Earth Week 2020 Events Announced!
Hello rebels,
As promised, these past two weeks have begun the slow burn towards the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in April. We’ve seen DISCObedience actions in the Financial District, the extinction of homo sapiens on the Upper East Side, guerilla fashion shows in Soho, protests and passionate arguments for our state and our schools to divest from fossil fuels, and a chance to bring new rebels into the fold at the Sierra Club.
XR NYC is participating in Earth Week 2020, a 3-day earth-love extravaganza organized by a coalition of different groups, including Sunrise, PCM, NY Renews and more. We will continue to update you with more details in the following weeks, but here’s what you need to know now:
Wednesday, April 22nd
a massive march from river to river in Manhattan
Thursday, April 23rd
a day of action targeting financial institutions
Friday, April 24th
a day of political lobbying and advocacy
Mark your calendars, prepare for action, and get ready, because in 2020 we're taking back our future!
Upcoming Events
Tech Action & Solidarity Meeting
Extinction Rebellion explores what to do about Big Tech's funding of climate denial, complicity with the fossil fuel industry, and finding common cause with an increasingly organized tech workforce.
Thurs March 5th 7:00pm at Thoughtworks - RSVP HERE
Community Gathering and Potluck
Please join us for the first XR NYC Community Gathering of the year. This is a fun, regenerative space for new and existing members of XR to build community, trust and connections. Everyone is welcome! This month, the new Tech Action and Solidarity Group will be leading the skill share. Prepare to get wiser in ways you didn’t even know you could be! For maximum participation, we suggest you bring a laptop or your favored communication device.
Thurs Feb 27th 7:00pm at Judson Memorial Church - RSVP HERE
Upcoming Trainings
New to Extinction Rebellion in 2020?
Here’s your roadmap to getting involved in three easy steps:
Step 1
This training is for experienced XR nonviolent direct action (NVDA) participants who want to train others to learn the same skills.
Sun March 8th 12:00pm at Access Theater - Fill out this application
This full day of training will give you the tools to self-organize, facilitate, and coordinate within XR to grow the movement and to be the best rebel you can be.
Sat March 7th 9:30am at Access Theater - RSVP HERE
Neighborhood Groups
XR Lower East Side
We are joining with XR NYC and the Metrograph to host the Climate Parables Film series, starting this Saturday, 2/22, and running into April.
Cinema has been reckoning for some time with the question of ecological collapse, and it is to these visceral depictions of impending crisis that we turn in a moment when there is a real, palpable fear that time, yes, is really and truly running out.
Climate Crisis Parables collects movies that envisage the rough road ahead, depicting humankind’s reckless restructuring of the natural environment, imagining the catastrophic results of this unchecked meddling and even what might come after the fall of man.
There'll be a short 'Heading for Extinction (and what to do about it)' talk after the following screenings:
THE DEVIL, PROBABLY
Sat Feb 22 4:15pm
RED DESERT
Sat Feb 29 7:30pm
Event details are available on Action Network and on the Metrograph website.
XR North Brooklyn
Our group continues to feel passionately about stopping National Grid from using public funds to build fracked gas infrastructure in our neighborhood. Last Saturday many members of NBXR hit the streets with XR NoNorthBrooklynPipeline and were delighted that National Grid decided not to show up for work in response to the action.
We are looking forward to supporting the FA5 Subway Outreach action in March an are also pleased to follow Prospect and Crown Heights Neighborhood Group's lead and bring the first warm day #paintthestreets outreach action to McCarren Park, slated for Saturday, April 4.
We meet every 1st & 3rd Wednesday and would love to welcome new members. Email northbrooklyn.xr@gmail.com for details.
XR Upper East Side
This Valentine's Day, armed with the best stickers anyone has ever seen, UES Rebels took to the freezing cold outside of the 86th Street Q station to raise awareness about the climate crisis. Hundreds of flyers were distributed and dozens of people signed on to the neighborhood email list. In addition, we came to find that one is never too young to start caring about the planet.
The following Saturday, Gail gave a wonderful Heading for Extinction talk that was very well attended and drew people all the way from New Jersey.
UES Neighborhood Group Meetings are held every first Thursday and every third Sunday of the month. If you live in or near the UES and want to join us, there are several upcoming events in the neighborhood:
Our community planning meeting is this Saturday, Feb 22 at 10:30am. Info at Action Network.We are also having an art build on Saturday, Feb 29 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the 96th Street Library basement, 112 E 96th Street.
For updates on the UES Neighborhood Group events and news follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or contact us at ues@extinctionrebellion.nyc.
XR Washington Heights / Inwood
Following the success of our walk on the George Washington Bridge at the end of last month, we have more action and outreach events in the works. All are welcome to come to our next planning meeting on Sunday, Feb 23 at 2pm. For the address, contact xrwashingtonheightsinwood@gmail.com.
And if you're in the neighborhood on Saturday, Feb 22nd, we’re returning to the Inwood Green Market from 10:00am - 12:00pm. Come by to say hi or help us with flyering!
For more news about upcoming events, follow us on Facebook.
XR Long Island City
Our next Heading For Extinction talk is on Saturday, Mar 7 2:30pm, at the Queens Library.
For more news about upcoming events, follow us on Facebook.
XR Jackson Heights
We have a planning meeting coming up on Sunday, Mar 8 6:00pm-8:00pm, at Queensboro Restaurant, 80-02 Northern Boulevard. Check Facebook for more details, but all are welcome. We’re going to need lots of volunteers for coming actions!
XR Local News
XR Capital Region Takes Albany
February 7th our rebels in Albany occupied the state Comptroller’s Office to demand an immediate divestment from fossil fuels. Eleven people were arrested and it was the first time in over a year that the state police have arrested non-violent protestors! If you’re in the Capital region of New York, you can sign-up to support them on future actions here and you can view the full video of their streak-breaking action.
The Extinction of Homo Sapiens
On February 16th, Extinction Rebellion put on a guerrilla exhibit, "The Extinction of Homo Sapiens," at the American Museum of Natural History. We installed this temporary, unsanctioned exhibit in the Hall of Human Origins to warn other visitors about the potential future of our human race.
First, two people dressed as wax models held their position behind a glowing placard while people came by to observe the performance art. Next entered the Greek Chorus; instead of singing, they said: “Homo sapiens had discovered solar energy long before their extinction. But their primitive form of social organization and rudimentary ability to share resources prevented them from addressing the global threat in time.”
The message was clear: the chorus represented beings from the future who had changed their ways and found a way to evolve past the toxic capitalist system that is currently killing us.
Civil DISCObedience Dance-a-thon
We kicked off our new DISCObedience series at Fulton in downtown Manhattan on February 15th. After a brief rehearsal our rebels took the Fulton street subway and boogied there way to the Fulton street mall!
We’ll be picking one Saturday a month to have a Civil DISCObedience action, each in a different location, so keep your eye on our events page!
Sustainability Series: Voices for Climate Crisis Solutions at the Sierra Club
On February 12th our very own Kerith and Brotherman represented XR NYC on a panel during the Sierra Club’s Sustainability Series along with representatives from 350, People’s Green New Deal, Climate Reality Project, DRAWDOWN, 2020 or Bust, Plus 1 Vote, and Sunrise Movement.
There was a lively discussion on how club members could get involved in fighting climate change and the organizer mentioned that this discussion wouldn’t feel complete without a voice from Extinction Rebellion. We were incredibly flattered to be a part of the conversation and to share the stage with so many inspiring individuals!
The Case for Columbia to Divest from Fossil Fuels
On February 12th XR Columbia and Michael Gerrard, Founder/Director of Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, presented to the ASCRI the case for Columbia to divest their investment in fossil fuels. As Gerrard stated, “If these companies are losing money (as many of them are), Columbia University should not suffer the losses; if they are making money, Columbia should not share in the profits.”
An important part of our fight is to stop the money pipeline funding climate change at the expense of our future. We will wait and see how the ASCRI decides to respond, but bravo XR Columbia! You can read the full op-ed here.
XR Youth Take On Fashion Week
New York fashion week began last week and our XR Youth decided to host a 100% sustainable guerilla fashion show in protest against one of the world’s oldest and most polluting industries. As always we applaud the creativity and energy, and they even caught the attention of Vogue!
XR Around the Globe
XR London demanded the end of Fashion Week and the fashion industry’s exploitation of the planet, people, and animals and was covered in the Guardian.
XR Cambridge blocked roads to call attention to the University’s ties with fossil fuel and one rebel was arrested for digging up the lawn at Trinity College as a symbol of the destruction of the earth.
Meanwhile, XR Switzerland occupied the office of the Vitol Group , the country’s biggest independent oil trader and one of the world’s biggest hydrocarbon traders. 50 rebels used tape to create a murder scene full of human outlines outside the offices. “If we can imagine a company is a devil, we’ve got a lovely one here,” one rebel leader said as XR moves beyond targeting just the fossil fuel companies and to the people profiting off and deal making around their destruction of the earth.
Recommended Reading
From UNICEF World Health Organization (WHO), and The Lancet a study finding that the health and future of every child and adolescent worldwide faces immediate threat from ecological degradation, climate change and exploitative marketing practices that push heavily processed fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco at children.
From Nieman Lab - The New Yorker has launched a new weekly newsletter, The Climate Crisis. The newsletter will be written by Bill McKibben, whose 1989 book The End of Nature is considered the first book on global warming. The newsletter will be free to everyone, subscriber or not.
From the Nation a call for all journalists to make climate change the focus of the 2020 campaign.
MSN has a story on the very real fear that the next great recession will be brought on by climate change.
It has been a jarring week for ocean conversation as scientists warn that climate change could wipe out all coral reefs within decades, story at The Hill.
The Climate Reality Project takes a look at greenwashing campaigns by fossil fuel companies.
What do you do when the sea comes for your home, your school, your church?
A beautiful series of direct actions from the No Coal, No Gas campaign in New England.
Jacobin warns that war is an enormous threat against climate change movements. We can’t just focus on fighting just climate change or US imperialism, we have to do both.