Documentary Reflection
August 12, 2026 By: Rhys Parry
Environmental Activism and Civil Disobedience
For this exercise, I looked at the recent protests against proposed AI data centers in Vancouver. Hundreds of people have taken part in demonstrations against plans for new AI data centers in British Columbia, with protesters raising concerns about how much electricity and water these facilities could use. A CityNews report focused on the demonstrations themselves and included concerns from protesters about water use, pressure on B.C.’s electrical grid, and the environmental effects of the proposed facilities. By the second major protest in June, a petition opposing the projects had received more than 15,000 signatures.¹
I also looked at coverage from The Tyee, which is an alternative B.C. news source. Its reporting went further into the growing movement behind the demonstrations and described how people protesting the data centers were beginning to organize politically and call for a moratorium on new AI data centers.² I found the difference between the two sources interesting. The CityNews story mostly reported what happened at the protest and gave different people a chance to explain their concerns, while The Tyee focused more on the movement itself and whether it could influence political decisions.
My own position is somewhere in the middle. I do not think new technology such as AI should automatically be stopped, but I also do not think governments should approve large projects without being clear about their environmental costs. If data centers are going to use large amounts of electricity and water, especially during periods when people are already being asked to conserve resources, I think the public should have more information and more of a say in where they are built. The Vancouver protests seem reasonable to me because they are bringing attention to an environmental cost of AI that I had not really thought much about before.
This also made me think about the documentary How to Change the World. The early Greenpeace activists understood that they were probably not going to stop environmental destruction simply by physically placing themselves in the way. A big part of their strategy was creating images and events that the media would cover. Greenpeace’s early campaigns against nuclear testing and whaling helped turn relatively small groups of activists into a much larger environmental movement. Their actions show that civil disobedience can work even when the protesters do not immediately stop the thing they are protesting. Sometimes the more important result is changing public opinion and putting pressure on governments or companies.
At the same time, I think there has to be a limit. I support peaceful civil disobedience more than property destruction or violence. Once a protest becomes destructive, there is a risk that the public discussion becomes more about what the protesters did than about the environmental issue they were originally trying to bring attention to. To me, the most effective environmental protest is disruptive enough that people cannot completely ignore it but does not go so far that the tactics become the entire story.
A recent example of this can be seen with old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island. In 2026, protesters were again using road blockades and even sleeping on logging roads near Port Renfrew in an attempt to prevent old-growth trees from being cut. The protests follow the much larger Fairy Creek campaign, where more than 1,100 arrests took place. Some areas received temporary protection, but logging of old-growth forests has continued, which makes the results mixed.³
I think this example shows both the strengths and weaknesses of civil disobedience. The protesters have not completely stopped old-growth logging, but it would be difficult to argue that the issue received the same amount of public attention without the blockades and arrests. Actions like these force governments, companies, journalists, and the public to talk about an issue that might otherwise receive much less attention.
Overall, I think civil disobedience can bring positive environmental change, but it does not guarantee it. Greenpeace shows that relatively small groups can use direct action and media attention to influence public attitudes over time. The old-growth protests show something similar, although they also demonstrate that getting attention is easier than achieving permanent policy change. For me, peaceful civil disobedience is most effective when there is a clear environmental goal, the action is connected to that goal, and the protesters are able to keep public attention focused on the environmental problem rather than just on themselves.
Media Sources
- CityNews Vancouver, “Hundreds Protest Proposed AI Data Centers in Vancouver, Petition Counting 15,000 Signatures,” June 28, 2026. https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/06/28/hundreds-protested-ai-data-centres-vancouver-petition-signatures/
- Isaac Phan Nay, “Vancouver’s Growing Anti-AI Movement,” The Tyee, July 10, 2026. https://www.thetyee.ca/News/2026/07/10/Vancouver-Growing-Anti-AI-Movement/
- Associated Press, “British Columbia Is Logging Its Last Old Growth. Protesters Are Sleeping in the Road to Stop It,” August 2026. https://apnews.com/article/deforestation-canada-climate-indigenous-protest-71a58528849f49bae9e3600c8283a64c