When environmentalist Sasin Chalermlarp decided to stage a sit-in for 59 hours, we had to listen.
In his protest, which began on Monday at the gates of the Office of National Environmental Policy and Planning, Mr Sasin, secretary-general of the Seub Nakasathien Foundation, protested against a meeting of water experts on the environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA) of the Mae Wong dam project, which was to take place yesterday.
The "59-hour protest" was to end late yesterday afternoon — the same time as the meeting. (There are reports that the military tried to force him to end it prematurely due to concerns about security).
This is the second time the environmentalist has staged a public protest, in addition to expressing his views through his Facebook page or in interviews, against the controversial dam, which, if approved, will inundate the lush Mae Wong forest in Nakhon Sawan.
The impact of the dam project is serious. Mae Wong serves as a buffer zone for the adjacent Huay Khakhaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Uthai Thani province. The dam would be a threat to the sanctuary and risk it losing its heritage site status.
Mr Sasin believes there is an alternative water management method besides the Mae Wong dam.
He is critical of the dam's EHIA report which, he says, contains many flaws. In his first public protest in September last year, he rejected the report.
It was this first protest, a 300km march from Mae Wong to Bangkok that made the dam an issue for city people. Or can I say the middle classes?
It's one of the few issues where the middle classes and local villagers are fighting for the same cause.
His march was covered by every media outlet. Many of which played up his famous quote: "I did it for Pi Sueb".
The late Sueb Nakasathien was the chief of Huay Khakhaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and a staunch environmentalist who committed suicide in 1990 at his office in the sanctuary due to work-related stress.
When Mr Sasin reached Bangkok, the city showered him with a hero's welcome. Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in support of his environmental cause.
His march last year was an inspiration for other environmentalists and advocates for energy and, more recently, land reform.
I dropped by to see him on the second night of his sit-in protest and found several young people, mostly strangers, had turned up to lend him moral support.
It was a far different scenario than my time as an environmental reporter when I was used to always meeting familiar faces, acquaintances and friends, not strangers like there were here.
However, it is good to see new, young blood in the green movement. It would be very sad if there were only the same people interested in the cause.
I first met Mr Sasin as an academic — he taught at a private university and we always ran into each other at environmental forums, but this is the first time I had met him as a full-time activist.
At the site of his protest, I spotted his hand-written message on a white board behind him.
"I hope the experts will use their wisdom in considering the EHIA report and eventually make their decision in favour of our ecological system."
Mr Sasin said that many experts are more knowledgeable than he is about the impact the dam will have on the Mae Wong forest because "many of them are my teachers".
The environmentalist told his supporters: "Please give moral support to the experts, not to me. They need it in deciding against the EHIA as many people are pushing for this dam."
As this article went to print, the meeting was still under way and I have no idea what the experts will decide. Will they take Mr Sasin's opinions into account?
Will Mr Sasin succeed in his fight to protect the Mae Wong forest? We don't know. Some environmentalists expect that the experts will decide to have the EHIA report corrected, which means it will be a long fight.
But at this stage, let's be glad that the future of the Mae Wong dam has become a topic of public debate and hope people will learn something along the way — something Mr Sasin can take credit for.
Ploenpote Atthakor is Deputy Editorial Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.