Yes, we’re screwed

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 23rd, 2009 - 10 comments
Categories: activism, climate change - Tags:

On Monday, New Yorkers discovered their free rightwing rag, the New York Post, had suddenly come over all green. The front-page was typical NYP: a headline screaming “we’re screwed”.

The difference was that, in a reversal of the norm, the paper was fake but the facts were real. The Yes-Men had produced a 32-page newspaper on climate change news and threats, all based on official reports. I haven’t been able to find a copy online but here’s a cool video about it.

Such an awesome piece of activism. On a scale total beyond New Zealand, of course. They produced a million copies, had 2,000 volunteers distribute them in a single morning, and kept it a surprise until it happened. Amazing.

[Turns out the Yes Men and Greenpeace did the same thing with the International Herald Tribune in Brussels back in June]

10 comments on “Yes, we’re screwed ”

  1. I have to say HATS off to them, that is very clever indeed.

  2. Pat 2

    It’s OK. China’s gonna save the world with their We’ve-got-more-people-so-we-pay-less Plan.

  3. Andrei 3

    You have to wonder what the carbon footprint of this particular exercise was?

    Somewhat greater than that of New Zealand’s dairy herd without a doubt – but its all in a good cause I suppose, at least in the tiny minds reef fish climate activists

    • Bright Red 3.1

      32 million a4 pages one-off versus 6 million odd cows? You’re dreaming.

      Reducing carbon emissions in the long-term isn’t always a carbon free exercise in the short-term.

      • Maynard J 3.1.1

        No no Bright Red, if you want to reduce world-wide use of something, you must never use it yourself.

        You could not possibly expect people like Andrei to do a little sum in their head along the lines of “carbon created by this exercise < reduction in carbon being created as a result of the exercise = net reduction" – that would be much to complex.

  4. StephenR 4

    Somewhat greater than that of New Zealand’s dairy herd without a doubt

    Big call.

    • Pascal's bookie 4.1

      Oh he’ll just say methane doesn’t count in a carbon footprint, and the herd is just the cows, who don’t use any transport or energy themselves, or some shit like that.

  5. Zepher 6

    That news corp businessman’s right! Im so sick of this scientific, academically documented propaganda. Grr

  6. Sonny Blount 7

    Everything in it is factual?

    From the headline story:

    “report says extreme storms”

    Chris Landsea may disagreee with this