Extinction Rebellion : Why Are They Blocking Roads in UK?
The movement of Extinction Rebellion that is arising all over the world and its aim for climate change
Cub-reporter Choi Ha-eun
haeun.choi.2002@gmail.com
Mankind has improved the quality of lives as they developed technology and science that allowed them to invent cars and airplanes. Those surprising inventions made people's lives a lot more convenient, but they brought a lot of problems. The problem is that fossil fuels are needed to use them which causes global warming. Fossil fuels release greenhouse gases as they burn and the temperature of the Earth rises as the greenhouse gases absorb or reflect the sunlight. After the 4th Industrial Revolution, a tremendous amount of fossil fuels and resources were consumed and they began to have severe consequences on the environment. In fact, the Earth's temperature has risen 1.2°C since the 19th century, and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased 50% since the 19th century. Scientists stated that if no action is taken, the Earth's temperature will increase 4°C, and enormous numbers of people will lose their homes due to rising water and loss of plants and animals. An organizations that has a lot of interest in these problems and is taking action is Extinction Rebellion in the United Kingdom.
Extinction Rebellion, XR for short, started its movement on October 31st, 2018, and now they have about 650 Extinction Rebellion groups in 45 countries. Their logo, an hourglass inside a circle, represents time running out for many species. Just like their logo, they conduct campaigns to let people know about the severity of global warming and pressure the government to take action. They claim to be nonviolent civil disobedience movements to speak out to the government of the United Kingdom with three main demands; First, all institutions must communicate the danger we are in. Second, the UK must legally commit to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2025. Third, A citizens assembly must be formed to oversee the changes.
With those demands towards the government, they form local and community groups to conduct campaigns in different regions. Their main method of protest is disruption, such as blocking Oxford Circus (a major road junction) and erecting a giant table in Covent Garden. Groups gather and glue themselves to buildings or block major roads by standing with signs that says "You will die of old age. We will die of climate change."
Their goal is to make the government work on preventing climate change and raise awareness amongst citizens. Therefore, they made a new project called project 3.5. The main idea is to gather as many people as possible so that they can make great impacts on those have power to take actions on climate change. Project 3.5 consists of three main steps. Step one is to invite many people to their movement by knocking on doors just like when people go trick-or-treating. Step two is to inspire conversations about global warming to make people aware of what kind of situation we are in right now. Step three is to follow up with people who they have invited. They call them and encourage them to join their cycle. Step 3.5 is to welcome the new members and help them to act as XR activists.
Even though some specialists and citizens think that the goals of Extinction Rebellion would be quite difficult to achieve, others are getting inspired by their movement like District Judge Stephen Leake who fined some Insulate Britain protesters for blocking the M25 motorway. Maybe it is time for us to think deeply on climate change and take actions for us.