Extinction Rebellion Releases #WhereIsYourPlan 'One Lifetime' Climate Emergency Film

Marking six months since the UK Parliament declared an Environment and Climate Emergency, Extinction Rebellion – celebrating its first year anniversary – has released a short film calling for everyone to demand their government’s plan to address the crisis … #WhereIsYourPlan

Through voices representing a lifetime, aged 8 to 80, the film demands that leaders around the world act on the climate and ecological emergency, including stopping the destruction of our forests, our oceans and our wildlife, reducing global zero carbon emissions within 10 years [1] and investing in a green economy. 

The concept behind this globally significant film – presenting some of the demands of the climate movement and extinction revolution [2] – was developed by filmmaker Richard Curtis, and refined, shot and produced by RANKIN, an agency headed up by the British photographer and cultural provocateur of its namesake.

Directed by Jordan Rossi of RANKIN, the film shows that despite our race, age or gender, people need to unite against the threat of the global warming crisis. No matter who you are, this is an issue that will affect everyone, and the video reflects our last shot at making a difference.

Related: Extinction Rebellion Takes Aim at Fashion New York Times

Art Partner Contest for Young Creatives + Climate Crisis | Submit by Nov. 8, 2019

Photo by Venus Evans on Unsplash

One of the greatest challenge for young creatives is getting their work scene and reviewed. If climate activism is your passion, Art Partner has created a significant opportunity to put a creative project in front of an all-star panel of sustainability-focused professionals.

Think you’re good? Then seek feedback from Eco-Age Founder Livia Firth, fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, photographer Harley Weir, designer and entrepreneur Francisco Costa,, artist and writer Wilson Oryema, agent Giovanni Testino, Vogue Italia Creative Director Ferdinando Verderi.

#CreateCOP25 is a contest for young creatives and climate activists to submit artistic responses to the environment and climate emergency. The six most impactful works will be publicized during the United Nation’s COP25 climate conference this December in Chile. These will serve as messages from the creative community that the time is now for governments to end their contribution to climate change.

One (1) winner will receive $10,000 and five (5) runner-ups will receive $2,000 each to fund future projects that respond to climate change. The winner will also have the opportunity to collaborate on an editorial project with Art Partner. All six (6) finalists will receive ongoing mentorship and exposure from Art Partner.

Submissions can be any medium including, but not limited to, photography projects, docu-style and experimental film, performance art, spoken word, musical compositions, fashion design, new media and social media projects. We encourage entrants to submit existing work.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Submission Process

All entrants must be between 14 and 30 years old at the time of submission. The contest is open to participants globally.

Please read the contest rules and procedures before filling in the application form.

#CreateCOP25 application pack

Closing date for applications Friday 8 November 2019, 6pm GMT. 

Questions? Please email earthpartner@artpartner.com

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Honored With Own Typeface Greta Grotesk

As the world goes totally mad, we must turn to the creatives -- that would be me -- to keep us from losing our minds entirely. LOL and crying through my tears.

Greta Thunberg has been honored with a typeface called Greta Grotesk, inspired by and emulating the teenage activist’s handwriting.

Tal Shub, creator of the typeface, is a designer based in New York who co-founded Uno, a company with a mission to eradicate single-use plastic bottles by offering a reusable alternative.

“We’re all very moved by how this girl has inspired so many people to take action,” Tal states. “From the very first moment of seeing her sign, I was really impressed by the bold design and clarity of the message.” As Greta’s letterings clearly struck a chord with many around the world, not just Tal, he was surprised at how little discussion there was around the actual typography. “Here’s this iconic piece of visual communication, yet nobody’s really paying attention to how that design is central to this movement. It’s really the classic typographic discussion – something that’s starring you in the face, but most people don’t pay attention to it,” he adds.

Read more details about Greta Grotesk’s typeface.

Could Climate Change Fuel the Rise of Right-Wing Nationalism?

Could Climate Change Fuel the Rise of Right-Wing Nationalism?

By Joshua Conrad Jackson, Doctoral Student, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Michele Gelfand, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland. First published on The Conversation.

Two trends have defined the past decade and both have been on display at this year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly.

One has been the escalating effects of climate change, which were the focus of the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit. Forest fires, floods and hurricanes are all rising in their frequency and severity. Eight of the last 10 years have been the warmest on record. Marine biologists warned that coral reefs in the U.S. could disappear entirely by the 2040s.

The other trend has been the surge of right-wing nationalist politics across Western nations, which includes Donald Trump’s election in the U.S., and the rise of nationalist political parties around the world.

Indeed, the first four speeches of the United Nations general debate were given by Brazilian right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, Trump, Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and far-right Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

Do Nothing Male Privilege Struggles with Stunning Eco-Rebuke from Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg image composite via HarpersBazaar.com.

The world’s men — especially white men -- says Jennifer Wright, are not accustomed to having a 16-year-old climate activist read them the riot act. This is exactly what happened on Monday, September 23 when climate activist Greta Thunberg, now nominated for a Nobel price, delivered a stinging rebuke to the patriarchy from the stage of the UN.

"This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here," she said, addressing world leaders. "I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to me for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"

Responding to Greta’s occasion physiological responses from her Asperger’s condition, FOX News host Michael Knowles said that the influential activist is mentally ill. In response Thunberg tweeted: “I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And—given the right circumstances—being different is a superpower.”

Not only did Greta respond with self-confidence, but she may be right about superpowers. When Hans Asperger first diagnosed the disease, he referred to kids with Aspergers as “little professors” owing to their enormous vocabularies, seemingly precocious interests, and tendency to lecture people. Abraham Lincoln, Nikola Tesla, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are all thought to have had Aspergers, says Wright.

Comparing Greta Thunberg’s First Climate Strike with Mass Demonstrations One Year Later My Modern Met

Youth Climate Movement Puts Ethics at the Center of the Global Debate

Youth Climate Movement Puts Ethics at the Center of the Global Debate

Even if you’ve never heard of Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist who crossed the Atlantic on a sailboat to attend a Sept. 23 United Nations summit on the climate, you may have heard about the student-led Global Climate Strike she helped inspire, planned for Friday, Sept. 20.

People from more than 150 countries are expected to head to the streets to demand climate action. According to the organizers, the strike aims “to declare a climate emergency and show our politicians what action in line with climate science and justice means.”

The strike was galvanized by a global youth movement, whose Friday school walkouts over the last year were themselves inspired by Thunberg’s own three-week strike in August 2018 to demand climate action by the Swedish parliament.

People of all ages will be joining this year’s protests at the United Nations, and adults – with their environmental organizations, climate negotiations and election campaigns – are gradually getting on board. The Union of Concerned Scientists even published an “Adult’s Guide” to the climate strike to help parents of participants get up to speed.

Can Environmental Populism Save the Planet? Two Movements Intersect

Can Environmental Populism Save the Planet? Two Movements Intersect

By Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics, University of Western Australia. First published on The Conversation.

Populism and environmentalism are words seldom seen in the same sentence. One is associated predominantly with nationalists and charismatic leaders of “real people”, the other with broadly-based collective action to address the world’s single most pressing problem.

Differences don’t get much starker, it would seem. But we are increasingly seeing the two strands combine in countries around the world.

Exhibit A in support of this thesis is the remarkable growth and impact of Extinction Rebellion, often known as XR.

When I finished writing a book on the possibility of environmental populism little more than six months ago, I’d never even heard of XR. Now it is a global phenomenon, beginning to be taken seriously by policymakers in some of the world’s more consequential democracies. Britain’s decision earlier this year to declare a climate emergency is attributed in part to 11 days of Extinction Rebellion protest that paralysed parts of London.

Donald Trump and Beto O'Rourke Duke It Out In El Paso As Congress Works Against A New Shutdown

FORMER CONGRESSMAN AND POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BETO O'ROURKE MARCHED IN HIS OWN RALLY MONDAY. IMAGE: IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE FOR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Donald Trump and Beto O'Rourke Duke It Out In El Paso As Congress Works Against A New Shutdown

As Trump spoke, O’Rourke led a march to a park just steps away from the coliseum. There, the former congressman and U.S. Senate candidate pressed his case — to raucous cheers — that El Paso is “safe not because of walls but in spite of walls.”

“We can show the rest of the country ... that walls do not make us safer,” O’Rourke said, arguing such barriers force immigrants to cross in more remote, dangerous stretches of the border.

“We know that walls do not save lives,” he added. “Walls end lives.”