SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators with the global Extinction Rebellion movement block a street in November 2018. (Photo: Julia Hawkins/Flickr/cc)
'Despair Ends and Tactics Begin': Extinction Rebellion Aims to Shut Down Brisbane With Mass Civil Disobedience
"Our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat."
Aug 05, 2019
On the heels of the hottest month in recorded history, activists with the global Extinction Rebellion movement are planning to grind the city of Brisbane, Australia to a halt Tuesday to pressure political leaders to act on the climate crisis.
"The climate crisis is already affecting lives and destroying ecosystems," Extinction Rebellion said in a statement ahead of the city-wide demonstrations, which are set to kick off at 7am local time Tuesday morning (5pm ET Monday).
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction."
--Extinction Rebellion
The group described the protests as an act of peaceful "mass civil disobedience."
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction," said Extinction Rebellion.
Brisbane authorities are reportedly preparing for major disruptions throughout the city and warning commuters to plan for significant traffic jams.
Extinction Rebellion acknowledged its action is expected to disrupt people's day-to-day lives, but said "our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat to all of Earth's species, including humans."
"Government and industries are continuing the destruction of our only planet," the group added.
As the Brisbane Times reported, Extinction Rebellion activists have in recent weeks "glued themselves to roads, blocked city intersections, and put a canoe on the Victoria Bridge" to demand swift and bold climate action from their political leaders.
"Despair ends and tactics begin," reads an Extinction Rebellion sign designed for the Brisbane action.
\u201cBrisbane #RebellionDay will see hundreds of non-violent rebels shut down the business as usual of central Brisbane this Thursday:\n\nhttps://t.co/OWzsR1yzcI\n\nWe shut things down to force our governments to #ActNow on The Climate And Ecological Emergecny.\n \n@xr_seq \n@XRebellionAus\u201d— Extinction Rebellion (@Extinction Rebellion) 1564960192
The movement's civil disobedience has gone global since 10 U.K.-based environmental activists launched the group last year.
As Common Dreams reported last month, Extinction Rebellion activists glued themselves to doorways in the halls of the U.S. Congress to disrupt votes and demand that American lawmakers declare a climate emergency.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," said one activist, "but we're not going back to business as usual until we declare a climate emergency and get climate justice for everyone, everywhere."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
On the heels of the hottest month in recorded history, activists with the global Extinction Rebellion movement are planning to grind the city of Brisbane, Australia to a halt Tuesday to pressure political leaders to act on the climate crisis.
"The climate crisis is already affecting lives and destroying ecosystems," Extinction Rebellion said in a statement ahead of the city-wide demonstrations, which are set to kick off at 7am local time Tuesday morning (5pm ET Monday).
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction."
--Extinction Rebellion
The group described the protests as an act of peaceful "mass civil disobedience."
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction," said Extinction Rebellion.
Brisbane authorities are reportedly preparing for major disruptions throughout the city and warning commuters to plan for significant traffic jams.
Extinction Rebellion acknowledged its action is expected to disrupt people's day-to-day lives, but said "our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat to all of Earth's species, including humans."
"Government and industries are continuing the destruction of our only planet," the group added.
As the Brisbane Times reported, Extinction Rebellion activists have in recent weeks "glued themselves to roads, blocked city intersections, and put a canoe on the Victoria Bridge" to demand swift and bold climate action from their political leaders.
"Despair ends and tactics begin," reads an Extinction Rebellion sign designed for the Brisbane action.
\u201cBrisbane #RebellionDay will see hundreds of non-violent rebels shut down the business as usual of central Brisbane this Thursday:\n\nhttps://t.co/OWzsR1yzcI\n\nWe shut things down to force our governments to #ActNow on The Climate And Ecological Emergecny.\n \n@xr_seq \n@XRebellionAus\u201d— Extinction Rebellion (@Extinction Rebellion) 1564960192
The movement's civil disobedience has gone global since 10 U.K.-based environmental activists launched the group last year.
As Common Dreams reported last month, Extinction Rebellion activists glued themselves to doorways in the halls of the U.S. Congress to disrupt votes and demand that American lawmakers declare a climate emergency.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," said one activist, "but we're not going back to business as usual until we declare a climate emergency and get climate justice for everyone, everywhere."
On the heels of the hottest month in recorded history, activists with the global Extinction Rebellion movement are planning to grind the city of Brisbane, Australia to a halt Tuesday to pressure political leaders to act on the climate crisis.
"The climate crisis is already affecting lives and destroying ecosystems," Extinction Rebellion said in a statement ahead of the city-wide demonstrations, which are set to kick off at 7am local time Tuesday morning (5pm ET Monday).
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction."
--Extinction Rebellion
The group described the protests as an act of peaceful "mass civil disobedience."
"Non-violent civil disobedience is morally and materially functional--it is the only option we have left to force the change that may just save us all from extinction," said Extinction Rebellion.
Brisbane authorities are reportedly preparing for major disruptions throughout the city and warning commuters to plan for significant traffic jams.
Extinction Rebellion acknowledged its action is expected to disrupt people's day-to-day lives, but said "our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat to all of Earth's species, including humans."
"Government and industries are continuing the destruction of our only planet," the group added.
As the Brisbane Times reported, Extinction Rebellion activists have in recent weeks "glued themselves to roads, blocked city intersections, and put a canoe on the Victoria Bridge" to demand swift and bold climate action from their political leaders.
"Despair ends and tactics begin," reads an Extinction Rebellion sign designed for the Brisbane action.
\u201cBrisbane #RebellionDay will see hundreds of non-violent rebels shut down the business as usual of central Brisbane this Thursday:\n\nhttps://t.co/OWzsR1yzcI\n\nWe shut things down to force our governments to #ActNow on The Climate And Ecological Emergecny.\n \n@xr_seq \n@XRebellionAus\u201d— Extinction Rebellion (@Extinction Rebellion) 1564960192
The movement's civil disobedience has gone global since 10 U.K.-based environmental activists launched the group last year.
As Common Dreams reported last month, Extinction Rebellion activists glued themselves to doorways in the halls of the U.S. Congress to disrupt votes and demand that American lawmakers declare a climate emergency.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," said one activist, "but we're not going back to business as usual until we declare a climate emergency and get climate justice for everyone, everywhere."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.