Tag Archives: Sunrise Movement

On ‘Hottest Day in History of France,’ World Told ‘Do Not Look Away’ as Police Tear-Gas Climate Campaigners in Paris

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“Watch this video and ask yourself,” said Greta Thunberg, “who is defending who?”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-28-2019

Activists with Extinction Rebellion pepper-sprayed by police as they occupied the Sully Bridge in Paris on Friday. (Photo: Extinction Symbol/Screenshot/via Twitter)

French riot police tear-gassed climate protesters in Paris on Friday as the county sweltered under record heat.

Activists with Extinction Rebellion (XR) were occupying a bridge over the Seine to demand the French government declare a climate emergency and take necessary action to avert planetary catastrophe.

“We need to civilly disrupt because, otherwise, nothing is going to be done,” a British woman who took part in the protest told Euronews. Continue reading →

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200+ Groups Call on Senate to Reject Bill That Would Lock US Into Fossil Fuel Dependence ‘Under Guise of National Security’

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“At a time when we should be leading the global mission to rapidly quit fossil fuels, the notion of seeking new and deeper fossil fuel codependence between America and Europe is patently absurd.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-9-2019

A new bill—passed by the House and being considered by the Senate—would provide billions of dollars in support for fossil fuel projects including fracking in Europe. (Photo: Wendy Shattil/Bob Rozinksi/Creative Commons)

More than 200 national climate action groups on Thursday demanded that the Senate stop the passage of a bill that would serve to keep both Europe and the U.S. dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come—as millions around the world have marched in recent months to demand that governments rapidly shift away from carbon-emitting energy sources.

Passed by the House in March, the European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019 (S. 704) would provide billions of dollars in support for natural gas infrastructure projects, propping up fossil fuel industries and leading to fracking projects in the U.S.—undercutting the goals of climate campaigners who are demanding that all industrialized countries move toward renewable energy systems. Continue reading →

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As Hundreds of Thousands of Students Prepare for Global #ClimateStrike on March 15, Here’s How to Get Involved

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“We are striking because our world leaders have yet to acknowledge, prioritize, or properly address our climate crisis.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-12-2019

Photo: Greta Thunberg/Twitter

In 92 countries and counting, hundreds of thousands of students are planning to skip school on March 15 as part of the “School Strike 4 Climate“—a growing movement of young people demanding that policymakers worldwide take urgent and radical steps to battle the climate crisis.

For the past several months, students around the world have joined the #FridaysForFuture school strike launched last year by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, whose solitary protests outside her country’s parliament—inspired by the Parkland students advocating for stricter gun laws in the United States—generated headlines that helped spur the global youth climate movement. Continue reading →

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‘We Gonna Rise Up, Rise Up ‘Til It’s Won!’: 140+ Arrested at Pelosi and Hoyer Offices as Youth-Led Protests Demand Green New Deal on Capitol Hill

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More than 1,000 young Americans joined the youth-led group’s demonstration on Capitol Hill

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-10-2018

More than 1,000 young protesters lined the halls of Congress and lobbied at congressional offices on Monday to demand that their elected representatives back the Green New Deal. (Photo: @skenigsberg/Twitter)

Before presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) even appeared at her office to hear from young Americans who had traveled from all over the country to urge her to back a Green New Deal, Capitol police arrived Monday and arrested more than 60 of the protesters. As of this writing, at least 143 demonstrators had been arrested as they lobbied in 50 congressional offices.

More than 1,000 young people and allies flooded the Capitol Hill hallways and offices of Democratic representatives to demand that elected officials listen to their youngest constituents—as well as some of the world’s top scientists—and back the bold proposal to shift the U.S. to a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 in order to save the planet from an irreversible climate catastrophe. Thanks to efforts spearheaded by the youth-led Sunrise Movement, the number of Democratic lawmakers now supporting a Select Committee on a Green New deal has now swelled to 23. Continue reading →

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