Extinction Rebellion greets Labor Day vacationers to the Cape

Extinction Rebellion greets Labor Day vacationers to the Cape

Climate Activists stand out on the Bourne Bridge to raise awareness about the climate and ecological crisis

BOSTON, MA — Local members of the international grassroots environmental movement, Extinction Rebellion, stood out on the Bourne Bridge today as people swarmed to the Cape to enjoy Labor Day weekend.

Climate activists held signs, banners, and artwork, highlighting the beauty of the Cape that is at risk. Maps of sea level rise, puppets of coastal animals, and banners that read "The sea is rising and so are we", and, "Declare a climate and ecological emergency" all adorned the Bourne Bridge in a colorful spectacle. There was also an appearance from the Red Rebel Brigrade, a group of people wearing bright red robes with white paint on their faces. The red represents the blood that has been and will be lost to the climate crisis as governments around the world fail to take urgent and substantial action.

“We are here to raise awareness about the climate and ecological crisis and highlight how our beloved Cape Cod is at particular risk….,” says James Comiskey of Extinction Rebellion. “Global emissions continue to rise, in spite of countries commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement. Time is slipping away, and we need to act now in order to avert the most catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis.’”

Emissions from coal, oil and natural gas are currently following a “worst-case scenario” trajectory, according to a Woods Hole research group.¹ Worst-case consequences include multiple food crop failures, uninhabitable conditions on much of the planet, and billions of climate refugees, including US citizens. ² ³ ⁴

The United Nations website states, “Global emissions are reaching record levels and show no sign of peaking. The last four years were the four hottest on record, and winter temperatures in the Arctic have risen by 3°C (5.4°F) since 1990. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying, and we are starting to see the life-threatening impact of climate change on health, through air pollution, heatwaves and risks to food security.” ⁵

Cape Cod is at particular risk from the climate and ecological crisis. Glacial ice melt will flood coastal communities as sea levels rise, toxic algae blooms will become increasingly common as temperatures increase, and sharks will come closer to the shore as oceans warm and disrupt the normal patterns for marine life.⁶ The Cape is also in the position to utilize tidal and wind power in a way that other areas in the Northeast can’t, but renewable energy urgently needs to be implemented across the globe in order to avert what climate scientists label an “uninhabitable hothouse Earth.” ⁷ ⁸

Extinction Rebellion utilizes nonviolent direct action to raise public awareness about the climate and ecological crisis and demand that governments, news media, and polluting industries tell the truth about the climate emergency.

They demand that Governor Baker, the United States government, and governments around the globe enact legally-binding policies to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and take further action to remove the excess of atmospheric greenhouse gases by protecting biodiversity and ecosystems. They also demand that the government involve the public into the process via citizen's assemblies and that they prioritize marginalized communities that unjustly face the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Extinction Rebellion Massachusetts 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 crisis is and spark immediate action in order to prevent complete 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 front-line 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. Learn more at: xrmass.org

1. Woodwell Research Institute (formerly Woods Hole Research Center): Schwalm et al., "RCP8.5 tracks cumulative CO2 emissions", PNAS, 2020
2. NY Times, "Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns"
3. Xu et al., "Future of the human climate niche", PNAS, 2020
4. NY Times, "The Great Climate Migration has Begun"
5. UN Climate Action Summit 2019
6. The Boston Globe, "On the Edge of Warming World"
7. PNAS, "Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene"
8. CBS, “Human civilization faces "existential risk" by 2050 according to new Australian climate change report”