The pow wow - December-ish 2013

We huddle together in the chill room in our Observatory office to have our first pow-wow about the merits of this approach to the fracking story. One wall in the front room is sloughing paint, and a phone cable is dripping from its housing.

The problem with critical thinkers is that they’re, well, critical. And EMG doesn’t do top-down. It’s all about community engagement. Everyone has an equal say. Which is all very fair and egalitarian, but hell it can be both invigorating and frustrating. Everyone weighs in. We hack away at this rough-hewn block of an idea for a good hour or so and leave with nothing but more questions:

  • is it too gimmicky?
  • does it really reflect the work EMG does at a policy and advocacy level?
  • will it add to civil society’s arsenal of information?
We wrap up, but we’re no closer to where I should go from here.