Rebels deliver pile of sh*t to White House over Biden's half-baked climate plan

WASHINGTON DC, APRIL 22nd — Rebels with Extinction Rebellion DC used pink-painted wheelbarrows to deliver a steaming pile of manure to the White House for the start of the Climate Summit today to call bullsh*t on Biden's half-baked plan to cut carbon emissions by 2030.

Biden’s weak target means the world will smash past the 1.5 degrees celsius temperature limit needed to stop the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis. The president's plan is far weaker than the 8% per year that even the most conservative science says we need to cut by 2030 to keep within 1.5°C of global heating. 

"We've elected another president who can't understand basic science," said Reilly Polka, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion DC. "Just like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, Biden is fiddling with dates and targets as the ocean rises, and the world burns. The president has failed to address the immense scale of the planetary emergency. Those travelling first class are still enjoying the party too much to hear the cries of those already drowning in the decks below."

A world that is 1.5°C hotter is catastrophic for life on earth. Sea-levels will skyrocket, submerging large parts of New York, Jakarta, Shanghai, and countless other coastal cities, as well as low-lying island states. The number of dangerously hot days will rise sharply. Droughts will intensify, causing large-scale crop failure, starvation and forced migration on a scale unprecedented in human history. Civil unrest, food shortages and poverty will rise dramatically.

To achieve net zero by 2050, which only gives the world a 50:50 chance of stating within a 1.5°C rise, global emissions will have to peak in 2020 and then fall by about 8% per year for the next 10 years, according to the United Nations. At an absolute minimum, high-income countries like the US need to reach net zero emissions by 2035-2040 to comply with the Paris Agreement. And even that will only give humankind a measly 1 in 3 chance of staying below 1.5°C. Biden's target falls far short of either of these targets, condemning hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of people to immense suffering.

"This is just another "not in my term of office" scam," said Polka. "This isn't the time to hold our noses. We must realize that we are in the sh*t unless we come together, think bigger and transform. But from the most pungent sh*t, grows the most beautiful roses. We have a chance to transform society in a way that allows humankind to prosper and flourish, and prevents the needless suffering of billions."

In protest of the target, rebels with the DC chapter of international climate group Extinction Rebellion pushed pink wheelbarrows full of manure down E street and 17th on Thursday, before dumping the sh*t in front of a White House entrance. A sign stuck in the manure read: "Stop the Bullsh*t". Banners read: "Biden's 2030 Plan = Mass Death" and "Declare a Climate Emergency Now."

Rebels with shovels returned immediately to clean up, but the city had already begun to. It's unfortunate that someone else had to clean the manure, but that's exactly what Biden is asking us to do with his 2030 plan. We thank the city for their services this morning. 

Today's act of non-violent civil disobedience is part of XR's nationwide campaign to demand Biden declares a Climate Emergency under the National Emergencies Act. Beginning Wednesday, April 21, XR groups across the country launched a series of disruptive actions demanding that Biden Act Now by setting 2025 as the deadline to hit net zero. 

Critics say that such rapid change is unrealistic – but what’s unrealistic is believing a fair and just society can survive with 3, 4 or 5 degrees of warming. These temperature rises are incompatible with a functioning global community and will lead to social collapse. They are, according to some scientists, “beyond adaptation.”

Until our leaders meet the urgency of the Climate Emergency, Extinction Rebellion will continue to escalate its non-violent acts of civil resistance. A government that fails to protect its people from clear and present danger means those people have a duty to rebel. We hold the government criminally negligent for their failure to tackle the gravest existential threat of our time.

Find out more about Extinction Rebellion and it's demands here.