Extinction Rebellion, the Climate Crisis & Civil Resistance
Extinction Rebellion, also simply known as XR, is a global environmental movement. It was founded in the UK with the explicit aim of using nonviolent civil resistance to compel government action to avoid ecological collapse. The latest UN IPCC report paints a dire picture of what the future will bring. By 2050, a billion people will face coastal flooding from rising seas. Using radical tactics, Extinction Rebellion draws inspiration from grassroots movements such as the civil rights movement. XR aims to instill a sense of urgency to prevent further climate breakdown and the ongoing sixth mass extinction. A number of XR activists accept arrest and imprisonment. The movement’s symbol is a stylized, circled hourglass to serve as a warning that time is running out for us.
Speaker
Roger Hallam
Roger Hallam is a Welsh organic farmer and environmental activist. He is co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, the cooperative federation Radical Routes and the political party Burning Pink.
Colorado Listener –
Hallam’s logic is compelling. This is the most detailed presentation of his philosophy that I’ve seen. He is dismissed by conventional climate activists, as is Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd, but in-your-face extreme tactics are required now. The traditional polite activist approaches aren’t cutting it.
CK1 –
Roger Hallam’s XR presentation is the most critically inspiring and crucially important one with a dire message. It details instructions on how to do nonviolent civil disobedience with a demand for the truth and action from the powers-that-be before it is too late to change anything. He lit a fire under me to do something drastic indeed!
Cathy Gordon –
Should be required reading/listening in every classroom on the globe.
Kate Grayson –
I heard part of this on my car radio. Important and inspiring. I need to get the transcript. As an environmental activist, I could see the wisdom in his advice. If we can’t follow a plan that works to mobilize people, all our efforts will just be spinning out wheels.
Torry Mercer –
Fantastic speech. I will order a transcript. Getting involved in saving the biosphere might be the most important thing anyone does in their entire life.