Declare Emergency Supporters Block Traffic On 12th Street NW At The Intersection With Constitution Avenue NW, Three Arrested
In an ongoing week of action with the goal of getting President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and halt all fossil fuel extraction/infrastructure on Federal and Indigenous lands, supporters of Declare Emergency have disrupted business as usual in the streets of DC.
At around 8 AM today, six Declare Emergency supporters went into the road and sat down because they were tired of society ignoring the climate emergency. They disrupted traffic on 12th Street NW and Constitution Ave NW in Washington D.C. to demand that President Biden declare a climate emergency and halt all new fossil fuel projects on Federal and Indigenous lands and waters. Laura Simon of VT, Michele Drossman of NY, and Anastasia Rogers of CA were arrested.
Declare Emergency supporters have been leading nonviolent civil resistance in the DC area since November 2021, calling on President Biden to declare an actual climate emergency (not practically speaking) and use his emergency powers to do everything possible to stop climate catastrophe in ways that are fair and just.
Before the action, Laura Simons said:
“I have been doing climate activism for the past few decades. I have lobbied legislators, held signs, signed petitions, gone door to door to talk to folks and attended endless meetings. I have dedicated myself to others as a social worker, teacher and activist. All those children, families and communities stay in my heart. All of what l do in life is guided by my connection to them and to the earth which we need to make livable.
We just are not moving fast enough to respond to the climate crisis. I am hoping folks will see me, an older woman, and realize they need to stand up as well. Others have been arrested a few times. Now it is my turn to make this commitment and support the work of Declare Emergency. The government and every day citizens also need to stand up. Let’s do it while there is still time to make a change.”
Before the action, Michele Drossman shared the following statement:
“I live in Nassau County, New York and am employed in Information Technology. I am 53 years old. Climate change is real and caused by the human activity of dumping carbon in the atmosphere. People are dying all over the world and losing their homes due to climate change. My being arrested is part of the wake-up call that is needed to end our addiction to fossil fuel use and find the courage to transition to other energy sources. The future of the planet is in our hands.”
During the action, Anastasia Rogers said:
“It’s kind of ridiculous that a climate emergency hasn’t been declared and there isn’t really much being done about it. Future generations are going to be suffering much more than we already are. I live in California where things are on fire more than they should be.”
You can see videos from those arrested and more footage from the action as it's released on Declare Emergency Twitter.
What does it take to wake up the public and turn their climate anxiety into agency and action enough to pressure our dysfunctional and genocidal government who subsidizes more fossil fuels? The Declare Emergency campaign is calling on all of those whose futures are being destroyed, who are facing food loss within a few years, and who are outraged at the prospect of continuing our deadly dependence on fossil fuels to step up and take action. This is a climate emergency, and this is our responsibility to ourselves, people around the world and the rest of this beautiful living world.
ABOUT DECLARE EMERGENCY
Declare Emergency is a member of the A22 Network for Civil Resistance, an ten-country coalition formed following the 1.2 degree Celsius increase in global average temperatures. Each member has a distinct policy demand from their respective governments. In the United States of America, Declare Emergency demands that President Biden declare a national climate emergency, and cease all extraction on federal and indigenous lands . https://www.declareemergency.org/
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tim Martin (919) 815-7944
DeclareEmergency@protonmail.com
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Climate Emergency Fund is the lead funder for Declare Emergency's recruitment, training, and educational efforts.