Straight Talk

Direct action planned in downtown Vancouver as climate strikes attract huge crowds around the world

by Charlie Smith on September 20th, 2019 at 8:25 AM
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      As an international week of climate action begins, Vancouver teenagers are planning to stage a die-in in downtown Vancouver.

      Sustainabiliteens Vancouver has called on its supporters to gather at the Vancouver Art Gallery between 11 and 11:30 a.m.

      From there, they plan to move to a second undisclosed location, where they may block traffic by lying in the middle of the street.

      These types of actions have become increasingly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.

      They're often promoted by a group called Extinction Rebellion.

      It's trying to mobilize the public to engage in widespread peaceful civil disobedience, modelled on U.S. civil-rights protests led by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Quit India movement led by Mohandas Gandhi.

      A Vancouver chapter of Extinction Rebellion has been holding meetings and training volunteers to engage in peaceful civil disobedience to promote more dramatic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

      The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has exceeded 415 parts per million, according to measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

      The big day of action in Vancouver will occur next Friday (September 27), when adults will be encouraged to join students in a climate strike.

      The B.C. Teachers' Federation has issued a statement expressing "enthusiastic support" for the School Strike for Climate movement.

      Today, students are walking off the job in cities around the world.

      It's part of the #FridaysforFuture movement, which was founded last year by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg. She's in New York City for an international climate conference.

      [tweet]https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1174993351256530944[/tweeet]

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