This is a copy of a speech I gave at Extinction Rebellion’s ‘Drown In’ protest, held in Northcote, Melbourne on September 29.
Good morning everybody, my name’s Luke. I’m a writer. I’m a film critic by trade. I never thought I’d be doing anything like this. But then again, with the climate crisis, we are all living in extraordinary times.
In a few minutes we’ll be marching down High Street with a wonderful array of artistic creations. Jellyfish fashioned from recycled plastic bags. Banners depicting bright blue waves. Signs picturing skulls and baby turtles. A transparent coffin filled with homemade coral.
The art is beautiful but the context is tragic.
Climate change is heating our oceans. The chemistry of our water is being altered so dramatically it is threatening marine life, fueling storms, and posing risks to hundreds of millions of people living along coastlines.
The latest report addressing this, from the IPCC, arrived just five days ago.
Like many prior warnings, it tells us in clear terms that the blue planet is in danger.
The melting of our ice and the warming of our water has implications for nearly every living thing on earth.
Just this morning, The Guardian reported on how climate change is eating away Stockton Beach in New South Wales. It reported that:
“The childcare centre, supporting 72 children, was forced to permanently close on the 3rd September. And the Stockton Surf Life Saving Club – once a 150-metre run across the sand from the waves – now has water regularly crashing at its rock wall.”
On this beach alone, 10 million cubic metres of sand have been lost.
The situation has been mentioned in parliament more 50 times. The locals are angry, and they have every reason to be.
We demand the government tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency. We demand the government rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.
As stated by the IPCC, ocean-based climate action can play a large role in reducing the world’s carbon footprint.
The beach is associated with that old expression “like sand through the hourglass.”
There are pictures of hourglasses everywhere around us today. The hourglass is the symbol of Extinction Rebellion. It’s a visual reminder that when it comes to action on climate change, we are running out of time.
But as the waters rise, so do we. Whether we sink or swim, we are all in this together. And so we march, and sing, together!
