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Why I joined Extinction Rebellion, and why you should too.

XR's hourglass logo, to represent time
running out for many species.
At the beginning of my second year of university I realised I felt a bit useless. First year of university flew by with settling in, going out, and getting to grips with my course. I was very lucky to be coming back to Cardiff last September with an amazing church family, course-mates I could always count on and a fab group of housemates.  But after the first couple of weeks of settling back in, I realised that other than church, I wasn't really doing anything to help other people and make a lasting impact. I decided I wanted it to be something environmental, so, I messaged my friend Sophie after seeing her post about Extinction Rebellion online. After chatting to Sophie, I decided to go along to a meeting.

I went along to a meeting (dragging my housemate along too because I was a bit nervous) having done absolutely no research on what, or who, Extinction Rebellion were. I don't really know why, as I'm normally pretty organised. But it didn't matter really, because Sophie began the meeting by explaining a bit about Extinction Rebellion and their three demands. Here's what I found out:

Extinction Rebellion is a non-heirarchical international movement whose goal is to tackle climate change. Activists take part in non-violent protests all over the world to make governments listen and  persuade them to act on the climate emergency.
Cardiff XR's Mass Bike Ride
The three demands:

1. Tell The Truth.
The UK government must declare a climate emergency to tell the truth about the scale of the crisis. They must work alongside organisations to convey to others the urgency of the situation and the need to change.

2. Act Now.
Our government need to act now and reach net zero for greenhouse gas emissions for 2025 to stop biodiversity loss.

2. Beyond Politics
The government must create a citizens' assembly  for the climate crisis, and be led by their decisions.

Extinction Rebellion had organised hundreds of protests all over the world, focusing on topics linked to climate change such as oil drilling. Considering the Cardiff university group is not even a year old yet, we have organised a pretty impressive amount of actions and events this year (if I may say so myself). My favourite action, and my also my first, was the Black Friday Die-In. On one of the busiest days of the year for over-consumerism, we marched through Cardiff city centre chanting 'planet not profit', whilst holding placards and handing out leaflets. Then, we went up the second floor of the St David's shopping centre and laid down on the floor. Lots of people stopped to find out what we were doing, and it gave us a great opportunity to talk to them about the environmental issues caused by companies promoting fast fashion and big tech, which were the two main focus points of the protest.

I've been part of Extinction Rebellion for about six months now, and I'm really excited about what we'll achieve in the Cardiff uni society next year. If you're passionate about looking after our planet and giving future generations the chance for a brighter future, then I can't recommend getting involved with XR. There are groups set up all over the UK (and lots worldwide if you're from further afield) so it only takes a quick search online to find out how you can get involved. If you're from Cardiff, the uni society is open to Cardiff Met and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama as well as Cardiff university so wherever you study, come along and get involved next year! For now, you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to find out what we're up to.
My podcast episode- out now!
If you want to know more, about students' experiences of Extinction Rebellion, then check out the XR University Podcast by Alexia Barrett, which you can listen to here.
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