The big Restore Nature Now march
At least 50,000 people flocked to central London on Saturday for a Restore Nature Now march backed by 350 environmental groups. It demanded action on the crisis ravaging nature.
Supporters ranged from charities such as the RSPB bird group, The Woodland Trust, The National Trust, World Wildlife Fund and Butterfly Conservation to direct action groups Just Stop Oil and the Hunt Saboteurs.
Protesters travelled from all over Britain. By far the largest and most visible group on the demonstration was Extinction Rebellion (XR).
The group had a 300-strong march of its own in the morning and then met with the main demonstration.
Valerie, a member of XR and retired doctor, was on a health workers against climate change bloc.
She said she was furious with how politicians barely speak about the climate crisis in the run-up to the election.
“I don’t understand how they just don’t care. There’s flooding, heatwaves and extreme weather.
“People are dying here in London because of pollution. The destruction of nature is a health crisis. The climate crisis is a health crisis. Yet those in positions of power don’t seem to see that.”
Matt from west Wales also felt that those in power aren’t doing enough.
“The Tories obviously don’t care about the climate. But Labour barely talks about it either.”
He added that it has never been more urgent to get out onto the streets. “More than 1,000 people have died while completing the Hajj in Mecca because of extreme heat. If that’s not a reason to stand up I don’t know what is.”
On Wednesday JSO activists threw orange cornflour over Stonehenge. This led to condemnation from Keir Starmer and other politicians and from the right wing press.
Some supported this tactic on the march, but others weren’t so sure.
Jason from JSO explained, “It’s important for us to show that JSO is part of a wider fightback and a wider movement. It’s so good that there are so many different groups here. The crisis is so multifaceted it’s good to see that so many are represented.
“It’s also important for us to be here to rage against the fact that our government is still handing out oil and gas licences. They now have enough oil and gas to last them until 2050, yet still, they want to dig up more.”
Jason added that JSO will keep on doing ambitious actions until those in power take notice.
“We were on the front pages of papers after the Stonehenge action. Of course they mischaracterised what we did. They said we threw paint when we didn’t.
“We have to do outrageous things to be listened to. We sprayed private jets the day after and the press didn’t care so much.
“We’re trying to find ways to get people to notice to tell them the truth and that means we have to go to more extreme lengths.”
There was a mix of ideas on the demonstration.
Some were there to push for the conservation of nature and wildlife by pressure on MPs and inside the present set-up. Others believe fundamental system change is needed to stop environmental collapse.
As with many other campaigns, the crucial debate is how to win mass involvement but also take radical measures. There cannot be a retreat from strong actions.
For XR, the march was “part of a push for system change, working with many environmental-focused organisations. XR is now gearing up to ‘Upgrade Democracy,’ the next mass occupation starting on 30 August 2024.”
People were dressed up as different animals, from bees to badgers. Birdsong was played throughout the demonstration.
But there was also a mood for more radical ideas. At the end of the demonstration, thousands gathered in Parliament Square.
Asad Rehman from War on Want received some of the biggest cheers for any of the speakers.
He spoke passionately about linking the fight for nature with the cost of living crisis and the end of the war in Gaza.
Humans are part of nature. We need a world of workers’ democracy and participation which protects all aspects of the environment.
We need system change to defend nature and our environment.
The Just Stop Oil protest at Stonehenge wasn’t the first time the stones became a site of resistance.
More than half a century ago campaigners against nuclear weapons daubed them. And politicians then reacted in the same way they do now—with slurs and disparaging language.
Here’s the exchange in parliament:
Statement on 14 March 1961 by Tory minister John Hope MP
During the early hours of 2 March, the words Ban the Bomb and an emblem which, I understand, represents a movement concerned with nuclear disarmament were applied in distemper across nine of the stones; and on the following night crude images of animals etc. were daubed with buff-white paint on ten stones. The police are pursuing inquiries and are co-operating by increasing their patrols in the area. The paint has been removed and no serious damage has resulted from these acts of vandalism.
Frank Hayman, Labour MP: While we are all grateful that there has been no serious damage to this prehistoric monument which means so much to the country, will the right hon. Gentleman and the police do all they can to get hold of the vandals responsible in each case? Will the Minister also bear in mind that the general public will not grudge any extra expense which may be necessary to safeguard this monument?
John Hope: Yes. Of course, we will do what we can. The only ray of hope I can offer the hon. Member is that the moon was full that night and these people therefore may have been lunatics.
Socialist Worker says anyone worried about the future of Stonehenge should be concerned about climate change damage and pollution, not condemning Just Stop Oil protests.
Scorching temperatures caused by climate change are killing people.
At least 1,300 people died while taking part in the Hajj Muslim pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia according to an official toll released last Sunday.
The heat in the Middle Eastern country has soared to as high as 50 degrees celsius.
For years the Saudi state has been warned that extreme heat will make the pilgrimage more deadly. In 2019, a study found that high heat levels would reach “extreme danger” levels in this century.
Another study in 2021 found that Saudi Arabia has heated at a rate 50 percent higher than the northern hemisphere. Yet the Saudi government has disgracefully blamed the victims for their own deaths.
Saudi health minister Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that 83 percent of those that died did not have the correct paper work to perform the Hajj.
And in India a heatwave is causing devastation. On Sunday of last week at least 143 people had died and some 42,000 people had been recorded as suffering from heatstroke.
The heatwave is also expected to significantly impact the country’s wheat, rice and sugar output.
In Uttar Pradesh in northern India, power cuts have made the heat even more unbearable as people have no access to air conditioning.
Angry protesters took to the streets, set fire to a power station and held power station workers hostage for several hours to demand the power was put back on.
A staffing crisis in the NHS
Health workers set to strike across four Manchester hospitals
Bus workers rejected an offer and came back out
