Extinction Rebellion Manawatu activists Kirsty Porter (left), Rachael Andrews, Philip McConkey, Jean Hera and Beth Tolley at the launch of Green Fridays. Photo / Judith Lacy
Extinction Rebellion Manawatu activists Kirsty Porter (left), Rachael Andrews, Philip McConkey, Jean Hera and Beth Tolley at the launch of Green Fridays. Photo / Judith Lacy
The name has changed but the determination has not.
Extinction Rebellion Manawatū has been waving the flag for climate action since January 2019 under the branding Fridays for Future.
Last Friday, Good Friday, it launched Green Fridays, the idea of Auckland environmentalist and Fashion Rebellion Aotearoa member Lucy-Mae Goffe-Robertson.
GreenFridays is a national movement to raise awareness and mobilise people to call for climate action now in a just transition, Manawatū activist Rachael Andrews says.
The call is to wear green on Fridays to show support. Last Friday, activists were also doing a green clothes swap and eating (green) feijoas.
When Extinction Rebellion Manawatū started its vigils not many people were talking about climate change and it wasn't in the news much, Andrews says.
Having a presence in The Square every Friday has been a way of having conversations with people. Now climate change is in the news all the time and a massive global movement is trying to address the problem.
Andrews points to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' comments this month about the third Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
"This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies. Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic."
Guterres said climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals.
"But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels. Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness."
Philip McConkey has attended the Extinction Rebellion vigils from the beginning. He keeps coming as the issue is not going away.
"This is the biggest issue that faces the planet."
It is not just about people but all the species we are taking with us, he says. Thousands of species are becoming extinct because of the warming planet.
"The issue is not going to go away and we're not going to let it go away."
Waving flags is a way of reminding people climate change is real, emissions keep going up, and the temperature of the planet keeps rising, McConkey says. "The more conversations the better."
The items at the green swap at the launch of Green Fridays in Palmerston North. Photo / Judith Lacy
Activists want change, action and to help people understand the issue and what they can do.
A few ways people can address climate change are using your car as little as possible, avoiding buying things wrapped in plastic, growing a few leafy green vegetables to reduce food miles, and composting.
"Think constantly about the future and the kind of world you want for your children and grandchildren."
Local and central government has to make changes too, McConkey says.
The vigils are held on the west side of The Square because of its proximity to the city council and also because it is Te Marae of Hine - the people's gathering place.
Just transitions to a planet with fewer emissions are important to Jean Hera, making sure low-income earners and farmers are looked after in the move to new ways of living.
"It's not about hurting anyone, it's about everyone being looked after."
Earth Day is on April 22. This year's theme is invest in our planet.
