In what they describe as the first Global Scientist Rebellion, more than 100 scientists in about a dozen countries are taking part in civil disobedience, criminal damage, hunger strikes and rebellious teach-ins over three days from 25th-28th March 2021.
Yesterday, to kick off the actions, Mike Lynch-White locked on to the main gates at Downing Street, sparking an operation involving more than a dozen police and a specialist team who eventually cut him free after around three hours.
Citing David Attenborough’s remark that we “can’t be too radical”, he defended his action and urged other scientists and the public in general to rebel against a government which is leading us into a terrifying future.
There is general agreement in scientific circles that the earth is now around 1.3° warmer than before the industrial revolution, and that a further degree of warming is already locked into the system even if we were to stop all emissions tomorrow. Although it is difficult to predict chaotic systems such as the planetary climate, scientists also believe that anywhere between 1° and 3° is enough to trigger an unstoppable hothouse earth scenario, where positive feedback loops quickly send the temperature spiralling to a level where most life becomes impossible.
Despite all this the recent budget promised to provide a green recovery but actually gave fossil fuel companies a new £10 billion subsidy in VAT reduction, against a mere £100 million green fund. The government is still allowing HS2 to go ahead at a cost of way more than £100 billion, as well as the Heathrow third runway expansion, which will help put millions more tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. And just in case the world doesn’t end through natural processes, a massive increase in our nuclear arsenal was announced at a time the economy is facing a possibly massive depression due to the pandemic.
At Downing Street, Mike was arrested under a Westminster Traffic Management bye-law designed for use in terrorist scenarios. Police also hampered journalists under the same legislation. At the police station he was actually charged with obstruction of the highway, and given a CoVid fine, although he had been acting alone. Coronavirus legislation has continually been used to crack down on the right to protest over the past year in clear contravention of Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act in UK law.
More info at scientistrebellion.com
