Coalition of Climate Justice Organizations rally at Wicked High Tide!

A crowd of concerned Massachusetts residents gathered on Boston’s Long Wharf during the “Wicked High Tide” on the afternoon of Saturday October 19 to demand that the Massachusetts government take immediate action on the climate crisis. Shortly after noon, as the tide started to rise, participants stood together in tall rain boots and water shoes to bear witness. They came “dressed as the dead” in ghost and skeleton costumes, to signify the countless deaths that are occurring as a result of the climate crisis.

Inspirational speakers took turns sharing demands from a coalition of organizations that included Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere (SPJE), Extinction Rebellion Boston (XR), Beyond Plastics Greater Boston, 350Mass, and Mothers Out Front. Between the speeches, the crowd chanted “It's High Tide and High Time for Climate Action.” Afterwards, the group danced in the water to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

Sabine von Mering, a member of 350Mass, waded through the tide water in a polar bear costume. She said, "I'm here today because I would much rather get my feet wet fighting climate inaction than allowing inaction to lead to more flooding and devastation. But I know ‘polarbearing’ isn't enough. Acting on climate must also mean voting for climate champions and holding those climate champions accountable once they are in office. I hope people see that doing so can even be fun!"

Eileen Ryan, a representative for Beyond Plastics and Plastic Free Massachusetts, was one of the speakers who addressed the crowd. She said, “Plastic production and use is a human health, environmental, and ecological crisis. Massachusetts needs to regulate the petrochemical industry and pass statewide bans on unnecessary plastics and toxins. Plastics are made from fossil fuels and chemicals and are directly connected to the climate crisis.”

Each member group of the coalition presented their own demands for the Massachusetts government, including:

• An immediate ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure in Massachusetts
• The need for Massachusetts government to pass a comprehensive climate bill
• A Clean Energy Siting Plan that does not destroy forests
• Update the 1956 Massport charter to include current MA climate priorities and environmental justice principles.
• Plastic Pollution Reduction including an Updated Bottle Bill

Lauren McNair, a student organizer at Boston University who has taken climate action with Extinction Rebellion Boston and Climate Defiance, was another one of the speakers at the event. She said, “I'm participating in this event because the climate crisis cannot be ignored anymore. Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed thousands of lives, and right here in Boston is flooding that will affect thousands more in the near future. I hope this will help Bostonians and our State House representatives draw the connection between the climate crisis and their everyday lives. By 2050, when I'm in my 40s, the Charles River is predicted to flood regularly and millions will be affected by this. We need to take drastic action now towards a just transition off of fossil fuels!”

Throughout the event, the Red Rebel troupe of Boston walked slowly around the outskirts of the event in their iconic red robes, to signify the silent witness of our planet’s grief. The Red Rebels have become a recognized image in the climate justice movement, and Boston has one of the most active troupes in the USA.

Kathleen Scharf was one of the Red Rebels present on Saturday, and she said “I walk as a Red Rebel to express all of our fear and grief and anger around the climate emergency. Very high king tides right in downtown Boston are just another reminder that climate change is real, it affects everyone on earth, and its effects are worse every day. I walk for my own child and grandchild and for all of us. It's way past time for our government to act to represent all of us in this emergency.”

Boston’s Wicked High Tides, also known as King Tides and scientifically known as Perigean Spring Tides, result in high tides that are 2-4 feet higher than normal. The sea around Boston has already risen approximately eight inches since 1950, and will likely rise another foot or more in the next thirty years. With this sea level rise, the Wicked High Tides will flood much of Boston, including the 22 billion dollar Seaport district. Boston’s economy and human population are at risk of loss from these floods.

As reported in Space.com (1), Earth has broken temperature records for 14 consecutive months — with every month registering temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-industrial averages. Every month since June 2023 has been hotter than the one preceding it, making the global average temperature between July 2023 and June 2024 1.64 C (3 F) greater than it was before the Industrial Revolution, when humans started burning fossil fuels to release massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These findings come at a time when scientists are debating whether global heating will accelerate (​2​​​)​​​ in the coming years, a trend which would prove catastrophic if true.

According to Yale Climate Connections (3), "August 2024 was Earth’s warmest August in analysis of global data going back to 1850, and the past three months (summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere) were the warmest June-to-August period on record." 2023 already smashed the record for world's hottest year by "a huge margin." Studies show that New England is warming faster than the rest of the world (4). Already, Massachusetts is seeing a massive uptick in the spread of diseases from mosquitoes and ticks during longer summers. Extreme heat has also claimed nearly 30 lives in Massachusetts over the past decade, and the numbers are expected to soar as the climate crisis worsens. By all scientific expectations, outcomes will only get rapidly worse from here without immediate mitigation efforts.

COALITION MEMBERS

Extinction Rebellion Boston is an autonomous chapter of the international grassroots movement, Extinction Rebellion (XR), which started in London in 2018. The purpose of XR is to tell the truth about how dire the ecological and climate crises are and spark immediate action in order to prevent climate and ecological collapse. We aim to mobilize people around the world to utilize nonviolent direct action to demand that governments take radical action to avert societal collapse caused by widespread climate and ecological disaster and to protect frontline communities, biodiversity, and the natural world. This movement is non-political and unites all of humanity behind a singular goal of a just and livable future for all. Learn more about Extinction Rebellion at: xrboston.org

XR Boston’s recruiting, training, and capacity building is supported by the Climate Emergency Fund, which strategically supports ultra-ambitious organizations demanding solutions to the climate crisis at emergency speed.

Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere is a coalition of state and local organizations that have joined together to make a stand against the outrageous presumption that while municipalities across MA are working hard to drastically reduce their carbon footprint (a climate imperative), Massport & Runway Realty Ventures plan to expand theirs by doubling private jet capacity at Hanscom - much of it for luxury trips to resort destinations for the privileged few. This has enormous cumulative costs to the climate and the vulnerable many.

Private jet expansion is antithetical to the urgent calls from UN climate scientists, US Climate Goals, and our MA Climate Goals advocated by Governor Healey, which demand that ALL sectors cut back on CO2 emissions immediately.

By fighting Hanscom, we’re sending a message to all airports: No private jet expansion. Not at Hanscom. Not Anywhere. It’s a luxury our climate can’t afford.

Beyond Plastics Greater Boston is a local group of Beyond Plastics and a member of Plastic Free Massachusetts. Plastic Free Mass includes over 40 different climate, progressive political, and water protection organizations from across the Commonwealth. We work on education and advocacy to reduce plastic pollution in Massachusetts. The Beyond Plastics website is: beyondplastics.org.

350Mass is a statewide, grassroots, member-led, campaign-focused network committed to a just transition to a climate-safe world. We advocate for deep systemic environmental and economic transformation through public policy, direct actions, coalitions, education, and community organizing. 350 parts per million is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that would allow for a livable climate. We’re currently at 422 ppm. 350Mass is part of the Better Future Project and is aligned with the mission and values of 350.org. We have many “local nodes” across Massachusetts working together as a network to effect change.

Mothers Out Front is a growing national movement of thousands of mothers and allies mobilizing for a sustainable, just future for all children. Together, we organize, fight for our communities, and win! When we each give what we can, it adds up to a force for change that’s impossible to ignore.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.space.com/last-12-months-broke-temperature-records
2. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/16/scientists-divided-record-heat-acceleration-climate-crisis
3. .https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/09/earth-has-its-hottest-august-and-hottest-june-august-on-record/
4. https://www.clf.org/blog/climate-change-worsens-extreme-weather-in-new-england/