For decades, the focus of climate action has been on consumer choice—recycle, turn out the lights, drive less, be vegan. But we are not just consumers, we are citizens. As the clock runs out on climate change we need to mobilize as never before to demand a world that values people and planet over profit.
In September 2019 I gathered with a small group of friends and neighbors to talk about how we could bring meaningful climate action to our small town. We agreed that the climate crisis is a collective problem and demands a collective solution. We wanted to put our energy towards creating systemic change, starting with our own municipal government.
We decided to join the international Extinction Rebellion movement, which uses non-violent civil disobedience to pressure governments for urgent, sweeping change. Using a combination of original designs and the visual toolkit available from Extinction Rebellion UK, we quickly mobilized to create a visual presence.
Starting with just three committed members, we posted flyers, painted signs, screen printed shirts, made protest stencils, chalked the sidewalks, ruffled feathers, organized art builds, held protests, partnered with our local student activist union, developed a welcome for new members, and grew our membership more than twenty-fold in two months. Look out world, here we come!
A series of slides from our Welcome Meeting presentation.
