Friends of the Earth's recycling protest outside Schweppes headquarters, London, in October 1971. Photograph: PA Archive
By Charles Secrett – The Guardian, UK
Forty years ago, Friends of the Earth announced its arrival in the UK with a handful of placard-waving volunteers dumping 1,500 non-returnable Schweppes bottles on the front steps of the company's head office, and demanding that government and industry set up a nationwide recycling network. The media went bonkers. The protest made front page news and the evening TV bulletins. It was the shock of the new.
Try the same trick today, and only a few passers-by would pay any attention. The media is saturated with protest. Revolution in the Middle East what's making the news, not stunts and marches in central London.
The UK environment movement has grown into a behemoth. Organisations like FoE, Greenpeace, RSPB and WWF have membership in the millions, employ thousands of intelligent staff in modern offices, and spend over £100m annually. They work hard on environment and development issues together, run information-rich websites, and endlessly lobby government and industry to green the economy and embrace sustainability.
But tactically, the movement has stalled. Despite numerous campaign successes over the years, the most serious problems – climate change, deforestation, ocean degradation, chemical contamination, species extinction – continue to get worse. Commitment to the cause is not enough.
Now, the excitement of the movement's early days comes from the flowering of loose-knit networks of activists from all walks of life, committed to peaceful direct action. They rose to great effect during the anti-roads and GM crop campaigns of the 1990s, and have embraced climate change camps, corporate tax avoidance, deforestation and poverty relief.
Lobbying is easier now, with groups like Avaaz and 38 Degrees, who via the web can cheaply and swiftly muster tens of thousands of supporters to email politicians. The challenge on the established NGOs to make a significant difference is greater, and harder, than ever.
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