Two dozen Wellfleetians gathered at the library yesterday evening to watch Just Do It, a documentary by Emily James, actually more "a work in progress" than a finished film. I attended because of my interest in climate change. The subject turned out to be more climate-change protesters in Great Britain and what they have, or have not, achieved. Emily showed clips and provided brief commentary in between. The clip I liked best introduces Marina, called a "domestic extremist" by the British government. Marina explains that she has gone way beyond recycling and walking the kids to school. She mentions Rosa Parks as a role model: "She sat down on a bus and the law changed." While Rosa Parks's act of defiance certainly took bravery, I see it as being quite different from the type of organized civil disobedience in Just Do It: carrying fish and chips past a police line to workers on strike in a factory, a foiled attempt to ground a private jet, an encounter with police in Copenhagen, bikers in funny outfits who protest in front of corporate offices in London. Emily plans for her film to be given away for free. (Donations welcome!) Some of our B&B guests hail from the UK. Getting to know a number of British citizens over the years has made me realize they are leaps and bounds ahead of us here in the USA when it comes to carbon footprint and saving the planet. After the clips, there was a Q&A. One member of the audience asked how successful the environmental activists have been. Emily responded there was one big win with defeat of the new runway at Heathrow. She concluded the evening by saying, "Climate change is one of those problems that is overwhelming. Some people just freeze up. They live their life and stop worrying. These guys can't do that. Doing the things they do makes them feel better about their place in the world ..." Just Do It is Emily's way of making a difference in the world. I will be curious to see the complete film and wish her luck with this ambitious project.
