Protesters Stand Against Climate Change in London

Protesters in London are making themselves known this week by blockading the London Stock Exchange and standing atop a train, as well as gathering in crowds and spray painting graffiti on walls.

The protesters are part of a group called the Extinction Rebellion, and they are fighting against climate change. More than that, they are fighting against the denial of and lack of action against climate change. Extinction Rebellion was founded less than a year ago and are a nonviolent activist group.

Outside the London Stock Exchange, members of the Extinction Rebellion literally glued themselves to the walls and to each other to create a chain of people blocking the entrance to the building. On top of the train car, protesters stood with signs that denounce the lack of action that companies have put into helping save the planet.

A mural that was graffitied onto the side of a wall near the protest site after more than a week of protests is said to be painted by Banksy, the renowned artist. A Banksy expert and artwork collector John Brandler is convinced that it is an original Banksy piece.

Several Extinction Rebellion activists are running for election in England under the group name Climate Emergency Independents. This is a different group than Extinction Rebellion. Nine of these candidates will stand in the polls on May 23.

The group says that their goal is to bring the same energy about action against climate change that was seen in the London protests to all of Europe. With enough support, we can turn the tides in the fight against climate change (a fight which we are currently losing).

The group also says that they aim to display a new type of politics that goes beyond parties and politicians. They want to create, “a politics that is more human and ordinary and says, in the face of climate collapse, we can face this together.”

The thing about climate change is that, while it’s not good for us to waste water or energy on an individual scale, we as individuals are not the biggest problem. Yes, you should still recycle, and yes, you should always turn off the lights if you’re not using them. Yes, plastic straws are bad for the planet. But as a single person, there is only so much that you contribute.

Rather, the issue of climate change is caused primarily by corporations and large companies that mass produce pollution and chemical wastes. Often, companies get selfish and capitalism gets in the way of human decency.

Exxon, for example, knew about global warming and the impact of their company on the planet 40 years ago. They knew that what they were doing would harm the planet, and they did it anyways. They withheld this information from the public and lied about the threats of climate change for decades.

It may seem like all you hear about on the news is climate change, climate change, climate change. It’s an important issue, but even I have to admit that I’m getting sick of hearing about it. However, despite how painfully obvious to us that something has to be done, large companies like Exxon are harder to convince. Their actions are driven by greedy means.

This is why protests like this are important and why Climate Energy Independents have the right idea. As individuals, we don’t stand much of a chance against climate change. But if we band together, not as liberals or conservatives, but as humans, we actually have a fighting chance. And if enough of us use our individual power to create change on a higher level, we can even stop these companies from destroying our planet as well.