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Extinction Rebellion

From The Times

At first glance, Extinction Rebellion look hysterical. They implore the government to do everything it can to make the country carbon-neutral by 2025, an effort that would involve a mobilisation of people and resources larger than any since the Second World War. It would require the state to ration air travel, replace every gas boiler in the land, and borrow vast sums to invest in wind and solar power as well as technologies to capture what remaining carbon we would produce.

It seems hysterical because it is totally out of whack with the tenor of our national debate on climate change. It is a demand of the sort that would be merited by an immediate and existential threat — Nazi invasion, say — but not by a threat so distant and vague as climate change, which we have come to assume can be addressed by incremental measures, like a ban on the sale of petrol cars in 20 years’ time. But the truth is that the threat of climate change is neither distant nor vague, and it is existential.

At current rates of global emissions, we are on course for between four and five degrees of warming by 2100. That means that within the lifetime of today’s children, Spain could become a desert and the Alps a brown and snowless image of the Atlas mountains. It means that the world would be able to produce only half the food it produces now, that tropical diseases could spread as far north as Chicago, and that untold millions of climate refugees would flee the uninhabitable equator.

The knock-on effects would hit Britain like a rolling barrage, steadily eroding our quality of life. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world has only 11 years to cut emissions nearly in half if we are to avoid irreversible changes, such as the release of methane from melting permafrost.

With that in mind, Extinction Rebellion’s demands look less hysterical and more like a rational, if desperate, effort to save us. Of course, one can object that such an effort is meaningless if other countries did not join in. But that objection could be made of any country’s climate policy. We have no hope of encouraging others to make further cuts in their emissions if we do not lead by example.

It takes courage to confront a problem that you know you cannot solve alone, in the hope that others will help you. It involves a constant struggle against your own fatalism and cowardice. But that’s the only good option climate change gives us: to confront it head on, in the knowledge that our efforts might be for nothing.
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Is it only me that gets a slight feeling of concern about where this might end up when there's a group/movement saying it's beyond the divisions of left and right and apolitical, and that's demanding that the State enacts sweeping powers and changes to society for our collective good?
 
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LynnDoyleCooper said:
Is it only me that gets a slight feeling of concern about where this might end up when there's a group/movement saying it's beyond the divisions of left and right and apolitical, and that's demanding that the State enacts sweeping powers and changes to society for our collective good?
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Err hold on that's already happening with Brexit. Only neither XR, remainers nor leavers came claim there are no politics involved.
 
LynnDoyleCooper said:
Is it only me that gets a slight feeling of concern about where this might end up when there's a group/movement saying it's beyond the divisions of left and right and apolitical, and that's demanding that the State enacts sweeping powers and changes to society for our collective good?
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If it has any logic it must demand things that capitalism doesn’t want. Not easy to see how the state does that so it must absorb it, neutralise.
 
Taken from elsewhere, a good source. Share if you can...


***
REQUEST FOR MATERIAL SUPPORT AND HELP

If you can support people who have been arrested on Extinction Rebellion actions in London please

TEXT 07765 145071.

It is simple: get to the police station you're assigned to, try to get in if you can. Take something to while away the time: a book, downloaded film, or work. Don’t assume you’ll have access to WiFi.

Greet the arrested person on their release with some food/drink, appreciation, listening ear. Help them to relay the details of their situation to the back office. Ask them to tell their story right away, and listen without interruption: this will help you to relate it also it will help them to remember it properly.

Give them money / directions for travel if they're far from home with no cash.

If you have a car, access to Uber or a bed for the night, even better. Many of them are far from home.

You don't have to wait there the whole time: the idea is to have a person in the police station at all times until the release but you might just do a few hours and pass on to the next person.

It is a *really* worthwhile thing to do to show appreciation for people who are willing to loose a bit of liberty [and all that goes with that] to highlight a crucial issue of survival.

It makes a massive difference to the person arrested to know that they are being looked out for.

Some of us can be in the street, some of us can’t. There are many ways to support this action and be a part of it. Homefront support is essential for the frontline to be effective.

***
 
LynnDoyleCooper said:
Is it only me that gets a slight feeling of concern about where this might end up when there's a group/movement saying it's beyond the divisions of left and right and apolitical, and that's demanding that the State enacts sweeping powers and changes to society for our collective good?
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I've said this in previous posts. If not been explicit enough.

Hallam referring to potential supporters as "herd like". Hallam idea of using mass NVDA to circumvent democratic politics. What he said was to use NVDA based on a technocratic reliance on scientists to force governments to put into law Zero Carbon by 2025. As democratic politics is not to be trusted to put it into law then put into law a " people's assembly"

This Peoples Assembly is not democratically voted in. Its made up of people chose by lot. As in jury service. They will work in strict parameters. To judge policies to see if they will bring in zero carbon by 2025. And choose from range of policies put forward by scientific experts.

This is combination of scientist led ( middle class professionals) plus non democratic quango - named Peoples Assembly.

XR are quite open about this. They say they want State of Emergency as in wartime. Our UK recent history had this in WW2. When civil liberties where curtailed and rationing was brought in. Post War there was backlash against this.

I see possible scenario where XR achieve there aims and have to use the same Police who arrested them to enforce drastic changes to economy to make UK zero carbon by 2025.

Listened to some "experts" on radio this morning.They said that 2025 was tight timescale. Just possibly feasible but would mean big change to economy and people's lifestyles.
 
Gramsci said:
I don't understand.

How is this related to one's views on Brexit?
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I saw similarities in the way this was being characterised above.

Is it only me that gets a slight feeling of concern about where this might end up when there's a group/movement saying it's beyond the divisions of left and right and apolitical, and that's demanding that the State enacts sweeping powers and changes to society for our collective good?
Click to expand...

A lot of people feel the same level of concern that about both the leave and remain campaigns for not dissimilar reasons.

Of course neither XR nor remain/leave are apolitical...which was also my point.
 
newbie said:
the post seemed clear to me. Brexit has also been claimed to be 'beyond the divisions of left and right'.
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By whom?

Listening to young person on radio this morning. Said the young people involved had been protesting that there future was threatened by older peoples decisions/ lack of action.

That young person said there was parallel between young people wanting a second vote on Brexit ( its gone on so long that they didn't have vote in referendum first time around) and young people , like the Swedish teenager , protesting against lack of action on climate change.

I definitely got thethe feel visiting the protests that most thought Brexit was bollox.
 
Rutita1 said:
I saw similarities in the way this was being characterised above.



A lot of people feel the same level of concern that about both the leave and remain campaigns for not dissimilar reasons.

Of course neither XR nor remain/leave are apolitical...which was also my point.
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I don't agree . See my post above.
 
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