Stop Climate Chaos March
On Sunday the 29th of November 2015 the Stop Climate Chaos March took place in Dublin. Protesters came together at the Custom House to unite against Climate Change. Their goal was to urge the 150 politicians who will be meeting in Paris from the 30th of November to the 11th of December for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), to reach agreements this week that will make Climate Change history.
The thousands of environmental friendly protesters took to the road and made their way to Nassau Street before entering South Frederick Street and came to a halt in Molesworth Street in front of Dáil Éireann. Eco warriors took to the stage to address the assembly on the current issues of Climate Change in Ireland and across the world.
The objective of COP21 (held at Le Bourget, Paris, France, this year) is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, by involving every nation of the world. The purpose of the coming together for these talks will be to reach a decision on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the global temperature increase to 2 °C, bringing it down from 4 °C.
The People’s Climate March was the biggest in the history of Climate Change, with 1 million protesters worldwide taking part in marches over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
The first speakers took to the stage, addressing the issues of fossil fuels and their displeasement with politicians and the media. The feeling is that negotiations have been ongoing for the last 20 years and yet the problem is still growing.
David Joyce who is an Equality Officer for The Irish Congress of Trade Unions quoted Saharan Burrow, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, saying, “There are ‘No jobs on a dead planet’.” He spoke about reducing carbon emissions and the importance of reaching a zero carbon world – “zero carbon, zero planet”.
Duncan Steward, an environmental broadcaster followed after David, saying, “In twenty or ten years time the younger generation will ask, ‘Why did we not act when we knew the signs were unequivocal?’.” He continued ‘that it is shameful how the media is not responding to the call to stop Climate Change and that there is little being done by television, radio broadcasters and the press’. Even though he himself works for the media he feels that not enough is being done.
There are 7.3 billion people living on our planet. Greenhouse emissions and gasses are 15% above the European average per person in Ireland. The unearthing of peat, coal and the use of fracking are destroying underground resources and causing health risks to humans and animals. 80% of the fossil fuels could be left underground, thereby preventing further carbon emissions if we act with urgency. Earth’s natural Biosphere is under threat because of bad decision making.
New Yorker, Julia Walsh, is a community organizer, motivational speaker, political strategist, NGO Representative to the United Nations and has Irish ancestry. She has worked on progressive issues and campaigns since 2001. Julia gave a motivational speech on the dangers of fracking and what needs to happen at COP21 this week.
Julia is the founder of Frack Action and works at campaigning to stop fracking. Fracking is a method where fresh water is taken and spiked with highly toxic chemicals. This water is then forced underground at very high pressures so that it can blow up rock to get to gas and oil.
She said ‘that this way of getting to oil and gas has turned out to have very dangerous implications, where workers and residents in areas close to fracking sites, were diagnosed with migraines, cancers and hair loss, caused by the deadly chemicals that had leaked into their water supplies’. Ms Walsh continued that the 400 studies done on fracking had revealed that water had become so polluted in some areas that “you could light a match to it”. In other places, farmers had problems with their animals dying and giving birth to dead babies because of water pollution.
In 2005, fracking really kicked off in the US and became a real problem when the Bush-Cheney Administration decided that there would be no need to regulate hydraulic fracturing or fracking for oil and gas, leaving it to each state to regulate instead. This allowed millions of drilling operations across 34 states to continue fracking. The result was no clean water or air after a while and this after ten years of fracking only. She encouraged the crowd to chant, “Stop Fracking, Stop Fracking!”
The last speaker was Amy, a 17-year-old youth activist from Clondalkin. She gave a very warm and energetic motivational speech, also urging the politicians who will be getting together at this week’s COP21, to reach agreements that will be of benefit to us all. She was impressed with the attendance of the thousands of eco warriors who were all there to do their share and get a point across to our leaders and said, “this today is true democracy in action. To sum it up in one word: ‘solidarity’.”
As the protesters left Dáil Éireann there was a little hail storm falling from the sky. Their only request from Enda Kenny and the others: they want immediate action against Climate Change.
