Thousands gather to block London bridges in climate rebellion

Authored by theguardian.com and submitted by ManiaforBeatles
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Thousands of people have descended on central London for a “day of rebellion” in protest over the looming climate crisis.

People began massing on five bridges over the River Thames from 10am on Saturday. By 11.30am organisers said all five target bridges in central London had been occupied.

The move is part of a campaign of mass civil disobedience organised by a new group, Extinction Rebellion, which wants to force governments to treat the threats of climate breakdown and extinction as a crisis.

“The ‘social contract’ has been broken … [and] it is therefore not only our right, but our moral duty to bypass the government’s inaction and flagrant dereliction of duty, and to rebel to defend life itself,” said one of the organisers, Gail Bradbrook.

In the past two weeks more than 60 people have been arrested for taking part in acts of civil disobedience organised by Extinction Rebellion – from gluing themselves to government buildings to blocking major roads in London.

However, that disruption was likely to be eclipsed on Saturday, with organisers saying they planned to close down the five main bridges over the Thames.

“It is not a step we take lightly,” said Tiana Jacout, a protester. “If things continue as is, we face an extinction greater than the one that killed the dinosaurs. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be a worthy ancestor.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Demonstrators on Westminster Bridge. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA

The group, which cites the civil rights movement, suffragettes and Mahatma Gandhi as inspiration, said there were smaller events planned in other UK cities as well as overseas on Saturday. It was planning to escalate its campaigns from Wednesday next week, when small teams of activists will “swarm” around central London, blocking roads and bridges.

“Given the scale of the ecological crisis we are facing this is the appropriate scale of expansion,” said Bradbrook. “… Only this kind of large-scale economic disruption can rapidly bring the government to the table to discuss our demands. We are prepared to risk it all for our futures.”

The group is calling on the government to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2025 and establish a “citizens assembly” to devise an emergency plan of action similar to that seen during the second world war.

Organisers said they hoped the campaign of “respectful disruption” would signal to those in power that the current course of action will lead to disaster.

The group has been holding meetings across the country outlining the scale of the climate crisis and urging people to get involved in direct action.

The campaign first hit the headlines recently when the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was one of almost 100 academics to come out in favour of the Extinction Rebellion.

In a letter published in the Guardian they said: “While our academic perspectives and expertise may differ, we are united on this one point: we will not tolerate the failure of this or any other government to take robust and emergency action in respect of the worsening ecological crisis. The science is clear, the facts are incontrovertible, and it is unconscionable to us that our children and grandchildren should have to bear the terrifying brunt of an unprecedented disaster of our own making.”

The group is making international contacts, with 11 events planned in seven countries so far, including the US, Canada, Germany, Australia and France.

The UN has said there are only 12 years left to prevent global ecological disaster.

TheMeBehindTheMe on November 17th, 2018 at 12:47 UTC »

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uphappydownsad on November 17th, 2018 at 12:06 UTC »

"Extinction" - Treat it as a crisis?

It does sound reasonable.

autotldr on November 17th, 2018 at 12:00 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 84%. (I'm a bot)

Thousands of people have descended on central London for a "Day of rebellion" in protest over the looming climate crisis.

The move is part of a campaign of mass civil disobedience organised by a new group, Extinction Rebellion, which wants to force governments to treat the threats of climate breakdown and extinction as a crisis.

In the past two weeks more than 60 people have been arrested for taking part in acts of civil disobedience organised by Extinction Rebellion - from gluing themselves to government buildings to blocking major roads in London.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: government#1 organised#2 crisis#3 group#4 plan#5