Climate Change & Extinction Rebellion
Ben Wang
April 10, 2022
On Sunday, April 10, the speaker for the monthly CDHS members’ meeting was fellow CDHS member Ben Wang. Ben is also a member of the group Extinction Rebellion (a.k.a. XR) His presentation focused on the quickening pace of worldwide climate change, its damaging effects on all life on our frail planet, and what XR is doing to combat these climate changes.
XR’s aim is to use rational, scientific, ethical, and non-violent means to raise people’s awareness of the dire condition of our atmosphere and planet. Ben presented informative slides to demonstrate how greenhouse gases, especially CO2, are causing dramatic increases in atmospheric temperatures. Higher temperatures can lead to droughts, flooding, uncontrollable wildfires, raised sea levels, and super-storms.
Ben pointed out that often people who tell the truth are shunned or attacked by others. A goal of XR is to make doubters understand that science is not just a set of facts but a method to learn the facts and be able to question popular, commercial notions and short-sighted opinions.
The disruptive effects of climate warming could cause sea levels to raise 2 feet by 2050 and this could bring about the dislocation of about 13 million Americans. A social upheaval like this could lead to the rise of radical authoritarian politic groups.
To combat these harmful atmospheric changes XR is advocating the elimination of carbon based fuels by 2030. XR believes we are rapidly driving towards a cliff and that our current political establishment and corporate leaders are not telling us the truth about the condition of our climate.
Extinction Rebellion believes their messaged that the world does not offer unlimited resources and that there is no utility in exploring other planets as potential sites for human colonization when earth’s resources are depleted must be heard around the world. Their truth is that we have to make changes that will lessen modern society’s impact on our planet as fast as possible.
More information about Extinction Rebellion can be found online at: https://rebellion.global