here and there, almost always in pairs. As birds go, they are exceptionally smart. Smart enough to be able to fly across seemingly endless stretches of ferocious ocean.
What causes our industrial greenhouse gas effect and what can we really do about it, especially if the largest cities and the national governments are full of industry-paid science deniers? In a mediascape so awash with false information, whom can we trust for a true-north sense of direction? What value is hope when so many speak of the ugly reality of our situation, even in and around the good city of Gwangju?
As you might have heard, “the well running dry” pretty much sums up the situation that Gwangju is facing right now. When the inevitable water restrictions come to pass, it will be an inconvenience that will have us looking back fondly of the good old days of mere trucker strikes and Covid-19 lockdowns. It will also be a chance to examine, on a granular level, how we got into this mess in the first place.
Now water seems to be all around and not as precious. It is difficult to feel like we are having a water shortage. However, the southern part of Korea is experiencing the most serious drought in 50 years, caused by insufficient rainfall in the summer that was as low as half that of other years.
Youth Climate Emergency Action is a rather new group consisting of young people in their 20s. On their website, they describe themselves as “a non-violent, direct-action group on the climate crisis.” These young people are not climate experts, but rather ordinary people like you and me with one ultimate goal: to realize climate justice for all countries, regions, classes, generations, genders, and species. They demand drastic reductions in greenhouse gases and other transformations from countries and big companies.
