This declaration of solidarity was published originally on Indymedia. We decided to repost it on our blog, because we see a dire need for more spaces of collective alternative living, climate justice and the end of capitalism.
„Our house is burning!“ – this is how climate activists describe the situation of our planet today. We think so, too! On 20.09, the day of the climate strike, all – ALL – are asked to strike for our climate. We follow this call and solidarize ourselves as Wagon days Berlin with the climate movement.
How exactly?
The climate movement demands an absolute finishing of the extraction of fossil resources. We support this demand: wagon places have always practiced a sustainable use of little resources – not only, that our wagons stand more than they are moved; also living in a confined space, with little electricity and water and a little bit of fire in winter makes living on a wagon place a very sustainable way of living.
The climate strike demands the change to 100% sustainable energies – this is another demand we support. We think that politics and economy need to show infinite determination to end the production of fossil fuels now. We contribute our part through producing the little electricity we use though solar panels. Even if we’re using diesel for our cars now, we would be ready to change to sustainable, payable alternatives as soon as they are available.
Furthermore, the climate strike demands climate justice, meaning that industrial nations are being made responsible for damage caused already and in future – in other regions of the planet.
The thought behind this is a collective one: we need to get rid of our individualist and egoist thinking. We need to see ourselves as collective again, and need to act in a just way as collective of humans on earth. This thinking is being tried out in collectives such as wagon places: we live together in groups instead of isolation, and try to see the needs of everyone.
Another central demand of climate activists is “system change not climate change”: the bitter reality is, that our heated planet already causes a lot of damage to millions of beings today. It is necessary to change direction radically: towards sustainability and towards a post-consumerist thinking. This needs to contain a radical critique of capitalism: a system, that is inherently based on continuous growth can never be combined with a world of limited resources. We as wagon places act in an anti capitalist way: we defend ourselves against the principle of ownership, act in a non-consumerist way and know, that capitalism has no future. We need to act now! Therefore we show our solidarity with the climate strike today, three days before the UN-summit for the climate crisis. The climate crisis does not wait and knows no national borders – neither do we!
That a group of old diesel cars shows solidarity might seem contrary to the climate movements proposal – but it isn’t. Why it isn’t, and should even be seen as a contribution to the climate justice movement and the actions of the day will be explained in the following text.
Why do we drive these old cars?
Let’s start firstly with typical arguments and myths that you might think of: aren’t these cars an environmental sin? We still drive these old cars, because most of them are very old and built to last a long time – they aren’t built to be replaced by a new car every few years to contribute to the economical growth of the car industry. They thus weren’t produced (again and again) and in this way, we safe high environmental costs like co2 emissions through a new car production by maintaining these cars.
Our cars are already here and are being maintained and mostly repaired by the owners themselves. This shows another important factor: the ‘low tech’ aspect of old cars. The technologies in our cars are much more DIY-friendly. Old cars can be repaired easily, without all the electronic add-on’s that makes the DIY reparation of new cars nearly impossible. We ask ourselves: why doesn’t politics and car industry invest more in research for ecologically sustainable, user friendly low-tech cars?
…And other things the car industry does
Besides: wagon owners would be totally ready to buy more ecologically sustainable cars, if these would be available for an affordable price. Here the finger needs to be pointed towards the car industry and their political allies, as those continue to debate about old diesel motors in a hypocritical way. These debates in reality only serve the aims of the car industry – for example the scrapping bonus. If the car industry would really work towards sustainability, it would need to fire itself – or at least support technologies to refurbish old diesel motors or new affordable technologies. Lastly, there already are very sustainable technologies, that are being kept behind closed doors as they don’t maximise profits for the industry.
Living in a confined space with limited resources
Adding on to it, living on a wagon places means coping with space and resources. The confined space for living means a reduction of property and also a more conscious consumption of resources: energy is being won through a 12V solar panel, water needs to be fetched with a canister, cooking is done with gas and with wood ovens. Wagon places have eco toilets and constructed wetland, and also the production and disposal or recycling of one’s own waste are things that are handled with consciousness. The independent building of one’s own low level infrastructure create a consciousness for resources used. On top of that, older wagon places have grown green with the years and form little biotopes, islands in an otherwise concreted city. Many use renewable energies, and use gardens for growing vegetables. Because of this, wagon places are an example of climate friendly alternatives when compared with the current city planning, that still is based on concrete only, and thus goes against all recommendations regarding sustainable city planning.
Places for social movements
Another point is that wagon places were always places for social movements and offered important infrastructure and rooms for events and networking. This also counts for the climate movement. And even more than that: many ideas and solutions for sustainable energies and ecologically sustainable versions of life have their roots in the squatting scene. Squats, alternative living projects and wagon places have always been rooms of experiment for ecologically sustainable alternatives, and have contributed to the development of renewable energies and technologies. They have always been part of the social movements that supported topics of ecology and climate in society – (for decades)! There are many social aspects of wagon places and their function in the cities’ districts – for example as a foodsharing-point, as repair cafe, kitchen for all, city gardening and more. We hope that you see: wagon place fights are not isolated from environmental fights and should be thought together! Let us go to the streets together , and fight our battles together!
SYSTEM CHANGE NOT CLIMATE CHANGE – today we fight together, against capitalism and for the climate, on the streets, in the forests, and on the places in our city!