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Well that was getting a bit scary wasn’t it! One day we wake up to find we’re extremists, the next not, then ish, then not. Thankfully now the matter has been cleared up, let’s get back to talking about what this is all really about – the climate and ecological emergency. 

But first, a thank you.

Nearly two weeks ago it was revealed that some parts of the police have attempted to brand Extinction Rebellion as ‘extremists’. It was shocking because our only aim is to make the Government tell the truth and act on the climate and ecological crisis. We have never picked a fight with the police, only asking them to respect the right to protest, and to join us because it is not possible to safely police a society that has collapsed because of climate breakdown. 

Of course, we’re not the first to be tarnished with this brush. Minority groups and other peaceful activists have been disproportionately affected and continue to be for simply questioning the status quo, peacefully practicing their religion – such as the Muslim community – or speaking up against societal injustices. We are particularly concerned that this stigmatisation can target and tarnish children – we are thinking here about children concerned about their future at the moment.

As we reeled from the news and searched for words, we were moved to see people from all walks of life jump to our defence. From members of the public to politicians from across the parties, ex police, lawyers and journalists expressed outrage, made statements and wrote articles – showing us that we have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

We welcome Home Office minister Brandon Lewis’s words in Parliament on Wednesday “that Extinction Rebellion is in no way considered an extremist group under the 2015 definition of extremism and the home secretary has been clear on this point.”

This must remain true under any definition and hope that due focus can instead be given to the extreme situation as we face.  At almost 1 degree C of warming, we are seeing ecosystem breakdown – from the wildfires across the Arctic to Australia, to the hurricanes that have destroyed communities in the Caribbean and Mozambique, to India’s record breaking heat waves and floods. To think and act like the UK and Europe will not be immune to this emergency is fiction, no country will be an island to this if business as usual prevails.

About Extinction Rebellion

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

What Emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers |This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook 

Get involved

• In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
• Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
• Find your local group.
• Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
• And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.

About Rising Up!

Extinction Rebellion emerged from the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.

The post Extinction Rebellion UK – Thank you for having our backs appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/24/extinction-rebellion-uk-thank-you-for-having-our-backs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extinction-rebellion-uk-thank-you-for-having-our-backs

Dagan James of XR Farmers said:

“Radical and far reaching policies for farming need to be put in place urgently. The CCC report is moving in the right direction, but for farming to become part of the solution to the climate and ecological emergency, we need to go much further. [1]

“We need to ensure Government puts in place policies that really start to make the necessary change happen. All signs so far indicate that this is not happening. 2020 is the year of ambition, not inaction.”

Niels Corfield, an independent farming advisor on soil health and regenerative agriculture specialist, said: 

“The CCC report today is unambitious when we need to be thinking bigger. We need a strong farmer to farmer knowledge exchange system, supporting farmers and land managers to transition to regenerative agriculture practices. Connecting people back to nature and understand how we get our food, energy while also supporting biodiversity. The key way to achieving all of these greater outcomes is through education and on-farm research. 

“Rather than just “planting more trees”, management is the key. Unless trees are growing rapidly and are in good health they will not sequester adequate levels of carbon. The low-hanging fruit is really to bring existing woodlands and tree cover under “continuous canopy” sustainable management which will increase capacity in the existing forestry sector and help establish new woodlands and agroforestry. mAgroforestry should be seen as one of the key routes to achieve these numbers of new tree plantings as they will help existing production of pasture and cropping – both of which can and should be become negative in their own right –  and aiding biodiversity at the same time.

“In terms of encouraging low-carbon farming practice, we really we need to be increasing the ambition when it comes to core farm and land management practices. All farming practices can and should be regenerative, in other words “gross zero carbon”a. 

“We should always be finding new ways to apply the soil health principles – living roots, covered soil, minimise tillage, maximise diversity. In pasture and grazing management, adaptive multi paddock grazing is highly indicated. Carbon drawdown in these systems can be rapid and permanent, improving water infiltration, mitigating against floods and drought while increasing forage quality and animal health.

“For bioenergy, cropping and pasture should have actively managed trees integrated as agroforestry, to increase diversity and fulfill our bioenergy objectives. These new tree and energy crop plantings should themselves be diversified as opposed to mono crop willow plantings for instance. This diversity of tree plantings will bring resilience and the system as a whole and there is no reason why these can also be improved varieties.”

Notes

[1] https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/land-use-policies-for-a-net-zero-uk/ 

The post Extinction Rebellion comment on CCC’s Land Use report appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/23/extinction-rebellion-comment-on-cccs-land-use-report/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extinction-rebellion-comment-on-cccs-land-use-report

Email: press@risingup.org.uk
Phone: 07731425077 
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#VAULTFestival #ExtinctionRebellion #CultureDeclaresEmergency #MusicDeclaresEmergency #ActNow #TellTheTruth

• VAULT Festival returns from Tue 28 Jan – 22 Mar, when they will be joined by Extinction Rebellion with an enormous focus on eco shows plays, talks and events. 
• Extinction Rebellion’s presence at VAULT festival includes a late-night multimedia experiential party event, a series of talks, podcast recordings, panel discussions and rehearsed readings on the climate and ecological emergency.
• A BAFTA nominated star, to be revealed soon, will join Extinction Underground, on the 22nd of February – a late-night multimedia experiential playground not to be missed.
• Many companies are bringing sustainable theatre practices into their 2020 VAULT offerings, including PearShaped Theatre, Long Distance Theatre and Pigfoot Theatre – the recipient of the inaugural Staging Change VAULT Festival Award, whose lighting is powered by a bicycle cycled live on stage.

From Tuesday 28th January to 22nd March, London’s biggest, boldest and wildest arts festival – VAULT Festival – returns with an enormous focus on eco shows, plays, talks and events. 

Extinction Rebellion will join the festival to celebrate VAULT declaring a climate and ecological emergency. Their presence at the festival includes a late-night multimedia experiential party event, a series of talks, podcast recordings, panel discussions and rehearsed readings on the climate and ecological emergency, with a focus on decolonisation and climate justice. Extinction Rebellion, Restless Development and Staging Change will partner with VAULT Festival for a new ‘Time for Change’ venue, an installation open throughout the festival to inspire festival goers to demand change for people and the planet.

Other movements and artists adding their voice to the environmental programme include Culture Declares Emergency, Music Declares Emergency, activist Tamsin Omond, UCL environmental policy researcher and comedian Dr Matt Winning, and Brainchild Festival.

Andy George and Mat Burtcher, Co-Founders of VAULT Festival, said “We are living in a time of crisis. There is great, impossible-to-ignore change needed everywhere. We’re confronting, at last, the stark fact that humankind is making its home uninhabitable at a rate we hadn’t imagined twenty years ago. Which is why we’re supporting the wider climate movement by declaring a climate and ecological emergency and taking immediate action combined with longer term planning.”

Kay Michael, Co-Founder Culture Declares Emergency, said “In joining the community of 700+ other cultural organisations and artists declaring climate and ecological emergency, the VAULT Festival makes its intentions for this most vital of years clear. We’re excited to host Extinction Underground – a celebration of the many artists responding to the emergency – at the first theatre festival to have ‘Declared’. We hope others will be inspired – across all art forms and indeed sectors. We invite everyone to get involved. This is the story of our times.”

Lorenzo Belenguer, Extinction Rebellion Arts & Culture Media coordinator, said “We are facing the major threat to mankind since the War and artists are responding to this emergency in very imaginative ways. Extinction Rebellion is the inspiration to the biggest Art movement in the history of humanity not seen since the 60s, when many influential movements like Minimalism, Conceptualism, Land Art, etc, blossomed. XR is present in almost 200 countries and this Festival is an introduction to understand this historical moment.”

This is a Climate and Ecological Emergency and the artists are on it.

A selection of the most talented rebel artists and eco-warriors have joined forces with the VAULT festival for their 2020 festival. Below are the many creative ways they are responding to this emergency.

Extinction Underground, Saturday 22nd Feb 22.30 – 03.00

An interactive and immersive late night underground playground celebrating and showcasing the unstoppable creativity and community of Extinction Rebellion and the wider climate movement.

Beneath the streets of London over 80 artists, performers, radicals, headlining music acts, luminaries and gardeners of the human spirit will come together with vital acts of co-creation, artistic expression, connection to the planet and one another: acts of celebration, grief, love, transformation and resilience.

Dance, play, create and discover first hand the booming community behind the disruptive actions that draw attention to the climate and ecological emergency, and how artists and rebels are responding to our unprecedented times. 

Tickets £10, with the option to make a donation to Extinction Rebellion when booking.

Book here: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/extinction-underground/

Decolonise! Decarbonise: XR Talks and Mixed Bill programme

A series of talks, panels, podcast recordings and readings of new short plays on the climate and ecological emergency, with a focus on decolonisation and climate justice.

Here in the UK we are starting to see what many in the Global South have been experiencing for years: floods, wildfires, crop failures, loss of homes, loss of lives.

Why has it taken so long for people to wake up to the emergency, and why are so many still asleep?

Are XR activists only in it to save their own cherubic grandchildren? What do we mean when we chant ‘Climate Justice Now’? What is our vision for a better society and how can we build it if we close our eyes to structural injustice?

TALKS:

Sunday 9th Feb, 3pm – Heading for Extinction. The classic XR talk, heard across the world, that shares the latest climate science, discusses some of the current psychology around climate change and offers solutions through the study of social movements. Delivered by a special guest.

Sunday 16th February, 3pm – Discussing the IPCC Report

Sunday 23rd Feb, 3pm – Decoloniality and Rewilding the Psyche with Mothiur Raman

Sunday 1st March, 3pm – XR Podcast Live Recording – interview with special guest

Sunday 8 Mar, 3pm – Ecocide (details tbc)

Sunday 15th Mar, 3pm – Rebellion – this talk takes a wide angle view on the protests of 2019 and links up with the artists of HK protest show Freedom Hi to compare experiences. . 

Sunday 22nd Mar, 3pm – Climate Emergency, Global Justice and Legitimacy with David Cross, artist in residence at UAL, leading on programme to decolonise and decarbonise the university. 

Free booking for the talks here:https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/xr-talks/

PANELS AND NEW PLAYS:

Sunday 16th Feb 3-4pm ‘Lovebombing’ the Police: how it feels when we hear you singing police praises – panel discussion, chaired by Daze Aghaji from XR Youth

Sunday 16th Feb 4.30-5.30pm Climate Justice: what does it mean and how do we achieve it? – panel discussion organized by XR Global Justice

Saturday 29th Feb 3-4pm What about China? – Mixed bill: talks, discussion, and short play readings on sinophobia, consumerism and carbon outsourcing with Bec Boey (Jade Dragon), Siu See Hung, Dr Sam Geall and Nuala Lam.

Sunday 1st Mar 3-4pm Rehearsed staged readings of new plays on climate by exciting playwrights from marginalised backgrounds – curated by award-winning playwright Jasmine Lee-Jones (Seven Methods Of Killing Kylie Jenner)

Sunday 1st Mar 4.30-5.30pm Engaging marginalised communities: what stories should XR be telling? Panel discussion featuring playwrights from the previous session, chaired by Bec Boey

Free booking for mixed bill programme here: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/xr-decolonialise-decarbonise/

VAULT Festival will also feature further climate-related programming:

This Bitch Can Heal:

It’s the hottest summer on record. Jack is pedalling fast to join Extinction Rebellion protests that have taken over the city and captured the world’s imagination. This is the movement they have been waiting for and they’re going to give it everything they’ve got.

Listings info: 28 Jan, 29 Jan, 30 Jan, 18:00

Contact: tamsinomond@gmail.com / @pinksplatprodu1

“I wrote This Bitch Can Heal after crashing out of the April Rebellion. I’d been organising the Marble Arch site and I watched a lot of people give everything – time, hope, so much effort and love.  We created magic for over ten days but then it was over, and people emerged from the small Extinction Rebellion universes we had created into the real world – a world that is changing – but is still in no way ready for the level of change that is going to be inevitable as our world, our planet, our environments transform. That’s the journey that Jack is on.”

Tamsin Omond, actress, author and environmental activist, who wrote and act on the monologue This Bitch Can Heal,

Two Super Super Hot Men:

‘Two Super Super Hot Men’ is a new show by comedy clowns, ‘Alan and Ron’. In the show, two hapless clowns try to soundtrack a climate documentary while coming face-to-face with ecological crisis, something they have never comprehended fully. As their world becomes increasingly surreal, and their methods of creating sound follow suit, the audience are taken on an audio journey. The characters’ refusal to change becomes harder to enact, and increasingly hilarious. Alan and Ron is a new comedy theatre duo made up of Alice Boyd and Rosa Garland, members of the award-winning company Poltergeist.

Listings info: 13 Mar, 14 Mar, 18:00

Contact: info@stagingchange.com / @alanandron

Matt Winning: It’s the End of the World as We Know It:

A comedy lecture about how we cope with climate change and what we can do about it, from the ‘attractively impish’ (Guardian) UCL environmental policy researcher and comedian Dr Matt Winning. The world as we know it is coming to an end regardless of whether we want it to or not. Matt explores what that means and considers what it must be like being a teenager nowadays compared to when he was young. As seen/heard on Unspun with Matt Forde, BBC Three, BBC Radio 4, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland and his podcast Operation Earth where he interviews comedians about climate change. Matt beings his third full show about climate change to VAULT Festival, which marks the start of his 2020 UK tour.

Listing info: 21 Feb, 22 Feb, 23 Feb, 19:20

Contact: mattywin@hotmail.com / @mattywin85

Brainchild Presents Let Me Be Your Plantasy:

At long last, plant-life is re-claiming and re-wilding Planet Earth. Houseplants are freeing themselves from our pots, miniature cacti are smashing through Urban Outfitters windows, and trees are regally re-seating themselves as the worlds’ masters. Human time is suspended and economic myths collapse at the roots of exponential plant-growth. We, the remaining earth-dwellers, must do the same: break free and re-wild ourselves for an epic celebration of plant-life with immersive artworks, music, comedy and dancing. This is an immersive all-night party, brought to life by two brilliant illustrators & artists Molly Smith (installation) and Alice Bloomfield (video). Stay tuned for announcements, and rest assured that this is will be the party of your wildest plantasies.

Listings info: 21 Mar, 22:30

Contact: india@brainchildfestival.co.uk / @BrainchildFest

How To Save A Rock:

How To Save A Rock is a multi award-winning climate-change musical comedy about how to still have hope, powered by a bicycle cycled live on stage. For kids and adults alike. Our production is entirely carbon-neutral, meaning our lighting is powered by a bicycle cycled live on stage and by solar-power, our music created live from found objects, and our production materials recycled and recyclable. Pigfoot’s pressing and optimistic How To Save A Rock now heads to VAULT Festival 2020, as the recipient of the inaugural Staging Change VAULT Festival Award.

Listings info: 18 – 23 Feb, 18:00

Contact: production@pigfoottheatre.com / @pigfoottheatre

In My Lungs The Ocean Swells:

The ocean is at the centre of all life. But especially for Julie and Simon, who have grown up with salt seeping into their bloodstream, their childhoods tangled up with the Cornish Coast. And the sea has always been there, sustaining generations of their families. But as adulthood looms on the horizon, and climate and ecological crisis shake the globe, Julie begins to dream of a life lived inland among the bright lights of the city, and Simon’s nets keep coming back empty. Set amidst the decline of the British Fishing Industry, In My Lungs the Ocean Swells is a coming-of-age story, about holding on to who you think you are, in a world that is trying its best to shake that from your grasp.

Listings info: 04 – 09 Feb, 19:50

Contact: mayacamilleellis@gmail.com / @nmsuperheroes

small myth: work in progress:

Before, Katherine climbed Mount Everest. Now, her daughter dreams of droughts, tsunamis and wildfires. Katherine left her daughter to conquer a mountain. Her tales of nearly touching the stars became Kate’s bedtime stories. Higher, further, beyond. Now it’s time for Kate to climb her own mountain. A flight to Nepal will melt 8.7 square meters of Arctic ice, and she’s crying in the juice aisle about buying single use plastic. Blending movement, text & music, this work in progress examines a mother and daughter’s stories unravelling in the face of climate crisis, and what might blossom in their place.

Listings info: 18 Feb, 19 Feb, 20 Feb, 18:10

Contact: eveallin@hotmail.com / @EveAllin and @holbolrob

Omelette:

At London’s biggest arts festival in the Waterloo tunnels, a new play, Omelette, explores the growing mental health issue of ‘climate anxiety’ faced by a young couple. The creative team have committed to producing the show as sustainably as possible. Writer and actor Anna Spearpoint, who recently wrote the Theatre 503 Pantomime, said “the show is about the pressure to do the right thing all the time. A young couple, Mia and Mo, navigate their relationship as the climate crisis deepens. Should they keep protesting and go hungry, or give up and eat the goldfish?”. All set, props and costume are upcycled, recycled or second hand – and everything will be fully reusable or recyclable at the end of the show. The production team have also decided to avoid printing flyers or posters to promote the show, and will track their carbon footprints for the duration of the production.

Listings info: 18-23 Feb, 19:50

Contact: tpmb22@gmail.com / @omeletteplay

Paper Straws:

Sea levels are rising. Wildlife is becoming extinct. We’re drowning in plastic. But everyone is using Paper Straws, isn’t that something? Taking place in changing time frames, we follow the lives of three people brought up through the ‘life raft’ system – a scheme that re-homes children from places deemed unlivable because of the changing climate. Each now in their adult lives and with different relationships to the climate and how it’s changed who they are, they get a calling: it’s time to step up and do something. Part surreal comedy, part family drama set against the backdrop of our looming climate catastrophe, the characters are forced to decide ‘how far would you go to save the world’? 

Paper Straws is an experiment in sustainable theatre-making, from the rehearsal room to the stage. This performance is a Work In Progress.

Listings info: 21 – 23 Feb 18:20 & 23 Feb 15:20

Contact: shapedpear@gmail.com / @pearshapedplays

In Our Bones:

“We wander the sunset plains, like nomads awaiting the rains”. Three musicians and a painter imagine an astonishing and beautiful vision of hope in ecological crisis. Processed through formulae and machine, set free in imagination and music, Diniwe and the Hadedas explode a single poem by Don Paterson in a song-cycle that speaks of migration, landscape, roots, heritage and home. A multimedia collaboration collaging voices, song, poetry and paint, calling for action on the most pressing issue in the last ten million years. Profound, ridiculous and beautiful. “Tell us who we once were, we are not afraid of ourselves.”

Listings info: 03 Mar, 04 Mar, 05 Mar, 18:15

Contact: @diniweandthehadedas

Beastly:

A devastating rise in sea levels has flooded out communities worldwide…but we’re still alright. Unprecedented numbers of displaced people are taking to the seas in hope of finding a new home… which is fine, as long as it’s not ours. Forest fires are burning in Portugal… but that’s still far away enough, just about. It’s 2049 and the world is struggling with climate change. Humans are taking steps to stem the tide; making veganism law, fossil fuels illegal and eradicating single use plastics. But these efforts seem futile and, in London, people are disappearing. In a little corner of the city we find Hanna, whose new friends and their never-ending supply of meat seem too good to be true.

Listings info: 13 Mar, 14 Mar, 15 Mar, 19:20

Contact: francesevalea@gmail.com

Bourne (work in progress):

Bourne is a new play that explores the moral suburbia of climate crisis and the destabilising effect it might have on the most mundane of marriages. Ben and Nicole live in the UK. They have everything they want – a nice house, good jobs and a steady marriage. However, a chance encounter confronts them with an ominous question: is it selfish to start a family in a world that’s beset by climate crisis?

Listings info: 14 Mar, 15 Mar, 16:30

Contact: doubleyellowtheatre@gmail.com / @double__yellow

This Is How Water Loves:

This Is How Water Loves sits on the spectrum of theatre and performance, blurring the boundaries between task-based activities, dynamic choreography, delicate moments of humour and intimate sequences. We are passionate about ecology but paralysed by the guilt-ridden rhetoric. We are not eco-warriors. We are not anti-plastic activists. Instead we demonstrate a playful and curious approach to ecology and interconnectedness which embraces ambiguity. Ecology, pollution, embodiment, and environmental disaster are all feminist questions and are intertwined with each other. Hydrofeminism is an ecological concern, drawing attention to the potentials that arise from the blurring of distinctions between human and non-human. Coined by academic Astrida Neimanis, Hydrofeminism is transnational, trans-species and trans-corporal; emphasising a sense of collectivism and unity. Our aim is to embrace “the quivering tension of the in-between”. The all-female ensemble clean, dry, drink and drown, further complicating the pre-existing narratives surrounding ecology and climate change. Water is spat, mopped and boiled during the course of the performance.

Listings info: 14 Mar, 16:50

Contact: hysteriastays@outlook.com / @HysteriaStays

When The Sea Swallows Us Whole:

A queer love story glittering amidst the debris of erosion. In a town on the East coast, the tide whips away harder and faster every day.  Some people have just months – maybe even weeks – before they lose their homes to the ocean. Mila is trying to decipher why her mum has packed up and left while her best friend Doll entertains his obsession with wild cats. It’s bleak but fine, until the arrival of city girl Posy. Mila knows that now is not the time to play fast and loose with the will of God, which is absolutely fine because she is definitely not in love with the new girl. Stuck between the unforgiving sea and a community that runs on gossip and fear mongering, the play explores societal pressures on young people in the LGBTQ+ community and the heartbreak of living in a coastal town that is being torn apart by a climate emergency.

Listings info: 05 Feb, 07 Feb, 09 Feb, 18:00

Contact: vivienne.egan@gmail.com / @seaswallowsplay

VAULT Festival’s Commitment to an Environmentally Sustainable Industry:

VAULT Festival is committed to and actively working towards an environmentally sustainable industry. They understand that the event they manage has an environmental, social, and economic impact. Therefore, they’re committed to the development, implementation and continual improvement of a sustainable event management system to minimise any negative impacts of our operations. Therefore, they’ve made steps to further improve their commitment to sustainability and they have outlined below how you can do the same. 

What does VAULT Festival do?  

• They recycle their waste – their waste service company (First Mile) have a 0% landfill policy.
• They operate paperless tickets and encourage audiences not to print their tickets and use e-tickets instead.
• All of their print that they produce (i.e. posters, flyers, and brochures) is printed in an environmentally sustainable way from suppliers who declare their environmental policies. Either choosing a carbon positive printer, printing on paper that is FSC certified, uncoated, recyclable, or from recycled sources and printing with inks that are alcohol and VOC free.
• They utilise reusable cups at all their bars.
• They use biodegradable food packaging and cutlery at all their food outlets
• They don’t stock straws or stirrers at their bars (paper straws are available upon request for access requirements)
• They spec mostly LED Lighting rigs to reduce power consumption.
• They encourage festival attendees to travel by public transport, bicycle, or on foot. 
• They encourage companies to take on similar policies and approaches to your work.

What do they ask their Visiting Companies to do? 

• Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. Click here for more information.  
• All print materials (flyers and posters) should be printed in an environmentally sustainable way. Either choosing a carbon positive printer, printing on paper that is FSC certified, uncoated, recyclable, or from recycled sources and printing with inks that are alcohol and VOC free.

• They only allow 200 flyers and 10 posters per company to be distributed onsite by the VAULT Festival team.
• Encourage audiences to take a photo of a flyer instead of taking the flyer with them by including a ‘Photo Me’ or ‘Take a Photo’ logo. 
• Any distribution of printed materials onsite must be active ‘person-to-person engagement’ – no ‘flat surface flyering’ is permitted (leaving flyers on tables, shelves, bars throughout the venue). Any flyers left on tables or surfaces will be removed. 
• Include the relevant sustainability logo on your printed materials. Eg. If their flyers are printed on paper from sustainable forests, include the FSC logo. If their flyers can be recycled, include a ‘Recycle Me’ logo.
• Collect and recycle any unused flyers, posters, or leaflets when they are finished with them.
• Plan your get out and dispose of their waste responsibly; recycling, reusing, or repurposing wherever possible.
• Avoid single use plastics and materials.
• Any glitter / ticker tape used should be biodegradable.
• Travel in an eco-friendly way – share vans for transporting set where possible.

PRESS LISTING INFORMATION FOR THE FESTIVAL:

WHAT: VAULT Festival 2020 

WHERE: The Vaults, Leake Street, London SE1 7NN and other venues in Waterloo

OPENING HOURS: Daily. Please check specific events.

PHONE: 0208 050 9241 between 11am and 4pm, Monday – Friday

EMAIL: boxoffice@vaultfestival.com

WEBSITE: www.vaultfestival.com 

Link to IMAGES

PRESS CONTACTS

Kay Michael –  Co-Producer Extinction Underground and Co-Founder Culture Declares Emergency – kay.s.michael@googlemail.com – 07814919928

Lorenzo Belenguer – XR Arts & Culture Media coordinator – Lorenzo.Belenguer.XR@protonmail.com – 07731425077

Bec Boey, playwright and programmer of XR: Decolonise, Decarbonise – bec.boey@gmail.com – 07531044226

SPOKESPERSONS

Kay Michael –  Letters to the Earth and Culture Declares Emergency – kay.s.michael@googlemail.com – 07814919928

Tamsin Omond – Extinction Rebellion and author and actress at This Bitch can Heal – tamsinomond@gmail.com 

John Farndon – Extinction Rebellion Earth Ensemble – jfarndon@dircon.co.uk – 07792020165

NOTE TO EDITORS

ABOUT EXTINCTION REBELLION

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

What emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers |This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook.

ABOUT VAULT FESTIVAL

VAULT Festival is London and the UK’s biggest, boldest and wildest curated arts and entertainment festival, hosting hundreds of events each year across Waterloo. In 2019, VAULT Festival showcased 428 different shows from more than 2,000 artists, featuring the best and most exciting theatre, comedy, cabaret, immersive experiences, late night parties and more, and saw over 79,000 audience members come through its doors.

Mission Statement: 

• To fill and expand our cultural imaginations, and encourage everyone to fill their lives with creativity, adventure, and inspiration. 
• To create the most accessible platform for creators to innovate, collaborate, explore and achieve and through which audiences can discover the bravest and boldest artistry. 
• To fulfil equally the interests of our four participant groups; the visiting companies, the audience, our staff, and our collaborators. We will create the opportunity of most value for all four groups and champion their involvement. 
• To create an ever-improving platform and industry where artists, audiences, and staff are respected, supported and championed in a fully inclusive, supportive, and diverse community.

……………………………

ABOUT CULTURE DECLARES EMERGENCY

Culture Declares Emergency is a growing global community of arts and culture champions declaring a climate and ecological emergency, launched in April 2019. The crisis compels us to imagine new possibilities and to propose systemic change. Over 760 individuals and organisations have declared to this date – now including VAULT Festival.

www.culturedeclaress.org / @CultureDeclares / @CultureDeclares

ABOUT MUSIC DECLARES EMERGENCY

Music Declares Emergency (MDE) is a group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations. We believe that music, musicians and music businesses, through their unique cultural and economic power, can lead the way in demanding the systemic changes required to secure all life on earth. We call on all those within the industry to join us in declaring a climate emergency and to work towards making the cultural and operational changes necessary to contribute towards a carbon neutral future.

MDE represents all areas of the music industry irrespective of genre, role, gender, race or sexuality and is led by individuals united by a deep concern for the climate and ecological emergency we currently face. MDE is an independent group that includes individuals who have been directly inspired by, or involved in, Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Culture Declares Emergency, as well as members of leading music and environmental charity, Julie’s Bicycle and other music industry professionals. MDE is a democratically led organisation run by volunteers. Anyone in the industry can get involved.

http://www.musicdeclares.net / @musicdeclareswww.musicdeclares.net / @musicdeclares

ABOUT RESTLESS DEVELOPMENT 

Restless Development trains and supports young people around the world who are ending poverty, inequality, and fighting injustice. Together with VAULT Festival they want to inspire festival goers to demand change for people and for the planet. The Time For Change space will feature installations and activations around actively changing the world we live in, for the better. There will also be Restless Development Q&As and Special Guest Events featured in our programme (more info coming soon).

http://www.restlessdevelopment.org / @RestlessDev 

ABOUT STAGING CHANGE

Staging Change is an artist-led organisation which engages theatre makers, venues and arts organisations, and supports them to respond to the climate crisis. They are working with VAULT Festival to offer resources and workshops for festival participants about making shows while being environmentally sustainable. They are also working with climate change design duo Adapt to create an interactive installation, which will be presented at the festival from the 17th February until the 22nd March.

www.stagingchange.com / @stagingchange 

The post Extinction Rebellion joins VAULT Festival as it declares a Climate & Ecological Emergency with a packed programme of climate-related shows appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/23/extinction-rebellion-joins-vault-festival-as-it-declares-a-climate-ecological-emergency-with-a-packed-programme-of-climate-related-shows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extinction-rebellion-joins-vault-festival-as-it-declares-a-climate-ecological-emergency-with-a-packed-programme-of-climate-related-shows

23 January 2020 – ‘Billionaires, bankers and bureaucrats converged on the Swiss town of Davos to find a way to create a sustainable global economy. But is a capitalist-focused cabal the best venue for fighting the climate crisis? via The Newsmakers

The post Dr. Rupert Read | World Economic Forum 2020 appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/23/dr-rupert-read-world-economic-forum-2020/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dr-rupert-read-world-economic-forum-2020

Labour’s urgent question to security minister Brandon Lewis on Extinction Rebellion being named as an extremist group. It comes after counter-terrorism police in south-east England admitted an “error of judgement” after listing the climate group as an “extreme ideology”.

The post UK Parliament | Urgent Question: Prevent Programme appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/22/uk-parliament-urgent-question-prevent-programme/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uk-parliament-urgent-question-prevent-programme

Email: press@risingup.org.uk | Phone: 07979971209 | 07482729729 Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Media Assets | New – Crowdfund the #ElectionRebellion! #ExtinctionRebellion #UpgradeDemocracy #BeyondPolitics

• Friday 24 January sees the launch of Climate Assembly UK – a citizens’ assembly commissioned by six parliamentary select committees.
• This assembly does not meet XR’s Third Demand for the government to create and be led by a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.
• Climate Assembly UK can be both completely ignored by government and is hamstrung by their inadequate 2050 net emissions target, with no scope for participants to adjust this.
• Extinction Rebellion nevertheless supports the deliberative process of the citizens’ assembly itself and will not interfere in its smooth running. 
• Climate Assembly UK is working under considerable constraints but it is a small step in the right direction.

Climate Assembly UK is a citizen’s assembly commissioned by six parliamentary committees to consider how the UK should meet its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [1] The assembly is set to take place in Birmingham, starting on 24 January 2020. It will run over four long weekends (24-26 Jan, 7-9 Feb, 28 Feb-1 March, 20- 22 March) with 110 participants, representative of the UK population in terms of age, gender, education, ethnicity, region, whether they live in an urban or rural area, and their attitudes to climate change. The results of the assembly will be published at the end of April 2020, and the organisers hope that the Select Committees will launch inquiries based on the results. [2]

Extinction Rebellion welcomes the decision by these six parliamentary committees to further explore forms of deliberative democracy. However, Climate Assembly does not meet our Third Demand that the government create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice. [3] Climate Assembly UK is hamstrung by the following issues: 

The Government’s Inadequate 2050 Target

It is the Select Committees’ job to scrutinise the work of the Government. As they are commissioning the assembly, this means that by default the assembly will look at decarbonising by 2050, because that is current government policy. However, this timeframe does not align with the scientific evidence that only a rapid decarbonisation of our economy will mitigate ecological and societal collapse. 2050 gives us a 50/50 chance of keeping warming under 1.5 degrees. We are only just beginning to experience what one degree feels like. The human race deserves better odds than this.

No Government Buy-In

Climate Assembly UK was not commissioned by the government but by backbenchers from the previous Parliament, so the government can completely ignore its outcomes. Indeed, the government is yet to acknowledge Climate Assembly UK. As the composition of the Select Committees has changed following the recent general election, there is also no guarantee that they will take the recommendations of Climate Assembly UK forward in the form of an inquiry, although we hope they will.

Too Domestic in focus, with little consideration of our Global Responsibilities

Furthermore, there are no plans to discuss biodiversity, global justice or the extinction of species. The net-zero target Climate Assembly UK will work towards does not account for emissions from aviation or trade. There is no consideration for the UK’s international emissions, so we can continue to outsource a significant proportion of our emissions to other countries. The overall focus of the assembly is on changes on the individual level and will not adequately address top-level policies, such as regulations for industry, infrastructure and international supply chains. The organisers have said that participants will consider how these translate into societal change. But we’re concerned that focusing on individual behaviour change can distract us from the system changes so urgently needed. 

Despite its shortcomings, Extinction Rebellion supports the deliberative process of the citizens’ assembly itself and will not interfere in its smooth running. While it does not meet our Third Demand, this assembly is an opportunity to showcase deliberative democracy to the UK public and pave the way for a more ambitious Citizens’ Assembly commissioned by Government. It is therefore important that the wider population sees citizens’ assemblies as legitimate. From information currently available, Climate Assembly UK appears to a robust process. It has been organised independently of all interest groups. Participants have been selected randomly across a range of criteria. The assembly will be livestreamed and all materials made available online. In addition, assembly members are reimbursed for their time, travel and childcare expenses. The advisory and academic panels overseeing the assembly’s design and process contain a broad range of stakeholders from across the political spectrum. The expert speakers presenting have yet to be announced. 

As a supporter of deliberative democracy, Extinction Rebellion understands how important it is that these events are free from outside influence. Participants have the right to remain anonymous and their well-being is paramount.

We look forward to seeing the developments around Climate Assembly UK, and hope the government will take note and commission its own assembly; one that truly empowers participants to decide on the action needed to address the climate and ecological emergency.

Notes to Editors

[1] Six Parliamentary Select Committees commissioned Climate Assembly UK: Business, Energy and Industrial Energy Committee; Environmental Audit Committee; Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee; Science and Technology Committee; Transport Committee; Treasury Committee. Crucially, this doesn’t include the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

[2] More information on Climate Assembly UK can be found on their website.

[3] Extinction Rebellion’s Three Demands:

• Tell the Truth – Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
• Act Now – Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
• Beyond Politics – Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

About Extinction Rebellion

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

About Citizens’ Assemblies

A citizens’ assembly brings together ordinary people from all walks of life to learn about and address complex issues. They are a method to help come to a consensus on difficult, long-term issues that ordinary politics cannot resolve. It functions as a supplement to existing political systems and is being successfully used all over the world.

For it to have any weight, the citizens’ assembly on climate and ecological justice would need to be commissioned by the government, with upfront commitment to its recommendations. 

The assembly would not be run or organised by Extinction Rebellion in any way, but by an independent organisation that specialises in organising and facilitating deliberative democratic processes. 

Participants have been randomly selected from across the UK and broadly represent our country in terms of age, gender, education, ethnicity, region. They will learn from experts and stakeholders and deliberate in small groups. In the case of climate and ecological justice, members will learn about the climate and ecological emergency to allow them to determine how to address it.

More about Citizens’ Assemblies.

Get involved

• In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
• Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
• Find your local group.
• Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
• And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.

About Rising Up!

Extinction Rebellion emerged from the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.

The post Extinction Rebellion welcomes Climate Assembly UK, but mourns its lack of urgency and agency. appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/22/extinction-rebellion-welcomes-climate-assembly-uk-but-mourns-its-lack-of-urgency-and-agency/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extinction-rebellion-welcomes-climate-assembly-uk-but-mourns-its-lack-of-urgency-and-agency

Dear rebels,

Happy new year (as happy as starting another year in a climate crisis can be ..) and welcome to our first UK newsletter of 2020!

The start of a new year and a new decade brings with it a momentous opportunity to start on a new journey towards a brighter future where we live in balance with nature. 2020 with the COP planned on our home turf this November, must be the year that we win. 

If you want to help define how we’ll make that change happen, contribute to the strategy surveys that have been sent to your local group coordinator. 

Photo: Viv Collis

Rebels, across the UK didn’t waste any precious time to kickstart the year in true rebellious spirit. Dancing away the old and bringing in the new with good tunes and even better moves in Cornwall, transforming a BP gas station into an art exhibition, delaying HS2 works and scaling a gas rig in Scottish waters.

Yet, the Government and the police can’t seem to shake off their old habits of responding to peaceful protest with disproportionate intimidation, as the police erroneously included XR, along with other non violent environmental groups, in its anti-radicalisation scheme. An NHS nurse, of over 30 years service, shares her personal account and why we can’t be silenced by fear.

If you’d like to help, please check out our guide and learn more about XR.

To connect to rebels in your local area, get in touch with your nearest XR group. If there’s no active group near you, you can start your own! 

If you’d like to see previous newsletter issues, you can find them here.

This Rebellion needs your support. Anything you can give is appreciated.

Contents

• Announcements
• Stories of the week
• XR content
• Humans of XR

Announcements

Action highlights – show us your best

What was the most beautiful, disruptive, innovative or effective action you were a part of last year? We are putting together a showreel of the best actions so far and we need your input! 

What have you organised in your local group that you can share? Send a photo, 100 words about how you created it, and links to any media coverage to xractions@protonmail.com

– they’ll be showcased together soon.

Tune in to Rebel Radio

Rebel Radio continues into 2020 with bi-weekly shows every Tuesday and Friday at 11am with news from the ongoing climate and ecological emergency and a series of shows from Podcast Live, Humans of XR, Our Positive Future, the Emergency Panel, XR Youth and a special investigation into fossil fuel subsidies and disinformation. 

Follow @xr_rebelradio on Twitter for updates and to listen back to previous shows visit mixcloud.com/XR_RebelRadio/

Got a story to share? Email Rebel Radio on xrrebelradio@gmail.com

Taking Power at the Local Level

Want to make changes in your community to stop the climate and ecological crisis?

Find out how you can build power locally in radical ways, with tools on reclaiming local politics, here. With 800 elections in May 2020 and more to come in 2021, the time is now. 

X-Art looking for spaces

Rebel artists are looking for spaces to paint climate crisis themed murals.

If you or anyone you know has a space (end of a terrace house, walls of businesses, garage doors, etc.), please contact matt.s-xr@protonmail.com to get your own local, beautiful, and free XR mural!

We have talented artists like Dale Grimshaw, Jane Mutiny and many more ready to paint away.

Or if you would like to canvas your local area, we have letters you can hand out. 

Upcoming

26-28 Feb | We Are the Dead Canaries | Durham

Bradley Opencast – Pont Valley, County Durham

As fires scorch the Earth, the UK continues to extract and burn fossil fuels. Durham County Council have declared a Climate Emergency, and yet, in the beginning of March they will vote to approve the expansion of an open-cast mine. 

Known as ‘strip-mining’, this form of extraction is unrivalled in its ecological destruction, and will leave a gaping hole in the green ‘Roof of England’. And all this for coal: by far the most damaging fossil fuel in terms of CO2 and air quality.

People all over the county have joined in opposition to the project, but they’re up against powerful interests. Together, we can stop this madness!

Each Wednesday throughout February we will carry out a series of pressure building actions, culminating in a mass disruptive action on the 26th-28th.

Rebels from all over the UK are warmly invited to join us and prove that change is possible. Join the Telegram Chat.

28 JAN | 6:30 pm | Panel Discussion – Climate Justice: Grassroots Activism | The Curtain, Shoreditch

Want to know what you can do in your community to fight the climate crisis?

Grassroots Activism is in the spotlight at The Curtain (Shoreditch) on Tuesday the 28^th where our panel will glean valuable insight into the fight for climate justice.

The panellists are: Asad Rehman (War on Want), Kieran Kirkwood (Wretched of the Earth), Fope Olaleye (NUS Black Students Officer) and Aurora Hacker (UK Student Climate Network).

Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Stories of the week

Extremism Rebellion?

10 & 17 JAN | UK

A visual guide produced by police to help teachers, medics, and civil servants spot and report potential terrorists has included Extinction Rebellion and its symbol.

The guide, uncovered by the Guardian newspaper and dated June of last year, put Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and other peaceful environmental movements alongside violent neo-Nazi and jihadist groups. 

It is used as part of Prevent, an anti-radicalisation scheme encouraging public sector workers to report people to counterterrorist police. Extinction Rebellion UK called our inclusion in the guide “Crude. Divisive. Dangerous.”

The ramifications of putting XR alongside violent far-right and terrorist organisations is already being felt by rebels who work within the public sector. A senior NHS nurse with a thirty year unblemished record was recently told by HR that she would be referred to Prevent after she was arrested during the October rebellion. 

Read her personal account here.

Doctors, teachers and midwives around the country who are involved with XR are now being placed in similar positions, forced to choose between their careers and their right to peacefully protest the climate and ecological crisis. 

Local XR groups are planning a series of solidarity actions to show that rebels will not be silenced or intimidated.

When the Guardian uncovered a regional police document earlier last week that listed XR alongside extremist groups, the decision was defended by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary. Police however eventually claimed it was a local “error of judgement” and that the document would be recalled. 

The emergence of this new visual guide, published throughout England, along with testimonies this newsletter has recieved from rebels saying they have been threatened with referal to Prevent, shows that XR’s inclusion is actually national counter terrorism policy.

The police have claimed that not all the signs and symbols in the guide are of counter terrorism interest, but within the guide a disclaimer only appears next to certain religious and historical symbols adopted by white supremacists. The XR symbol has no such disclaimer.

Photo: james-liu.format.com 

There is no legal definition of what “extremism” or “domestic extremism” means, and controversy over its loose usage led the Home Office to stop using the term last year. The police however still use the classification as a means to justifying intensive surveillance. 

This unjustified inclusion, along with other peaceful climate movements, falls within the same trend as the unlawful London wide ban imposed in October, under section 14, where authorities act in full disregard of civil liberties in rash attempts to maintain the status quo. 

But if October taught us one thing, it is that rebels won’t be silenced by fear.

Rig Rebels Boldly Go

6 – 16 JAN | Dundee & Aberdeen, Scotland

Rebels from XR Scotland upped the action ante this month by occupying a Shell gas rig parked in Dundee Harbour.

Three brave rebels, all women, climbed aboard the Valaris 122 rig to stop its imminent journey to oil fields in the North Sea. 

The Scottish government claims to be a world leader in tackling climate change, yet is still committed to long-term extraction of fossil fuels from the region.

After five hours of occupation, deteriorating weather conditions forced the rebels to climb down.

They were arrested along with three other rebels who had attempted to scale another leg of the rig earlier in the day.

Industry body Oil and Gas UK condemned the action as a “dangerous and short-sighted stunt”.

An XR Scotland spokesperson replied: “Unlike Oil & Gas UK, we knew when it was sensible to stop. What is really lacking in foresight and dangerous is continuing to drill, extract, burn and explore for ever more fossil fuels.”

Scottish rebels also blockaded Shell’s Aberdeen headquarters on Thursday. Thirty protestors managed to obstruct all entrances to the building for thirteen hours! They brought along the Red Brigade and a purple boat for support.

Twenty companies alone are responsible for a third of the world’s carbon emissions, and Shell is even in the top ten of global emitters.

Rather than reducing extraction of oil and gas reserves, companies like Shell and ExxonMobile are set to ramp them up. Both companies are projected to increase production by more than 35% over the next decade, a sharper rise than during the previous one.

For more details on these brave actions, direct from the rig rebels’ mouths, you can watch this video and read this article and then this one.

Cambridge Turns BP Garage into XR Gallery 

18 JAN | Cambridge 

Cambridge rebels brought some colour to the city on Saturday when they took over a BP petrol station near the centre of town, turning it into an all-inclusive exhibition and event space. 

The action began around 9am and lasted until well after nightfall. The sunny day saw everything from poetry readings to rebel art exhibits, music, dance, and even a bathtub performance. 

One rebel posted: ‘Cambridge XR in full swing Saturday afternoon. BP garage the focus of attention. I am very touched by all there, all with an evident sense of care and unity. I particularly enjoyed the passing around of biscuits, soup and teas, hand warmers with such tenderness.’

XR art ‘My Village School in the Next 50 Years’ by Jane and Idit on the BP in Cambridge. 

Picture: Mike Scialom

However, there was some aggression from motorists which resulted in one rebel being knocked to the ground and another reporting a non-serious injury from a car that attempted to push through the barricade. Rebels used their resilience and training to de-escalate the situation and eventually the spirit of unity won the day. 

The action was part of Rebel for Justice – a comprehensive campaign to shut down the city-centre with a week-long road-block in February if the demands are not met. Including Hive Activity: A pressure building operation of twice-weekly swarming in Cambridge in the lead up to Rebel for Justice. 

Rebel for Justice seeks to highlight the link between social justice and climate justice. 

As stated on the XR Cambridge website: ‘Our exploitation of the natural world goes hand in hand with our exploitation of communities around the globe and our history of colonialism and capitalism (…) Today, it is the poorest and most marginalised people in the world who are bearing the brunt of climate catastrophe – which results largely from the actions of the most wealthy’

Clearly Cambridge rebels aren’t afraid to put their bodies on the line for the cause they believe in. This essential change must come through any means necessary, be that road-blocks or art-exhibits. There is nothing that can stop these fierce and loving rebels in their selfless pursuit of justice.

Discobedience-on-Sea 

 1 JAN | St Ives, Cornwall

St Ives and West Cornwall rebels brought in the new year with some spectacular Disco-bedience. 

About 60 rebels danced and enacted die-ins in six locations around the town, astonishing and engaging both visitors and locals, many still recovering from the New Year’s Eve fireworks and fancy dress celebrations the night before. 

Leaflets were handed out and rebels mingled with onlookers to inform people about the climate emergency and how to join Extinction Rebellion.

Photo: Gavan Goulder

St Ives rebel Ann Nicol told the local press: “Only system change at the level of government is going to enable our younger generation to stay alive and that’s why we danced to the Bee Gees’ ‘Staying Alive’. It is an anthem of the growing Disco-bedience movement which is finding creative ways to educate people about the climate crisis and call for transformative government action.”

One of the locations was The Three Ferrets, a well-known town pub, where early afternoon regulars were bemused by the sudden noisy, colourful invasion. Rebels performed their synchronised moves around the pool table and right up to the bar. The regulars carried on drinking unphased when the rebels finished by all lying down ‘dead’ on the (smelly) floor.

Photo: Gavan Goulder

Stopping HS2 in its tracks

XR rebels supported the StopHS2 activists to prevent contractors from working on key rural construction sites in the Denham area which would destroy precious woodlands and wildlife habitats. The HS2 project is being hailed by the state and corporate sponsors as a vital part of the UK carbon reduction strategy. The reality is far from it, read more on the failed case for HS2 here.

If HS2 is not stopped, it will: destroy over 100 ancient woodlands, 693 wildlife sites, be a massive source of carbon emissions for the next 120 years, serve the wealthy, yet drain over £100 billion of taxpayers contributions, link up aviation expansion plans across the country, and poison an aquifer which provides 3.2 million with water.​

Joe Rukin of StopHS2 said: “This mass action was a greater success than we ever planned for. Just the threat of having hundreds of people coming to stop HS2 cut down trees on Boris Johnson’s doorstep was enough for HS2 to cancel the planned closure of Harvil Road.”

Rebels gave vital support to the StopHS2 group, who have camped at the site for over two years to stop this destruction of our natural world.

The proposed sites will house a large electrical substation that is key to the HS2 project. XR responded to the callout from StopHS2 with rebels establishing camp and locking on in the field, that is due to be cleared for the substation.

Brave rebel still holding site on Tuesday. Photo: Josephine

Another site was retaken earlier on Saturday afternoon with rebels taking away a fence that was illegally blocking a public footpath. This woodland site had been held by rebels in the previous week with several rebels taking to the trees to block felling works. They had been fenced in to restrict access, food and water supplies to the rebels.

XR rebels took to the trees to stop felling operations. Photo:Barry Blizzard This weekend’s HS2 block was a HUGE SUCCESS! But it’s not over yet. Support from rebels and Affinity Groups is needed again for the weekend of Jan 31 – Feb 3​, sign up for a shift​.  Join us to stop an environmental catastrophe​​ occurring on our own doorstep.​

XR content

• A children’s book on Polly Higgins: The Earth’s Lawyer from our XR Families
• Hourglass launches Comix rebel and funny pages
• Met Office confirms that the 2010s were the warmest decade on record globally and the second warmest for the UK (after the 00s)
• BBC announce ‘year-long series of special programming and coverage on climate change’ 
• Encouraging set of recommendations from Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury
• ‘The Turning Point’ – compelling new animated short from Steve Cutts, imagining a role reversal in the extinction crisis
• Rupert Read discusses XR and ‘the end of the world’ on BBC R3
• Natural History Museum declare a Planetary Emergency

Humans of XR

Tarek, at the COP25 in Madrid

“I was born in Berlin and lived there for nine years. Then I moved to Rügen, it’s a little island on top of Germany. I helped organize a demonstration there when I was 11! 

My mum saw FFF in the newspaper and she joked like ‘yeah we could do a demonstration here’ and I found it to be a very, very good idea. 

I had a partner to help me organize things. We printed leaflets. My partner knew the writer of the newspaper so we had an article. We had a WhatsApp group where everybody could join and we could talk about what we were gonna do. 

The march has many more people than we expected. We were 150 people; it was very cool.

On Rügen, the whole place was in flames because it was so dry. It was the first time in 30 years and seven fields were alight in one year. No houses were affected, that was good. But yeah, it was very crazy, we drove past and whole fields were in flames.

The politicians are being too slow. But I also want them to think before they do things – it’s not intelligent to throw money around and then in 50 years not be able to do anything because the world will be nothing anymore.”

We are receiving amazing human stories and we want to know yours. To read more – or to write your own – join our Facebook group.

Thank you

Thank you for reading. There’s so much exciting stuff going on in the movement that we barely have time to write this sign-off. Keep up the good work! If you have any questions or queries, please get in touch at xr-uknewsletter@protonmail.com. 

As we enter this crucial phase in human history, our Rebellion will need money to make sure our message is heard. Anything you can give is appreciated. 

The post UK Newsletter 7: Read at your own risk appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/22/uk-newsletter-7-read-at-your-own-risk/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uk-newsletter-7-read-at-your-own-risk

‘I’ve been told telling people about the climate crisis is a very dangerous thing to do’ Greta Thunberg speaks at Davos 2020.

The post Greta Thunberg | Averting a Climate Apocalypse | Davos 2020 appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/21/greta-thunberg-averting-a-climate-apocalypse-davos-2020/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=greta-thunberg-averting-a-climate-apocalypse-davos-2020

Email: press@risingup.org.uk
Phone:  07561098449 / 07479234522 / 07802865819 / 07482729729
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#ExtinctionRebellion #ActNow #TellTheTruth

This news from Rolling Stone is devastating. We thank them for their work in uncovering this story that the public and particularly workers in the oil and gas industry need to know. [1]

If this is happening in the UK, then it shows that the oil and gas industry doesn’t care about the planet, our children or even its own workers. 

And it shows, more than ever, that fossil fuels belong in the ground. We need an urgent investigation right now into what is going on in the North Sea as well as wherever oil and gas extraction is happening – and all along their supply chains – around the world. [2]

Next Thursday, Extinction Rebellion will be hosting a briefing call about the Rolling Stone story with the author, Justin Nobel, and radiation expert, Ian Fairlie. [3]

Please contact the following experts to find out about radiation exposure in the UK oil and gas industry:

Dr Ian Fairlie

An independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment.

02083411239

ianfairlie@gmail.com

And 

Professor Andrew Watterson 

Faculty of Health Science and Sport, Stirling University 

07563 195904

a.e.watterson@stir.ac.uk 

Notes for editors:

[1] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/

[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-39379405

[3] Event details to follow: Scheduled for 6pm (GMT), 30th January

The post Extinction Rebellion UK’s response to Rolling Stone story on radiation in the oil and gas industry appeared first on Extinction Rebellion.

Source: https://rebellion.earth/2020/01/21/extinction-rebellion-uks-response-to-rolling-stone-story-on-radiation-in-the-oil-and-gas-industry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extinction-rebellion-uks-response-to-rolling-stone-story-on-radiation-in-the-oil-and-gas-industry

Email: press@risingup.org.uk
Phone:  +447459055152 / +447969083371 / +447938395439
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#ExtinctionRebellion #ActNow #Tellthetruth #SaveColneValley #StopHS2 #StopEcocide

• Hundreds of activists expected to non-violently prevent HS2 tree-felling operation in the Colne Valley this weekend
• HS2 cancels plans for road closure and claims it has changed location of tree-felling to out-fox protesters
• Tree protectors remain undeterred and determined to defend the Lungs of London, home to  2,400 species of flora and fauna
• This comes amidst ongoing recent calls for the cancellation of HS2 from the Deputy Chair of its Review Board and from the Wildlife Trusts and environment organisations
• Protesters urge people to join them to defend the trees and what remains of Great Britain’s natural heritage

Extinction Rebellion activists have begun to mass in the Colne Valley, to prevent the felling of woodland planned by HS2 this weekend. The Rebels join longstanding activists from StopHS2 and Save Colne Valley to oppose the proposed operation. Hundreds of tree protectors are expected over the weekend, vowing to stop the trees from being chopped down, while adhering strictly to peaceful, non-violent principles and tactics.

Overnight an advance party of Rebels established a base camp from which to welcome more activists as they arrive. A series of trainings in subjects such as non-violent direct action, de-escalation and tree climbing are also being run out of the camp.

HS2 has abandoned its plans to close the Harvil Road after protestors promised to block and camp in the road, to prevent access to tree felling equipment and vehicles. The Chiltern railway line is still being closed for the weekend however, to facilitate tree felling along the track, which the tree defenders have vowed to block. [1] 

HS2 also reportedly stated last night that it will instead be felling trees around nearby Ruislip, in an apparent move to make it harder for protestors to disrupt their activities. The activists have countered however that they are undeterred and will thwart HS2’s attempts to chop down the trees, wherever these may take place. They are confident of success, having previously done so in April 2019, with significantly lower numbers. [2]

The Colne Valley Park is an important area for biodiversity, especially the string of wetland habitats running down its centre. It has been called Our Amazon, the Lungs of London. It is home to 100 acres of ancient woodland, 60 acres of wetland, three nature reserves, a site of Special Scientific Interest and over 2,400 species of flora and fauna, including otters, water voles, eels, glow worms and 120 species of birds, amongst them barn owls, tawny owls, little owls, kestrels, kites, buzzards, sparrowhawk and peregrines. All of these are under threat. 

Some 4,000 trees have already been chopped down and a further 28,000 trees are marked for felling. In addition, HS2 works would risk polluting the drinking water of 3.2 million people to the west of London, with its plans to drill through a chalk aquifer on the site.[3]

Along its entire length, HS2 will destroy or damage 693 Classified Local Wildlife Sites, 33 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and 18 Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves. Some have already been damaged, despite the project still being under review. [4] It will remain a net carbon contributor 120 years into the future and is completely incompatible with our government’s net zero emissions target. [5] Its spiralling cost has been estimated at more than £115 billion of taxpayers money – money which would be better spent improving existing infrastructure, and on local services and projects. 

The deputy chair of the Oakervee Review, the review into the future of HS2, Lord Berkeley, resigned, saying he cannot support its recommendations or conclusions and published an alternate report in early January 2020 concluding that “HS2 is the wrong and expensive solution” recommending to cancel most of HS2 and upgrade existing infrastructure  [6]

Earlier this week, the Wildlife Trusts published a new report [7] revealing that the environmental damage of HS2 will be far worse than expected, urging the government to stop and rethink the project as it will “damage the very ecosystems that provide a natural solution to the climate emergency”. 

The Harvil Road Wildlife Protection camp has been monitoring, highlighting and stalling HS2 destruction since October 2017. Over the past fortnight, HS2 bailiffs have evicted parts of the camp, without a High Court eviction notice. Eviction efforts are ongoing, which activists claim are unlawful. [8] HS2 claim they can evict the camp using Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers, despite protesters having legal occupation of the land under the Criminal Law Act, and have not afforded protesters the opportunity to legally contest the eviction. 

There are now effectively two camps, one along the roadside on Harvil Road and one in nearby woodland. HS2 bailiffs have entirely fenced the woodland camp in and are blocking all routes in and out, effectively denying access to and from the camp. This is despite protesters being legally entitled to occupy the land, which is council owned and not covered by HS2’s Compulsory Purchase Order. Three people have been arrested this week and appeared in court charged with public nuisance, for defending the woodland camp. Another was hospitalised with hypothermia after spending three days in a tree, during which he was denied access to water, food, and blankets.

Activists are calling for more people to come and protect the trees this weekend, for as long as they can spare, and to help defend the site on an ongoing basis.

Sarah Green, of Save Colne Valley, who runs narrow boat tours through the nature reserves, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many people come to Colne Valley to shine a light on this travesty of justice. HS2 is a horrendous project that will destroy our nature reserves. It destroys my job.  It’s evicting local businesses, farmers, the local outdoor activity centre, and people are being evicted from their family homes, even though the project is still under review. Our fresh air, water supply, our whole lives are being disrupted, for no benefit. HS2 is driving climate change, in this Climate and Ecological Emergency, we must stop HS2 and stop its destruction of nature.”

Joe Rukin, Campaign Manager of Stop HS2, said: “What we are seeing this weekend at Colne Valley is hundreds of people who have not fallen for the spin from HS2 Ltd and its vested interest corporate lobbyists, who are trying to greenwash this white elephant. HS2 has been designed from the outset to be as environmentally damaging as possible, with their own official forecasts saying the project would still be contributing carbon over 120 years in the future.

“What Boris Johnson has to ask himself is: does he want 10 or 20 years of direct action like this on his doorstep and the rest of the route, or does he want to invest in sustainable local public transport projects all across the country which would deliver more benefits to more people more quickly, for less money.”

Notes to editors

• The Facebook event for this weekend’s camp can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2512814658981475/
• Watch the ‘HS2 in 1 minute’ film at HS2rebellion.org. 
• Stop HS2 is the national grassroots campaign against HS2, the proposed new High Speed Two railway: http://stophs2.org/
• Save Colne Valley is the campaign to save Colne Valley from HS2 https://www.facebook.com/savecolnevalley/
• The wildlife protectors at Colne Valley would be grateful for support to continue their work:  https://chuffed.org/project/Standforthetrees 
• Make your pledge to Stand For The Trees https://standforthetrees.org/

[1] HS2 Works Notification: Weekend closure of Harvil Road, planned for 17 January to 20 January 2020 postponed

[2] Extinction Rebellion activists claim victory in HS2 tree protest

[3] The Colne Valley chalk aquifer supplies over 1billion litres of water to 3.2m Londoners every day. Under the HS2 plans to drill pile holes deep into the chalk ground there is a high risk of this water supply becoming contaminated by waste from a special landfill site located nearby. This risk was highlighted by Affinity Water, one of London’s main suppliers who draws 60% of its water from the source, in a report to the House of Commons seven years ago.

[4] The Oakervee review was set up to review HS2 in August. In November a leaked draft copy of the HS2 Oakervee Review revealed the project may go ahead despite soaring costs. The deputy chair of the Review, Lord Berkeley, resigned, saying he cannot support its recommendations or conclusions and published an alternate report in early January 2020 concluding that “HS2 is the wrong and expensive solution”, with Berkeley telling reporters that HS2 costs are “out of control”, and that money would be better spent improving infrastructure in the north more details here. There is still no indication when the results of this review will be published.

[5] HS2s own analysis projects that it would still have a carbon footprint of 315k tonnes after 120 years and that’s not including construction, just operation. http://stophs2.org/facts

[6] Spiralling costs – HS2 is estimated to cost the UK taxpayer more than £100 billion.  Lord Berkely has said costs would be £107.92billion – this is before the cost of the trains is added. The cost of rolling stock would add another £7.9 bn. and take the total to approximately £115.8 bn. ( A Review of High Speed 2 by Lord Berkely). The Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission Sir John Armitt estimates that it’s going to cost £43bn to connect HS2 to local transport networks (https://www.theengineer.co.uk/poll-post-election-future-hs2), taking estimates to more than £158 Billion. 

[7] https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/hs2 http://stophs2.org/news/19015-wildlife-trusts-show-environmental-damage-hs2-worse-expected?fbclid=IwAR3GcfF3rLgPn-4zj6ck5TScilofcOtzwONWOk_ujA2l14ygYCdACgcw4Kk

[8] HS2 Ltd Ignore Criminal Law Act Protections to Partly Evict Harvil Road Camp Without Eviction Order http://stophs2.org/news/18988-hs2-attempting-eviction-harvil-road-eviction-order

The Harvil Road Wildlife Protection Camp has been on site since October 2017, defending the land and water, and repeatedly raising concerns over the impact of HS2 works in the courts.  Some 4,000 trees have been destroyed worsening air quality in London and driving climate breakdown. Future HS2 plans in Colne Valley are to clear the wetland nature reserves and construct power stations, access roads, worksites and to drive hundreds of deep piles into the chalk aquifer across the valley for footings for a 3.4km viaduct.

HS2 Ltd has attempted to act to mitigate for wildlife loss, and failed. Trees planted in 2018 to replace woodland that has been lost were allowed to die, and HS2 said this was because watering them was too expensive.  HS2 Ltd had not yet replanted them

About Extinction Rebellion

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

What Emergency? | Extinction Rebellion in Numbers |This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook 

Get involved

• In the UK, come to one of our events, join the Rebellion Network and let us know how you can help out.
• Start a group where you are: in the UK or around the world.
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• Check out the International XR website, with links to the French, German, Italian and UK websites.
• And while your time and energy are of most importance, if you are financially able to donate money, see our crowdfunder.

About Rising Up!

Extinction Rebellion emerged from the Rising Up! network, which promotes a fundamental change of our political and economic system to one which maximises well-being and minimises harm. Change needs to be nurtured in a culture of reverence, gratitude and inclusion while the tools of civil disobedience and direct action are used to express our collective power.

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