Scientists from several countries have protested to demand real government action on climate change, with some engaging in dramatic civil disobedience, such as chaining themselves to a bank door or gluing their hands to a government building.
“I’m willing to take a risk for this beautiful planet, for my sons,” NASA biological systems and climate change specialist Peter Kalmus told Insider. “We’ve been trying to warn you for so many decades that we’re headed for fucking disaster, and we’ve been ignored.”
That’s why Kalmus and three others chained themselves to a Chase Bank office building (JPMorgan Chase has invested more money in fossil fuels than any other bank) last week in Los Angeles. Kalmus, along with a physicist, engineer and science teacher, were all arrested by Los Angeles police in riot gear, according to LAist.
“The paradigm is starting to shift for scientists,” soil scientist Rose Abramoff told Earther. Abramoff was also arrested last week after chaining herself to a White House fence alongside other protesters.
She said she had previously tried to “remain impartial”, but that “it is not political to tell the truth. Serving the habitability of life on this planet is not and should not be a political issue.
Aldara Zarraoa via Getty Images
Scientist Rebellion estimated that around 1,000 activists – including scientists and non-scientists who also participated – from 25 countries took part in the protests. In London, 25 people stuck scientific papers – and some with their own hands – to the windows of Britain’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, The Guardian reported.
“The government is crazy, and I don’t know what to do, other than to do this, to try to get the attention that we need to wake up the public,” said environmentalist Aaron Thierry, his hand glued to the window.
In Spain, protesters threw fake blood on the steps of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. the activist group says 53 people ― about half of those present at the demonstration ― were arrested.
Fernando Valladares, a research professor at Spain’s National Research Council, told Euro News that it’s not just “the future” that’s in jeopardy because of global warming, it’s also “the present “.
“Bad harvests, migrations and marine floods. What else should we know?” he said.
Aldara Zarraoa via Getty Images
The mass action followed the release of the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report warns that “it’s now or never” for the world to take strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), a target set by the Paris climate agreements.
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