Hello Fellow Rebels, ✊🏼
So there are two ways to change the system. One is through civil disobedience, and the second is through legal litigation. In this issue we take a look at the two methods and their respective successes.
A friendly reminder: I know it’s difficult, but dodge those Black Friday sales as much as you can—go green by buying nothing instead #StickItToTheMan 🦃.
*Today we give thanks to the indigenous people worldwide fighting arduously to protect our Mama Earth. 🌱
Court Finds Australian Government has a Legal Duty to Avoid Climate Harm
In September 2020, eight school children with the assistance of 86-year-old Sister Marie Brigid Arthur brought a class action lawsuit against the Australian Federal Minister for Environment on behalf of all young people. The case concerned the approval of a coal mine extension known as the Vickery Extension Project.
The Judge ruled in favor of the kids, and held that Australia’s Minister of the Environment has a “duty to avoid causing injury or death” to all Australians under eighteen “arising from emissions of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere.”
This case establishes an important precedent worldwide. Read more about it here.
Blockade Australia
Courageous young activists are abseiling off coal handling machinery, blocking trains by laying down weeks at a time on tracks leading to Newcastle Coal Port and organizing mass protests in Australia’s largest cities—the blockades are said to have disrupted at least $60m in coal exports.
This week a blockade activist got arrested and sentenced to 12 months in jail—he has now been released on bail. This event starkly reminds me of our older article: The Wrong People are Getting Arrested. When the youth is scared shitless for their uncertain future and are forced out on the streets, AND then get arrested, it begs the question… For who are politicians really working for?
It’s high time that the world’s corrupt leadership is outed—and somehow arresting activists is doing just that.
"I'm doing this because I'm 24 and already grieving the loss of my planet. Australia is a violent and exploitative system predicated on infinite expansion and the extraction of wealth from the Earth. It is fundamentally incompatible with our planet's life support systems."—Emily
Earth’s Defenders
Indigenous people comprise less than 5% of the world's population, yet they protect 80% of global biodiversity. We owe a lot to them.
In the last four decades indigenous people have set up NGOs, organized mass protests and filed legal litigations on behalf of our planet. Their experience is sadly unparalleled.
They are Earth’s ultimate defenders, constantly fighting against corporate interests.
Here some amazing indigenous wins, that should inspire us to keep fighting the status quo:
Waorani People Win Landmark Legal Victory Against Ecuadorian Government - 2019
Keystone XL pipeline in Dakota cancelled after being sued by The Rosebud Sioux Tribe - 2020
*let’s take a minute to remember that this is a dangerous job. Every year about 250 indigenous activists are murdered around the world.