We are Extinction Rebellion and we exist because there is a global climate and ecological crisis. The planet we all rely on for everything is in trouble and we want to do something about that. We invite you to learn more about this crisis and join us in taking action to combat it.
What is the global climate and ecological crisis?
Over a period of 4 billion years, the Earth gradually provided the conditions for life to develop. Microbes, insects, grasses, trees, fish, mammals and us, human beings. As far as we know, Earth is unique. No other planet is home to life.
Over the last two thousand years, human beings have changed the Earth; cutting down forests, killing off wild animals, building cities and redirecting rivers. As countries have industrialised over the last two hundred years, human activities have caused more and more damage to the natural balance of life. Over the last thirty years, as countries in Asia had their own industrial revolutions and people in Europe and North America consumed more and more, we have reached a crisis point.
Millions of people each year die from air pollution. Wildlife is declining rapidly. The seas are being emptied of life and forests are dwindling. Most worrying of all, the climate is changing.
A predictable climate is essential to being able to grow food. Staple crops like corn, wheat and rice require predictable seasons to produce the best harvests. As droughts and floods become more common and average temperatures rise, producing food is becoming more and more difficult.
Climate change is caused by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide comes from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil. As fossil fuels are a part of pretty much everything we do in the contemporary world, the way we live now is destabilising the climate and putting us all in peril. The excess carbon dioxide is raising temperatures globally, putting food production at risk, causing famine and war. We face the real prospect of a self-inflicted global catastrophe where the future is hot, unstable and dangerous.
The effects are being seen now. They will only get worse unless something is done, urgently.
What can I do?
Rebel – Oil companies like Esso, Shell and BP continue to expand their resources when science is clear that the use of oil must be rapidly phased out. The UK government approved a new coal mine in Cumbria in late 2022. The most profile producer of polluting plastic bottles on earth, Coca-Cola, sponsored COP27.
We reject this cosy relationship between big polluting businesses and spineless government. It is corrupt and it is destroying our future. Rebellion means calling out polluting businesses and corrupt politicians and demanding genuinely democratic radical change.
Action: Join our local email list to keep up with what is happening locally.
Action: Keep 21st April 2023 free. Extinction Rebellion will be surrounding parliament with 100,000 people.
Find out more and sign up.
It is important to remember that the climate crisis is not out of our control and we can fix it. But only if we act now and as a global community. If everyone works together, there is a chance we can fix this or at least make our situation less bad.
Democracy – many people are turned off politics and it’s easy to understand why. But in the UK, we still have a democratic system of government, we can criticise our representatives and we can demand that they do what is right. So write to your MP and councillors and tell them that you are concerned for the future and you want to see urgent action at local and national level to combat the climate crisis.
Your MP will vote on national legislation that deals with climate and ecology. Ask them to support urgent action.
Your local councillors will deal with local plans for your area. Ask them to support urgent action on the climate.
You don’t have to become an expert on politics, you just have to tell your representatives what is important to you. Each MP or councillor represents a large number of people. If many people write to them saying the climate crisis is important, they will get the message.
Then keep on writing. When you see a climate issue in the news, write again to express your views. Representatives need to be hearing all the time, that the well-being of the planet is the most important issue of our time. Everything else is secondary.
Take action – consider supporting an organisation like Extinction Rebellion or Greenpeace that campaigns for radical change in favour of the natural world. Get involved with a local or national organisation that is helping the natural world. The RSPB is active in protecting bird life, there are many local groups reviving rivers and woodland that need extra pairs of hands.
Be open to what you are getting involved in. You will meet people from whom you will learn. You will be inspired.
Be the change – the world needs a huge shift in politics and business away from an exploitative, fossil fuel-based economy. This needs to happen at a global and national level, and also at the local and personal level. So start making the changes that the world needs.
Stop eating beef and lamb or greatly reduce your consumption. Farming cows and growing feed for them take up huge areas of the earth’s surface and is a very inefficient way of feeding people. Sheep farming often takes place in marginal areas that would better be returned to their wild state to restore wildlife.
Buy your electricity and gas from a green supplier. If you can, fix solar panels on your home to produce your own electricity.
Travel thoughtfully. Reduce your flying. Use public transport where you can. Walk and cycle if possible. If you can work at home instead of driving to an office, do so. You will be fitter and better connected to your area.
When positive local and national changes happen, support them. If your city introduces cycle lanes and better public transport, use them.
Buy less stuff. Every single new thing that you bring home required materials and energy to create. Maybe it was shipped halfway round the world before you got it. We all have more clothes, kitchen gadgets, bags, tools, toys, shoes and tech than we need. Don’t buy what you don’t need and buy what you do need second-hand or refurbished if possible.
Be a thought leader – in the world right now, there are people who are doing their best to make things better in the world. There are also people who think we are all doing just fine and there is nothing to worry about. In addition, large numbers of people are anxious and uncertain. They have heard that there is a crisis and don’t what to do or who to believe. Maybe you are one of them?
Canadian climate scientist Katherine Heyhoe says that the most positive thing we can do about the climate crisis is to talk about it.
Don’t shy away from the crisis because it’s too scary. None of us can run away from our problems.
Don’t make the climate a taboo and change the subject when it comes up in conversation. This matters.
Talk to your friends and family. They may be as concerned as you.
Get serious – the climate and ecological crisis isn’t going away. Every day more species go extinct, more carbon dioxide is emitted, more plastic is chucked into the sea, more forests are destroyed and global temperatures rise. This crisis has been created by human beings and we also have the ability to fix it. But we have to:
Tell The Truth
Act Now
and Decide Together.
This is the fight for the future.