Extinction Rebellion Takes To The Streets of Cardiff
For three days in the midst of glorious summer sunshine, environmental protesters from Cardiff, elsewhere in Wales and further afield were joined by passers-by to express their impatience with the government’s inaction on climate change. While the aim was to cause disruption – blocking Cardiff’s often-congested Castle Street and causing motorists to vent their anger on social media – shoppers, workers and families celebrating graduation were greeted with peaceful scenes outside Cardiff Castle and City Hall, including a football match, music, poetry, informative speeches and vegetarian food.
Alison, a teacher from Durham, was disappointed not to see the numbers she expected, but was glad to be joining the protest with her teenage children, while thinking about how she could include it in her curriculum at school: “They read a lot and they talk a lot but then I think it’s important for them to take action as well”.
Minim, 23, from Cardiff, decided to join in after hearing about Extinction Rebellion on the news and realising the scale of the problem of global warming and how it would affect her future and the futures of those around her. As with many other locals, she mentioned how nice it was to walk through the city centre with no cars.
Extinction Rebellion works on the premise that traditional forms of environmental protest over the last few decades, such as petitions and writing to MPs, have not resulted in enough action from the government, despite the UN Secretary General declaring that humanity and life on Earth now face a ‘direct existential threat’. Their form of ‘non-violent direct action’, on the other hand, aims to put pressure on the government through economic and civil disruption.
Louis, a Cardiff University graduate and Labour Party member, joined the Cardiff branch of Extinction Rebellion after seeing the protests in London in April. By investing in public services while targeting the fossil fuel industries, he stated, the government could tackle climate change action while supporting ‘normal working people’. He hopes that the spread of the movement to the US, alongside the Green New Deal and fossil fuel divestment, could have a ‘mass domino effect’ on other heavily polluting countries.
Of course, the action in Cardiff has been heavily criticised for its effect on businesses and for increasing travel times for the public. A statement from Extinction Rebellion Cymru on Wednesday 17th July apologised for the inconvenience but described it as necessary.
Towards the end of the final day, making sure not to let the party atmosphere obscure their sombre message, protesters dressed as bright yellow canaries collapsed to the ground with a banner stating, ‘If we were miners we would be up to our waists in dead canaries’. Taking care not to trod on them, the protesters, at this point joined by plenty of interested members of the public, marched towards City Hall behind a samba band and a choir, chanting in solidarity.
words Isabel Thomas