Funeral procession for Planet Earth
Extinction Rebellion Australia, 30 Mar 2022
XR Ballarat added a sombre theme to ongoing Just Stop It actions, on a day of national mourning for Shane Warne, who spoke out about the climate crisis years ago.
The procession of mourners in funeral garb carried a small coffin containing a replica of our precious planet Earth and skeletons surrounded by wreaths. Wreaths were laid outside at the Exon Mobil fuel terminal. The message was clear and simple: Business as usual = Death.
Spokesperson Miriam Robinson said:
"Today is a sad day for our nation, with the death of much-loved sportsman, Shane Warne. But every day is a day of mourning for our only home. Our mother, the Earth, is on life support but we continue to pump gases and toxins into our air, land and water.
"This has to stop! The Federal Budget last night announced 10 times more spending on the expansion of fossil fuels than will be spent on dealing with the climate emergency; $37.6 billion to expand coal and gas, $1.6 billion to renewable energy and $2 billion for disaster recovery. They also intend to cut spending on clean energy agencies.
"Shane Warne came out openly to express his alarm about the climate emergency and the effect it would have on his beloved sport, cricket*.*
This is what he said in September 2019:
“At times in the past, it has been hard to know who to believe, but I think we all have to admit now that climate change is a huge issue,” the former Australian leg-spinner said. “Scientists with proven facts are telling us things we can’t dispute about the rising temperatures, the rising sea levels.
“Before I’d seen the report I hadn’t really thought about how it would impact the game of cricket. Some of the stuff that we were presented with: how hot it was for some of the players at certain times – up to 50 degrees in the middle – how dangerous it was for them. How the risks affect local club cricket, how clubs have had their changing rooms destroyed by flooding in the UK, how the rising temperatures affect the way grass grows, was scary.”
XR Ballarat’s contribution to the Just Stop It actions in Melbourne added extra theatre and colour to the week. Extinction Rebellion is a decentralised organisation, and local groups like XR Ballarat make independent decisions about the actions they organise. A Ballarat rebel encouraged everyone to join a local XR group. “It's fun and effective”, they said.