Organizers are gearing up for further action in October
COLE SCHISLER
Sep. 25, 2021
One person has been arrested after Extinction Rebellion blocked the intersection of Main Street and E Broadway during a climate protest in Vancouver.
In a movement dubbed the “National Day of Rebellion”, which organizers admit fell short of a national movement, protesters are calling on all levels of government for action to address the climate crisis.
Protesters marched from Prince Edward Park down Main Street accompanied by a carnival band and a large contingent of Vancouver Police officers.
Brent Eichler, an Extinction Rebellion member, said the group has held roughly two events a month. Extinction Rebellion is planning further actions throughout October, with a large action planned for October 16.
“We’re living in extreme times. The climate science tells us we have very little time to turn this ship around before there will be drastic consequences,” Eichler said.
Blake Mikulin is a youth climate protester and said that participating in the march helped him feel that he could do something about climate change.
“I’m only 18 and ever since I was little I was told the planet is dying… this gives me an opportunity to do something because I’ve always wanted to,” he said.
Over 50 Vancouver Police officers responded to the protest. The intersection has now reopened.
One arrested after Vancouver climate protest shuts down intersection
By Simon Little Global News
Posted September 25, 2021 
Extinction rebellion protesters occupy an intersection in Vancouver. Global News
Vancouver police say they arrested one person after Climate activists occupied an intersection in Mount Pleasant.
Police say about 75 people filled the intersection of Main Street and East Broadway around 2:30 p.m., where they held banners and blocked traffic for “several hours.”
Police eventually ordered the group to disperse, which they did with the exception of a 26-year-old woman who was arrested for mischief.
Activist group Extinction Rebellion Vancouver said the protest was meant to highlight government inaction on climate change.
READ MORE: Hundreds join youth-led climate action rallies in Vancouver, Victoria
“The government has failed to act on the climate crisis and provide a safe & livable future for future generations, and so it is a moral imperative we act, and engage in non violent civil disobedience,” Brent Eichler, Extinction Rebellion member and president of Unifor Local 950 said in a media release.
The group says Saturday’s protest is part of a lead-up to a “Canada-wide rebellion” starting in October.
On Friday, an unrelated youth-led group of climate activists rallied at Jack Poole Plaza before marching through downtown.
READ MORE: What a renewed Trudeau minority government means for climate policy in Canada
In August, the United Nations panel on climate change warned that human-caused climate change was dangerously close to running out of control.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Earth is already facing extreme weather events due to greenhouse gas emissions, and the planet will exceed key warming milestones of 1.5 degrees Celcius and 2 degrees Celcius within the coming century, with potentially irreversible results.
Vancouver police say they arrested one person after Climate activists occupied an intersection in Mount Pleasant.
Police say about 75 people filled the intersection of Main Street and East Broadway around 2:30 p.m., where they held banners and blocked traffic for “several hours.”
Police eventually ordered the group to disperse, which they did with the exception of a 26-year-old woman who was arrested for mischief.
Activist group Extinction Rebellion Vancouver said the protest was meant to highlight government inaction on climate change.
READ MORE: Hundreds join youth-led climate action rallies in Vancouver, Victoria
“The government has failed to act on the climate crisis and provide a safe & livable future for future generations, and so it is a moral imperative we act, and engage in non violent civil disobedience,” Brent Eichler, Extinction Rebellion member and president of Unifor Local 950 said in a media release.
The group says Saturday’s protest is part of a lead-up to a “Canada-wide rebellion” starting in October.
On Friday, an unrelated youth-led group of climate activists rallied at Jack Poole Plaza before marching through downtown.
READ MORE: What a renewed Trudeau minority government means for climate policy in Canada
In August, the United Nations panel on climate change warned that human-caused climate change was dangerously close to running out of control.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Earth is already facing extreme weather events due to greenhouse gas emissions, and the planet will exceed key warming milestones of 1.5 degrees Celcius and 2 degrees Celcius within the coming century, with potentially irreversible results.
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