Concerned about climate change, I stood on Strand Quay with a friend on Friday, August 28 with our banner “We have no Planet B” and we received heartening toots and support from passers by.
The banner said it all, as did the sad globe faces, and we were out to remind folk that we are running out of time to mitigate climate change.
The upheaval caused by Covid-19 and the looming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) represent a once in a lifetime chance to limit the coming irreversible damage to our planet, humankind and environment and we want Parliament to back the Climate and Ecological Emergency bill – and MPs need to step up and support the bill to give it a chance to become law.
Image Credits: Heidi Foster .
Covid 19, with its double edged sword, has at least helped clean up the planet temporarily. But unless we want to live in isolation for the rest of our lives, I do wonder what Extinction Rebellion see as the solution and Plan B !?!
Holding up a banner made of plastic won’t help the situation.
So its seems they are back,as we have seen in london over the last few days,causing misery and mayhem to people struggling to get back to work after Covid 19, some Rye traders have stopped trading because of the pandemic, and with rumoured road closures around Rye this month,the last thing we want is these hypocrites with their plastic banners, causing more mayhem in the town, i suggest you jump in your cars, and take your protests elsewhere.
Luckily there has been a huge amount of work done in the scientific and engineering arenas to help us transition to a low carbon economy. The big stumbling block at the moment is political will, but even that is finally starting to shift. Fully agree that time is running out.
I think the main problem with Extinction Rebellion protests is that the methods they use to achieve their admirable aims, rather than decrease the carbon footprint, actually increases it. Surely as Simon points out, a plastic banner sends out entirely the wrong message and also a number of their other protests, including the one today blockading the newspaper distributers has only increased carbon footprint. Additional transport has been needed to get the papers out. It just does not make sense and does a disservice to those genuinely advocating and enabling lower carbon emissions.
Maybe take a deeper, more thoroughly researched look at your methods next time you plan a protest. Only then will you get more support. I feel you are rapidly losing it right now.
Extinction Rebellion is absolutely right to highlight that there are 5 billionaires who run most of our media, and they have huge power in our democracy forcing our political parties to prioritise their wishes over the wishes of the British public. These 5 people not only own 80% of the newspapers we read every day, they also own TV stations, press agencies, book companies and cinemas.
Last week, the Council of Europe, which monitors human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, formally warned the UK government for threatening press freedom after it blacklisted a group of investigative journalists and denied them access to information. You would have no way of knowing that if you read the Sun, the Daily Mail or the Daily Telegraph, to name but a few. Our democracy and freedom of speech are rapidly being eroded by a small elite that includes Johnson and Patel, we should all be thankful that XR is calling them out.
And as for ‘those genuinely advocating and enabling lower carbon emissions’ – who are they? If you don’t act or speak up, you are part of the problem, part of ‘business as usual’. Enough of this disavowal.
How small minded to focus on this piece of plastic, conveying such
a vital message. The average household’s plastic consumption is way above this. Sadly, people criticising one plastic banner are completely missing the point.
Not really that small minded. The environmental damage caused by globalisation and plastic, is very much highlighted by Extinction Rebellion.
Therefor not very bright and a total contradiction, to hold up a plastic banner that was probably manufactured in China and transported half way around the World !!
‘Do as I say and not as I do’ springs to mind.