Spiderman, Spiderman, Climbing for the Environment

In a couple of hours, a man will climb a building somewhere in the City of New York.  Why?



Please join me at 9 am (LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER TODAY.)  I will be there and happy to answer questions about my work and we’ll take it from there!  I am climbing with my bare hands, as a PEACEFUL way to create support for far greater and urgent action from world leaders on  global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions are still climbing. So am  I!!!


 But The Solution Is Simple:

 1 – Stop Cutting Down Trees. Plant More Trees.

 2 – Make Everything Energy Efficient.

 3 – Only Make Clean Energy.
All issues of grave concern.  But will climbing tall buildings bring attention to the cause, or bring cuffs to the wrist?  Or both? 

There’s two ways to look at stunts like this.  Some think it’s just awfully cool to watch someone scale the outside of a building (like a spider, perhaps?), while others believe that this is one individual engaging in behavior that’s risky to him and to anyone with the misfortune of standing below him.  Not to mention that public resources are used in stunts like this (think of all the cops standing around to keep people away), an allocation of resources that no daredevil is entitled to make.

I’m all for the cause, being the tree-hugger that I am.  And I am generally supportive of people acting to raise the consciousness of others about the need to protect the environment.  I just have a difficult time connecting up this act with the environment.  It’s a guy who like to climb up buildings announcing a purpose to justify the fact that he likes to climb up building.

I hope he doesn’t fall.  And I hope that there is some social benefit to this climb.  But I don’t really see it.  Expect to see him in handcuffs around 11:30 this morning, smiling.  Arraignment within 24 hours. Bail set at $1000? 

One tree lost for all the paperwork.

Discover more from Simple Justice

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

2 thoughts on “Spiderman, Spiderman, Climbing for the Environment”

  1. Anne

    My husband was an EMT for awhile, long enough that I would be really mad at this faux Spidey if he made my spouse have to leave the dinner table (or anything else) to ensure his safety.

    I know that’s not how emergency calls work in NYC but the principle is the same. Public servants are zero-sum: if there are 50 of them waiting below on the sidewalk, that’s 50 unavailable if someone elsewhere gets run over by a cab.

    I hope they send him a bill! (But then he’d probably just have an equally dangerous fund-raiser to cover his costs!)

  2. SHG

    I agree with you.  A while back, I posted about a guy named Corliss, a BASE jumper, who tried to parachute off the Empire State Building.  A commenter tried to rip my head off for not appreciating what a highly trained, skilled professional he was, and what a cool sport BASE jumping was, and how ignorant we all are for not appreciating this sport.

    I said then, and I repeat now, that regardless of how (at least in their minds) they can connect up good causes with their thrill-seeking, the impact of their unilateral decision to engage in these activities is borne by the rest of us.  Good intentions do not change that.

Comments are closed.