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Today we want to share with you the wonderful work of Transition University of St Andrews, who are tackling climate change with a whole range of interesting and hands-on approaches! 🥳

"In short, Transition University of St Andrews (Transition) is a community group of students, staff and local residents, initiated in 2009 as a response to climate change and economic uncertainty. We are a bottom-up approach to reducing dependency on fossil fuels and building community resilience. Like other towns in the Transition Network we see communities as the starting point for reimagining and rebuilding the world we live in. Our projects and activities are driven by the shared vision of people across St Andrews. The Transition movement is about feeling like you can make a difference in the world. It is about learning new skills, connecting with people and creating a new story for you and your local area.

Our work scopes themes like zero waste, smarter travel, local food, sustainable spaces, and research and climate literacy. Since 2012, we have saved 1250.51 tonnes of carbon equivalent. But it’s not the figures that fuel our action, it’s always been the energy of the people we’ve been lucky enough to work with. Our Transition community reaches a thousand more each year. As people come and go, it is a comforting thought to know these people continue to make a positive difference in their communities all over the world."

If you are in the St Andrews, Scotland, area make sure you keep an eye out for their events or pop on over to one of the many wonderful community gardens to stick your hands in the soil and reconnect with Nature herself 😉 Thank you for hard work Transition University of St Andrews!

*With the Australian bushfires slowly going "out of fashion" in the international media, we thought we'd offer you an overview of the situation. In this feature, Sophie Sievert-Kloster gives us a very informative account of the problems facing local fire brigades, ways to help affected areas, and the power of communities coming together in the wake of disaster.*

"The fires have been burning since September but only recently they have attracted such international media attention. Even though the bush fires are part of Australia’s ecosystem, contributing to the cycle of nature’s renewal and regrowth, the duration and scale of the fire season have changed dramatically over the past few years. This fire season has lasted almost 6 months now and even though it will hopefully end soon this is just the beginning… The effects of these fires will carry on for the foreseeable future and the bigger and longer these fire seasons get, the less local communities will be able to recover in between bushfire seasons. The same applies to the affected ecosystem.
Even though each state traditionally has its own rural fire brigade to mitigate the effects of the fires, with the exception of some more senior staff, the majority of firefighters are volunteers. Most of them come from rural communities and have other jobs too; working 15-hour shifts to fight fires places a really big burden on them both physically but also psychologically. Recently the Australian government introduced a scheme, where firefighters will start getting paid or receive a grant, but in my view, it’s too little too late. There have also been some issues with deployment and reaching affected communities on time, due to miscommunication from the government about its plans to deploy army reservists. Just in general, the government’s response to the crisis has been shocking. The PM still refuses to acknowledge climate change and its role in the bushfires. In fact, Denmark and Canada offered to send firefighters to Australia to help with the situation and were turned down by the Australian government.
Overall, there has been a big international response and fundraising movement, yet, what people often don’t realise is that their donations to certain organisations cannot be moved across states. So when specific wildlife rescue organisations or fire brigade units in New South Wales and Victoria, for example, receive the bulk of donations, other more neglected areas, which might be in greater or more urgent need of financial support, have no way of profiting from these funds. One of the best things you can do to help is to support local businesses in the affected communities, though this may be difficult for people abroad. For people who cannot financially contribute, one of the best things you can do is talk about it, raise awareness and understand the magnitude of these fires! … and if you’re Australian to vote and petition your local MPs demanding response. Another really cool way to help affected communities is to support local artists and authors who have often really come together to raise money and help their communities. The communities are honestly amazing in these kinds of crises. People were opening their homes, providing food, raising money to help rebuild burned houses, and it is these positive things I try to focus on."

Today we bring you the wonderful Allie Whalen — mother, blogger and environmental optimist, she shares her insights on getting kids involved in conservation and caring for their surroundings! 🥳

“When I talk with people about conservation or changes we've made in our lives, children are often my favorite audience. They have such a huge capacity for imagining ways to solve problems. It gives me so much hope when I spend time with kids working on conservation together. If we are serious about taking care of our oceans and making changes to improve the environment, then we must take the time to educate children and lead by example.

Kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. If you want to inspire the kids in your life to take action with conservation simply equip them with tangible ways they can help or educate them on issues facing our oceans. I have been teaching my kids about problems with plastic in the ocean and we have been watching different documentaries so when it came time to do our beach clean up they were stoked! We see the plastic problem every time we visit the beach. It was easy for them to see how we could make a difference.

We also invited some friends to join us because everything is more fun with friends. We gathered our trash bags, walked down to the beach, and after reminding the kids that we would play after picking up trash, we got to work! The older kids each took a trash bag and spread out grabbing trash like it was priceless treasure. It quickly turned into a competition to see who could fill their bag the most. Some of our favorite finds of the day were toothbrushes, golf balls and at least half a dozen shoes! Everyone we saw at the beach stopped to thank us for what we were doing. It was great for the kids to see that we were an example to others as well.

If you don't have easy access to a beach then pick any outdoor space where you live. It's the most fun for kids to focus their efforts on the place that they spend the most time. Kids will be so motivated by seeing their hard work pay off. You can build on that motivation to broaden your area of focus and start helping other communities. When kids start noticing how small changes make a big impact on the world around them, that desire to help will continue to have a snowball effect.

Please don't ever discount what kids can do to help. Remember to ask them their ideas (and listen!) and ask them what they think would be a good solution to reducing our use of plastic. There isn't a tried and true method of fixing the plastic in the ocean but reducing or eliminating disposable plastics will certainly have a positive impact. We will have a bright future indeed if we teach kids how to take care of our resources.“ — Allie Whalen

Have a wonderful weekend and stay environmentally positive, dear readers! 😘

Next up we feauture Marios Iacovides, talking about corruption and environmental degradation in Cyprus 🇨🇾🌴

"On a small place like Cyprus one grasps easily the relationship between environmental degradation, corruption, and social inequality.

Until recently, the island’s southeast coast near the Cavo Greco national park had been the only left untouched by mass tourism and developer exploitation n the area. Offering privacy and tranquility away from crowds, loud beach bars, and uncontrollable water sports, it used to attract nudists (nudism is still illegal in Cyprus) and people interested in snorkelling and was a rare haven for the island’s LGBTQ community.

Cyprus offers EU citizenship through real estate investment. This has created a luxury property bubble that – through systematic derogations from environmental regulations such as Natura 2000that have caused the European Commission’s condemnation – has left locals struggling to find affordable property and created the island’s first homeless people.

Some of these luxury properties are now being built close to the national park. The developers have created a “beach” for the rich owners, by encroaching on the coast and removing rocks that had been a habitat for marine life.

The land there is owned by the powerful Church of Cyprus. One of the villas has been sold to a Malaysian that was on Interpol lists for having embezzled public funds. He “donated” € 300 000 directly to the Archbishop of Cyprus, who then intervened on his behalf to the Minister of the Interior. The Minister convened the Council of Ministers, which within 24 hours had granted the Malaysian citizenship.

At the same time, thousands of refugees from war-stricken countries are locked up in camps awaiting for years for their asylum applications to be processed. And the island’s few remaining natural habitats get destroyed … It’s heartbreaking."

Today we are in ‘memorandum’ for Raphael Coleman, also known as Iggy Fox, our friend, collaborator and most featured person of the Climate Collective 🌏

Thank you for inspiring everyone with your fierce passion and love for the environment. Celebrated Extinction Rebellion activist and founder of The Wildlife Workers Network.

Here are some words from his mother:

“Beloved Raphael, beloved Iggy-

You were a force of nature, and now you are a new kind of force : you are atoms of chlorophyll, you are water, you are an ants nest, you are moss on a stone, a birds feather, a wolf’s paw print, a tiger, a tree, a praying mantis, a stingray, a squirrel. You are the sky and the sea and the forests and the mountains and the marshes and the deserts and everything in between. With your scientist’s and your writer’s eye, I think that’s how you’d see it.

You didn’t believe in heaven because you knew heaven was here on Earth. You saw it clearly and you helped others see it. It’s all here. All we could ever wish for or need us is all around us.

I feel my life is over because your life - your physical life, your life in that multiply tattooed and apparently healthy young body - is over. But you wouldn’t want me or anyone else to think that. I know -so deeply and so strongly that you could be sitting next to me holding my hand and telling me this, that sadness and grief are part of the human cycle and that nobody is immune. And that Homo sapiens is amazing and inventive and joyful as well as selfish and destructive. And that our natural urge to do the right thing is what we must hang on to - and what must triumph - if our civilisation is to remain decent and our world worth living in.

I will forever see you in the kindness of strangers, in the comradeship of people with a common cause, in family love, in friendship, and in the passion of our fellow activists. You are with us now just as you are with all those honoured to have a place in that big generous heart of yours, a heart that failed far far too soon.

Let’s celebrate him, with love and rage in our hearts : love for him and for this planet , rage against the injustices and damage knowingly inflicted by its elected and non elected leaders.

But mostly, love.”

When he passed he was doing anti-poaching training in South Africa. Let’s do Raph proud and fight for a future he can’t be part of but fought so hard to achieve.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Ct16S96LUHg

A new and exciting socio-cultural initiative is starting in Athens: Generation Symbiocene, bridging art, community and nature 🌿 We spoke with their coordinating team:

"GEN (S) is a community working towards repairing the emotional connection between humans and the rest of the living world, starting in Athens through the creation of a space of expression and the organization of artistic workshops in parks.

It all started recently when we were discussing our eco-anxiety and looking for ways to exit the wrongly coined « Anthropocene». Inspired by the positive and hopeful story of the Symbiocene, a term invented by Glenn Albrecht defining a new era of companionship in human-nature relationships, we decided is was time to change the narrative and to cultivate naturecultures (nature and culture being inextricable concepts). One of us took part in the START - Create Cultural Change program, and Generation Symbiocene was born !

Starting on February 13th, we'll be inviting people interested in the Symbiocene to meet with us every two weeks in order to build the GEN (S) community.

From March to May, join us in the parks of Athens to (re)connect with the natural world through creative writing, music, movement and story-telling ! We've also prepared a scavenger hunt & painting activity for the little ones 😀

If you want to know more about us and our actions, come talk to us next Wednesday (05.02, 18.00-21.00) at Raraou: https://www.facebook.com/events/513718162835573/ "

Soon after the global Fridays For Future began, a group of academics and concerned citizens started Researchers Desk to directly link academics and people and address common questions around the environment and climate change. We spoke with their founder, Toya:

"Researchers Desk was born 24/5-2019 at the 2nd Global School Strike For Future.

More and more climate related researchers are joining as we move forward in our aim to make the urgency of the climate disruptions known to, and understood by Everyone.
We give Street Lectures, hold classes and lectures as well as being available for discussions and Q&A's."

Co-founder Sicily Fiennes spoke to Dawa, an advocate and campaigner for Tibetan climate and social justice. Here is his story:

S: Why have you come today?

D: I came to join the Global Climate Strike and I’m trying to create awareness about my own homeland, Tibet. Tibet is known as the 3rd pole. We have 2 poles we know of and Tibet is the ‘3rd pole’. Tibet is the highest plateau in the world and holds the largest freshwater reservoir in Asia. The climate effect is happening faster in Tibet than the north and south poles.

S: Really?

D: Glaciers are melting, more than 1.4 billion people in Asia rely on the rivers of Tibet, so it’s affecting them.

S: What do you think of governments are doing about it? They’re making all of these weak commitments but 2050… it feels too late for me.

D: It’s not too late, at least the younger generations are doing something the leaders should have done a long time ago, but they missed it. But it’s ok, we now have a generation who belongs to the 21st century, they have the power. Within 30 years, they’ll be the new leaders- that’s a really hopeful sign.

As Cop25cl comes to an end, many young people express anger and frustration over its outcomes. But we must remain optimistic! Nick Fitzpatrick:

"Sat bewildered in my FlixBus seat at the start of a two-day journey back to Sweden, I attempted to gather my thoughts on the latest dismal attempt to slow down civilisation from heading towards the cliff. Was the ninety hour return bus really worth it?

This was my third COP, and despite a hectic schedule of events, I left Madrid more convinced that indigenous peoples and youths call for action are falling on deaf ears. They definitely heard us (and kicked us out) but still emissions continue to rise. That’s of course unless you double count reductions, use Kyoto credits and play with dodgy carbon markets to inequitably solve the climate dilemma. Sorry but when has the ‘market’ ever been equitable for all? But at least now countries will be able to access loss and damage finance under the Green Climate Fund…if only it didn’t take almost a year to get money from it. Imagine trying to rebuild your only hours that was destroyed and being told you have to wait 365 days? Surely we can do better than this...

Despite the fluffy bottom-up nature of the Paris Agreement, it was clear this time is our last chance to address humans ever-increasing impact on the planet. At a time when economic growth is still unquestionable and CO2 emissions have grown more than 65% since the formation of the UNFCCC process it is clear as day that we are nowhere near ready to tackle this problem together.

It’s obvious we need to try our hand at transformative action elsewhere…don’t give up! Let’s begin practicing a truly sustainable post-growth future."

At Cop25cl we spoke with a delegation of indigenous Ecuadorian people and we asked them about indigenous representation in this year's climate negotiations:

"First of all, indigenous rights should be acknowledged and respected. What the United Nations need to do is support the existing initiatives by indigenous people on the frontlines around the world. We are tired of our governments ignoring us. With fires in Brazil, Asia, Africa, North America this is a crucial year. We need to fight for respect" ✊🌳

📷: Agisilaos Koulouris

At Cop25cl we met with Icelandic environmental advocate Aðalbjörg Egilsdóttir, who shares with us how Iceland is not as environmentally friendly as people would like to think... 🇮🇸

"I have been doing all that I can but I still don’t feel like it is enough. I have been striking, calling for more action inside my university, working on climate education, but I feel like I’m not being heard. The Icelandic government says that they’re listening but they’re not showing it.

We actually asked our government to declare a climate emergency. We met with a few ministers with our demands and also an action plan. They refused. When they’re on international platforms, like here on COP25, they talk about how great they are and how much they’ve done, but we change our heating and electricity to renewables decades ago and barely anything has happened since. We’re just constantly increasing our carbon footprint and if you look at our international carbon footprint it’s the third highest in the world. And it’s like they don’t realize that we need more action, we need them to take this seriously and do what needs to be done. We have presented them with ideas and demands. The only thing they need to do is act on it.

Even though I don’t feel like I’m being heard, I have to keep going, and I will. I will be vocal here at #cop25, I will be vocal at the climate strikes when I come back home, at work and at the university. I just hope that they will actually start to listen soon."

Reporting from Cop25cl, Australia is gathering a very bad reputation for its climate record. As fires are raging in the country, Maike Puracal shares her experiences 🔥:

~~~
"This is the new normal and I'm scared"
~~~

"Australia is experiencing its worst bushfire season on record, and it’s not even peak summer yet. Gross land and water mismanagement and a hotter and drier climate has cause the most horrific annihilation of world heritage bush land, as well as its wildlife and people’s homes and lives. Over 1.5 million hectares have already been completely destroyed, including world heritage Gondwana rainforest in the north of New South Wales, the oldest rainforest in the world. Sub-tropical rainforest areas which have always been too wet to burn have been razed to the ground. We thought we were safe in Sydney, but the city has been choked by smoke for over a month now as the outer suburbs burn. A lack of wind has left a relentless smoke haze across the city, affecting our health and obstructing the sky with an orange glow.

The Morrison government’s response to this ongoing tragedy was to encourage families who have lost their homes to get excited for the upcoming season of cricket. The only real action so far has been a $48 million dollar recovery pledge to affected farmers, which farmers described as a “drop in the bucket”. Nothing about cutting emissions, nothing about protecting the landscape and wildlife. The summer is only going to get hotter and already this year more records than ever have been broken for high temperatures and low rainfall, but the people in power continue to deny climate change and line their pockets with big coal companies.

This morning I went to collect my washing from the backyard and found it covered in a film of ash. The morning news warned the smoke won’t ease anytime soon and to avoid exercising outdoors. Growing up we always joked we’d eventually have to all move south when climate change makes Sydney too hot, but scientists are warning that already this summer we’ll be reaching 50 degrees if nothing drastic is done. This is the new normal and I’m scared.

As the Cop25cl continues in Madrid, we highlight more stories of people who are taking on the most urgent socio-environmental struggles back in Chile.

"“I have been living in Chile for almost three years and never expected to see protests like we have seen for the past six weeks. I was actually out of the country when they started and it’s illegal for foreigners to participate. In the wake of the COP25 being moved to Spain, six local environmental organizations got together last weekend to clean the river that runs through Santiago, the Mapocho - which is a form of protest that foreigners CAN participate in!

The movement was called #mapochorioabajo. I am thrilled to see Chilean activists at the COP25 speaking up about the environmental implications of the socioeconomic inequalities in Chile. The sign on the bridge reads ‘Chile sacrifices the environment and communities for industrial development. The social crisis is also environmental.’ The cleanup was very tough and eye-opening. We found mattresses, broken bottles, escooters, and even dead animals. It is clear that the city is not paying enough attention to its waterways. As one of the longest coastlines in the world, Chile has a responsibility to take care of its water!”

Solidarity and power to the people of Chile! 🌍✊

Our team is currently at Cop25cl, where representatives of all Governments have gathered to finalize negotiations on the Paris Agreement. The Conference would initially be hosted by Chile, but due to weeks of social unrest, Spain stepped in to host the event instead. One of our followers urged us to highlight the deep-rooted social (and environmental) injustices that the Chilean Government is inflicting on its people.

"I would like you guys to keep us in mind because part of what people are asking the government of Chile is about the climate. The main topic however, is a new society where we respect each other and that also includes taking care of the environment."

The Climate Collective Team has always firmly believed that the social and environmental crises that our world is facing are inextricably linked and should always be viewed in that way. We stand in solidarity with all people fighting for a more equitable and environmentally just world. ✊🌍

We spoke with Marc Delalonde, who is a cultural manager and a current fellow at START - Create Cultural Change:

"I was studying ancient history when my "awakening" happened. Hearing about the ecological crisis, I started to watch documentaries, to read reports and articles, and to change many things in my life, beginning with cutting meat out of my diet. When offered with a PhD to continue my research, something I had been dreaming of for years, I suddenly felt it wasn't right. I could not hide anymore and live my life like I didn't know what was happening to nature.

I chose to start over, to work for change through culture and art. Why? Because these are tools we can use to deconstruct the social and cultural representations upon which our (capitalist) society is based, which sees nature and culture as opposite concepts. If we are to put a stop to the ongoing ecological disaster, we have to understand that we, as humans, are part of nature. It is essential to (re)connect to the Earth. We need a natureculture!

It's time to change the narrative wrongly coined as the "Anthropocene", which tells a story of failure and irreversible collapse. We cannot protect something we don't care for, and we cannot care for something we don't love and respect. This is where art can be a powerful agent of change, because it generates emotions.

Art should be a tool used to tell a different story, a story of hope and symbiosis (“living together”) between humans and the rest of the natural world. This is what I am working on at the moment for my next project in Greece, which will hopefully come to life soon!"

Project link: https://www.startgreece.net/fellows/marc-delalonde

Photo credits: Emmanouela Kyriakopoulou and Johanna Ochner

Photo descriptions: 2.Project Symbio(s)Art in Hamburg, Germany (21-31 October 2019) in the frame of @START – Create Cultural Change. Autumn is when hedgehogs prepare for hibernation. Children learned about the needs of hedgehogs and built a small house for them to be safe/warm during winter.
©Johanna Ochner

3. They also learned about the animal's life and ecosystem through painting. ©Johanna Ochner

4. Meanwhile, a group of adults of all ages wandered through the park and wrote down what they could see, hear, smell, touch, as well as emotions they experienced. ©Johanna Ochner

5. Feeling inspired, they wrote an excerpt of their "Sumbiography": the story of their life from the perspective of nature! ©Johanna Ochner

Sunday night thoughts from Andrea TruHi of the band, Me and The Monster:

"I live in Berlin, and the 21st of September I was one of the thousands of people who took part of the global climate strike.

The strike was called at 12pm in Brandenburger Tor. I arranged to meet with two friends at 11am to have some time to get there with enough space to walk... how naive of us!
When the train I was supposed to jump on arrived, I was shocked. It was physically impossible to get in, so I waited for the next one.
When this one arrived, there were the same views: a train filled with kids of all ages and sizes, most of them with a self-made banner about the climate crisis.
My eyes watered as I flashed back to COP21 in Paris, where my family and I got so worried about the lack of youth fighting for their own future.
Yes, things are changing. We are waking up.

Once in Potsdamer Platz (one station away from Brandenburger Tor; only a ten minute walk from one another) you could see the crowds forming. You could feel the excitement of the moment in the people's faces.
As the speakers blasting music approached, the people gathered around them to sing along and raise their banners.
The weather was perfect to take the streets.

At twelve o'clock, everything that the eye could cover around Brandenburger Tor was packed with people.
Youth. Youth everywhere.

After speeches of several activists and different musical acts, the mobilization started. A river of humans began to move through the center of Berlin.

It was sometimes hard to see further in front because of the huge amount of banners. I had the feeling almost everyone there had one; of so many different shapes and colours, with different messages but all of them saying the same: IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE.

Powerful poem by published swedish-somalian activist-poet Mona Monasar

Check out her recently published book: https://www.nok.se/titlar/allmanlitteratur-barn-och-ungdom/modersmal/?fbclid=IwAR2k5rVWA_6cQdpV7AnPFxOV4PV36XkDunjkPOto7im7vcgRDqw1ytwbFmM
----------------------------------------

WWF klimatmanifestation

Translated:

I press down my fingers into the soil
Praying that they will take hold
that they will take root
blossom
But my fingers only go numb
and the earth strikes back
asking us to strike back
start over, redo
maybe do a little more right this time
and we try
we try stubbornly
which makes me think of the metaphor of dandelions and how they can grow through asphalt
and that is telling us that the fight is not over
and how we can all do a little more
and a little better

I'm thinking of Förbifart Stockholm
and about how the importance of the local environment can be forgotten
when it comes to some
the forgotten parts of the city
and how the environment is a part of us all
but still, nature and the environment are such a remote thing for some
How things like walking in the woods are free can be said
without a broader perspective
I think about how I am struggling to write a poem about the environment and nature
when it has been present throughout my life
but still feel that it is not personal enough
a little too distant

When I think of the environment, I often think of everything we have done wrong
or rather everything that has been done wrong and which we now must clean up
apologize for
I imagine
what mother earth would say if she could speak with her words
she takes my mother's form in front of me
and I see my mother's disappointed face
how she shakes her head slowly and turns her back on
I think of the poet Warsan Shire
and her poem

“later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?

it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere”

Original:

Jag trycker ner mina fingrar i jorden
Ber att de ska ta fäste
Slå rot
Blomma ut
Göra sig hemma
Men mina fingrar domnar bara bort
jorden slår tillbaka
ber oss att slå tillbaka
göra om
kanske göra lite mera rätt denna gång
och vi försöker
vi försöker envist
vilket får mig att tänka på den uttjatade metaforen om maskroser och hur de kan växa genom asfalt
och att det liknas med att kampen inte är över
och hur vi alla kan göra lite mer
och lite bättre
vilket får mig bara att tänka på hur vi alla är som en fröställning på maskrosen
instabilt och endast lyckats hålla oss kvar av ren tur

jag tänker på förbifart Stockholm
och om hur vikten av närmiljön kan glömmas bort
när det kommer till vissa
det förbisedda stockholm
och på hur miljön är en del av oss alla
men ändå så är naturen och miljön en så avlägsen grej för vissa
hur saker som att gå i skogen är gratis kan sägas
utan ett bredare perspektiv
sen tänker jag på hur jag kan kämpa med att skriva en dikt om miljön och naturen
när den varit närvarande i hela mitt liv
men ändå känna att det inte är så personligt
lite för distanserat

när jag tänker på miljön tänker jag ofta på allt vi gjort fel
eller snarare allt som gjorts fel och som vi nu måste städa upp
be om ursäkt för
och att veta att detta är en fråga som alltid får komma i efterhand
lite som en baktanke
och jag föreställer mig bara
vad moder jord skulle säga om hon med sina ord kunde tala
hon tar min mors form framför mig
och jag ser min mammas besvikna min
hur hon skakar på huvudet långsamt och vänder mig ryggen
jag tänker på Warsan Shire
och hennes dikt
som går såhär
”sent den kvällen höll jag en världskarta i min hand
drog fingret längs med hela
och viskade
vart gör det ont
den svarade
överallt
överallt
överallt”

What's your story?

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We are happy to feature the director of Greenpeace Greece, Nikos Charalambides weighing in on the latest wave of peaceful environmental civil disobedience sweeping across the world:

"This is time unusual. Clock is ticking and global temperature is rising. No way can we continue negotiating and arguing if this is 99.5% sure or 100% certain. If there is something more certain that is we cannot achieve the change needed by following the patterns that lead us here by listening to the same players, following the same processes, serving the same system. That is why people are taking the streets. It started with Greta then Fridays for future then Extinction Rebellion and hopefully, there will be more. The necessary changes we need to go through to protect life on earth from the climate crisis are simply huge. There is no time to waste. We have less than 0,5 degrees Celsius and 12 years. The time for change is now."

Some Wednesday wisdom from Emma McKeagney:

‘Right now I am definitely not where I want to be in terms of my engagement with the amazing wave of climate activists and movements. I can’t really consider myself an activist. I look on at the current movement in awe! So happy that the conversation is finally this loud and making change. But I have to pay rent, I moved to a city far away from home in the hopes of succeeding I guess but realised since being here that any notion of personal success is so tied up and implicated by capitalism that I’m not really thriving for the same notion of success I was a year ago.

So right now I am making plans, plans to change my life and to try and become less trapped by my daily actions and the larger harmful system of working too much and engaging less in the earth and what it means to be human here. I want to grow food, to have time to do so, to need to travel less and to live somewhere I can engage in. But I still need the money to do all these things right now and I would be full of shit to say that it’s easy for everyone to make drastic changes in their lives to disconnect from capitalism as much as we need to. I still have all the desires I was raised to have. I want to ‘be successful’, to travel and see the world, to have kids, to own a home and a car- but now I’m seeing these things as more problematic than ever. Now for me it’s about finding the right time and way to create a more sustainable life. It takes time and a lot of planning.

This movement has completely changed my idea of what I want for my life, and has made me realise that the only way to be truly sustainable and to disengage from capitalism is to accept a smaller life, possibly away from any city you have ever thought was cool or where you want to be. We have to accept as young people that if we really want to change things we can’t want what the generations before us wanted, we need to thrive for humbler and quieter lives, making collectives and networks successful rather than personal success be your goal.’

Γιώργος Περρ reflects on his experience from the global climate strike in Athens, Greece:

"I don't know how we'll explain to the kids of tomorrow that Greek people care more about a name change for North Macedonia than they do for climate change and the environment. I don't know how will we look them in the eyes and tell them that the problems they're facing today are a result of our inaction. It's shameful and unjust. There was only a few of us in the climate march in Athens. Only a few compared to how many we should have been. But the energy was electrifying.

I hope that day by day, those who protest also:
- reduce plastic
- recycle (yes, there are people who still stubbornly refuse to do so)
- will vote governments with a strong environmental agenda
- will use their money to support env. NGOs, instead of fuelling mindless consumption (be it cool clothes, or meat)
- will join grassroots movements to demand systemic change
And I hope that those numbers will go up day by day.

We can all change. I was ignorant a year ago on environmental issues. We can all contribute, even with small actions. Additively, everything counts!"

The #climatestrikes continue, but Fox of Wilderlost Media reminds us of the importance of Extinction Rebellion running in parallel:

"I'm proud to stand with the Youth Strikers for the 4th time. The climate movement is growing crazy fast. Millions were mobilised across the world. The energy of the young people leading this incredible movement has inspired me. I'm so relieved to see more adults joining them this time. I hope that those who turned out in force will continue their commitment to strike until the 27th.

But the Strikers are not alone. From October 7th, the Rebels take the baton. We're fewer in number than the Strikers, but we're prepared and determined to go to great lengths to leverage government action.

Using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience as our crowbar to crack open the door to a better future, we'll be shutting down big cities around the world, causing economic disruption with artistic and creative actions for over two weeks.

We need #EverybodyNow to join us for Worldwide Rebellion: Continues October 7th 2019 from October 7th. This is the most important month of your life. Book two weeks or more off work, get involved with your local or national XR group, and hit the streets.

The youth have started this autumn's uprising with a lightning Strike to wake us. Now it's time to rise up and Rebel. These are the moments you'll tell your children about. I'll see you on the streets."

Happy Monday! The climate week is still on. Many young people weren't able to join the #climatestrikes, but still show their support through messages of solidarity. Like Sicily Fiennes, our co-founder and avid sea-turtle conservationist 🐢🌞:

"So, we're out here volunteering at a sea turtle conservation project in Greece - though this is just one population of a species that's recovering and doing well. Over 200 species are going extinct PER DAY and today we're fighting for them especially. Your actions contribute to the collaborative effort which we're seeing across the planet. BUT We can and need to do more"

Next big strike: 27th of September
https://globalclimatestrike.net/#map