We need you
“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”
–Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2023 report
The world’s preeminent energy and climate experts have drawn a clear line in the sand: Any new fossil fuel development after 2021 risks our ability to keep global warming below 1.5˚C. Despite this, Chase, Citi, and BlackRock continue to finance and invest in the expansion of fossil fuels.
Since the signing of the 2016 Paris Agreement:
Chase has been the #1 financier to the fossil fuel industry—providing over $434B.
Citi has provided over $330B in financing to the fossil fuel industry.
BlackRock is the largest investor in fossil fuel companies, with nearly $260B invested in 2022.
This behavior is simply incompatible with a sustainable future. We ask the employees of Chase, Citi, and BlackRock to demand their companies stop greenwashing and implement concrete steps to divest from fossil fuels.
We need you. Please take this anonymous survey and share your feedback:
The Signs
Climate activists say “act as if the house is on fire”, is this hyperbole? You be the judge:
November 2022: at the start of the COP27 Summit, the UN Secretary General said “We are in the fight of our lives, and we are losing.”
May 2023: research revealed that the Amazon, long described as the earth’s lungs, now emits more carbon than it takes in, due to human and climate change degradation.
June 2023: State Farm and Allstate stopped issuing fire insurance in California citing “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.”
June 2023: residents of NYC, the home of Chase, Citi and BlackRock, were told the air was not safe to breathe due to wildfires in Canada. The risk of wildfires like these increases with global warming.
July 4 2023: the hottest day on earth in 125,000 years.
July 9 2023: the Hudson Valley saw a “1,000 year event” when 9 inches of rain fell over the span of 12 hours.
September 2023: New York City saw 3 inches of rain in one hour, and nearly 8 inches of rain that day, overwhelming sewers and shutting down the subway system.
These recent events, along with decades of research, reveal the devastating impact of human caused global warming. Over 40 years ago, Exxon’s own scientists predicted with great accuracy the catastrophic impacts of this warming.
We must not normalize extreme fires, flooding, droughts, loss of human life, and species extinction. These are not infrastructure problems, but are the predictable results of burning fossil fuels. Silence and inaction are complicity.
To learn more about the crisis please check out this list of resources.
Who we are
We are the Mindful Rebels, an affinity group of Extinction Rebellion NYC. We use meditation and other forms of presence as nonviolent direct action, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ghandi, to call attention to the climate and ecological crisis. Our society’s pursuit of endless economic growth is pushing the planet beyond its boundaries threatening societal collapse and the loss of countless lives. Additionally, our obsession with growth and productivity leads to fleeting moments of happiness at best. But we are more than the sum of our to-do lists. We have the capacity to slow down and just be with life as it unfolds around us. This being is the nourishment that sustains all the doing—without it we feel a profound lack that can never be filled with accomplishments and possessions. Taking time out of the day to be in the present moment is an act of rebellion.
Meditation as protest is both a call for people to stop and reconnect, as well as an embodied political statement. Join us!
We believe the house is on fire and Extinction Rebellion’s four demands address the magnitude of the moment:
Tell the Truth
Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency
Act Now
Government must halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025
Beyond Politics (The System is Broken)
Our government is captured by corporate interests that no longer align with the good of the nation. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a citizen’s assembly
Just Transition
Prioritize the most vulnerable communities and establish indigenous sovereignty
