We came to Berlin to prevent the world from being changed! That is, from being changed environmentally. A global day of action against climate change took place on this day. About fifteen members of our political science class travelled overnight to Berlin to conduct interviews with demonstrators.
It total we interviewed about 150 people to get a sense of how demonstrations are organized and what role the internet plays. Conclusion: the internet played a minor role in getting these demonstrators out on the street.
Above is a member or PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals). When I first got to Germany I met a fellow who founded another group called PETA, People for the eating of tasty animals!
Berlin was one of the biggest protest that took place that day. It rained in Paris so the turn out there was smaller. In New York a total of 20 people showed up. It would have been 17 if the three researchers who were conducting the same survey as us had not been there.
Germany has many environmental groups and movements. Many members of the Green party were present, as expected. I approached a young anarchist looking type of guy and asked if he would take part in our survey. He turned me down saying he first had to consult with his comrades whether it was cool to talk to me.
