EXTINCTION REBELLION HYPOCRISY
I choose to research the political and activist group Extinction Rebellion having seen the above News headline. I found it really interesting how a potential activism and political group can be easily labelled by the media as costing the police so much for protesting government changes. It made me question whether or not the legitimacy of the party remains or whether hypocrisy has in fact taken over.
ABOUT EXCTINCTION REBELLION
I chose to look at the Extinction Rebellion website first to gain a greater understanding into what they do as a political/activist/rebellion group.
They have. key area to their website called THE TRUTH. The following information and ideas is based upon what I have found on their website.
“We are facing an unprecedented global emergency. Life on Earth is in crisis: scientists agree we have entered a period of abrupt climate breakdown, and we are the midst of a mass extinction of our making”
After this I was unable to access anymore information on their page as I was not allowed to access the website on my server and then I tried again at a later date and still couldn’t access it. From then on I have accessed other sources on-line to find to information about the group.
- Extinction Rebellion (Short Hand XR)
- It’s a global environmental movement with the aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse.
- It was only established in May 2018
- The first main protest was the “Bridge Blockade” where in November 2018, five bridges across the River Thames in London were blockaded.
- In April 2019 Extinction Rebellion occupied five prominent sites in central London
- Piccadily Circus
- Oxford Circus
- Marble Arch
- Waterloo Bridge
- Parliament Square.
STATED AIMS AND PRINCIPLES
- Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change
- Government must act now tot halt biodiversity loss ad reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2025
- Government must create and be led by the decisions of a citizens assembly on climate and ecological justice.
PRICIPLES
- We have shared vision of change – creating a world that is fit for generations to come
- We set our mission on what is necessary- mobilising 3.5% of the population to achieve system change by using ideas such as “momentum-driven organising” to achieve this
- We need a regenerative culture – creating a culture that is healthy resilient and adaptable
- We openly challenge ourselves and this toxic system, leaving our comfort zones to take action for change
- We value reflecting and learning, following a cycle of action, reflection, learning and planning for more action (learning from other movements and contexts as well as our own experience)
- We welcome everyone and every part of everyone – working actively to create safer and more accessible spaces
- We actively mitigate for power – breaking down hierarchies of power for more equitable participation.
- We avoid blaming and shaming – we live in a taxi society, but no one individual is to blame
- We are non-violent network using non-violent strategy and tactics as the most effective way to bring about change
- We are based n autonomy and decentralisation- we collectively create the structures we need to challenge power. Anyone who followed these core principles and values can take action in the name of Extinction Rebellion.
Having looked at what the party/group/organisation is about I am confused to understand the negative impact they could have as they present themselves a peaceful group, however they are seen to push the boundaries in moderation.
The problem within the group according to the press is the shear cost of the protests.
Scotland Yard claim that £37 million has been spent already to line the streets with police on days of protests and it has overall caused other investigations to be shut down as there simply isn’t enough funding. This in itself is very bad as every police case should be taken as seriously as each other and clearly the money having to go into extinction rebellion cases extended past the amount they could make financially viable.
Due to the lengths of protests it is estimated that at least £3.5 million went on police officers working over time alone. Not to mention the increase in demand of police officers as there was not enough supply for the high demand so over £6 million was spent on drafting in officers from places like Scotland and Wales.
My argument regarding this as that this extra money that the Extinction Rebellion group caused the the Police to spend could have gone to better use. Either on better funding in terms of employing more officers or the more suitable solution given the reasoning behind the XR protests, the money going towards help prevent climate change etc.
The work of Extinction Rebellion although great has put massive strain on the police department and other social areas. This to some extent is hypocritical.
For example
- Posters and leaflets left in the streets after the event, littering the streets – a contradiction to their own morals
- Tents from over night camping left abandoned in the streets and fields.
- Money spent in ways that aren’t benefiting the rebellion
This is an important notion which I feel could be explored further. I think interviewing people could be a really great way of finding out more information and opinions.
UNILEVER
https://www.unilever.co.uk/sustainable-living/
I chose to look at a well known company and how they are a purpose driven company with the aim of creating products more sustainable for living.
Unilever has what is called a Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) which is the ambition to achieve change within the company. This notion was launched in the year 2010 and the idea is to create sustainable growth through more sustainable means such as purpose led brands, cutting business costs and reducing risk and increasing trust.
UNILEVER overall has three major plans which I discovered when researching the company.
- ‘By 2020 we will help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well being”
- ‘By 2030 our goal is to halve the environmental footprint of the making and use of our products as we grow our business’
- “By 2020 we will enhance the livelihood of millions of people as we grow our business”
I felt that Unilever was an interesting company to look at. They have set ambitious goals that strive to not only make social and financial changes but also make environmental changes that are highly beneficial.
This in itself shows that large companies can do their part to live a more sustainable life and that in fact it’s a lot easier than most realise. A more sustainable way of living could have very positive outcomes in the battle with climate change.
THE ANTHROPOCENE AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
SOURCE: LIBRARY
TITLE: ANTHROPOCENE AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS RETHINKING MODERNITY IN THE NEW EPOCH
PUBLISHER: TAYLOR AND FRANCIS
CREATION DATE : 2015
- The Anthropocene in which humankind has become a geological force, is a major scientific proposal; but it also means that the conception of the natural and social worlds on which sociology, political science, history law, economics and philosophy rest are called into question.
INTERVIEW
I choose to set up a series of interview questions to gain further knowledge on what people think regarding the eco crisis we are currently facing.
I choose to keep the interviewees anonymous so that more honest answers could be given as the participant would not be worried about saying something controversial.
I have also tried to get a variety of different people to answer the questions. I managed to get someone from all of the following categories to answer the interview forms and I received very mixed results.
- Religious
- Atheist
- An White British Citizen living in a foreign country
- An Indian International living in the UK
- Retired British Citizen
- University Student
- A member of Extinction Rebellion
- All with different political statuses
In order for the interviews to take place I got all the participants to read a consent form and sing it before they were able to carry o further in the process.
My aim was to gain as much information and new found knowledge as I could. No two people have the exact same view point regarding the questions I asked in the interview as I was able to get large amount of new information to work with.
I have printed out the interview consent forms and Answers and filled them in their own folder so that they are separate and not easily accessible for the public domain.
Within the interview list I asked the following questions…
- What do you think about the effort to control Climate Change and Why?
- Do you believe activists are doing a good job or not, and Why?
- “Extinction Rebellion protests cost Police in the UK £37 million and led to other investigations to be shit down”
- What are your views regarding this?
- Do you or do you not agree with the idea that they are hypocritical for spending so much money on something that could’ve been used for saving the environment instead?
- What do you think of yourself in regards to climate change.
- Are you an activist?
- Are you Hypocritical?
- Do you do your part so to speak and if so what?
- Is the location of where you live in support of your views in regards to climate change? Explain Why?
- Any more information you’d like to provide?
THIRD YEAR - TERM ONE 