NEW ECO-RADICALS
[Cont. from 59] actions are planned to be fun and
inviting, so people want to participate. “We try to
think about how can we disrupt these roads in the
most nonviolent, loving way possible,” says Baulch.
“Crowds of people planting trees, singing songs, and
waving colorful flags look inviting, as opposed to a
purely angry mob.” As Hallam writes, “The general
atmosphere should be: ‘We’re going to take down the
government and have fun doing it.’ ”
Second, the actions are designed to be disruptive,
but not too much. For instance, XR canceled plans
to shut down Heathrow airport, and it tries to work
with police in advance to make sure it isn’t block-
ing emergency routes or risking the public’s safe-
ty. The goal is to find the sweet spot at which XR is
not endangering or alienating people yet still caus-
ing enough headaches that it can’t be ignored. “The
process of political change involves people getting
pissed off,” Hallam once said. “So the key issue is not
whether they get pissed off, it’s whether them getting
pissed off leads to attitude change.”
Finally, and perhaps most important, civil resis-
tance doesn’t require a majority in order to be suc-
cessful. According to XR, there’s a tipping point at
which a movement’s momentum will carry it to suc-
cess. “We should not make the mistake of thinking
‘the people have to rise’ in the sense of the majority
of the population,” Hallam writes. “We need a few to
rise up, and the rest will be willing to ‘give it a go.’ ”
This strategy is based in large part on the work of
Harvard professor Erica Chenoweth, the co-author of
a book calledWhy Civil Resistance Works. Chenoweth
studied more than 300 movements since the turn of
the 20th century, and according to her research, the
magic number for success is surprisingly small: only
3.5 percent. Which is to say, every nonviolent move-
ment she looked at that had the active participation
of just 3.5 percent of the population was a success.
In other words, if just a few hundred thousand
people can mobilize in New York City, it might be
enough to spark massive structural change. “There’s
lots of people who disagree with what we do,” says
Baulch. “But you don’t need the whole population to
act. You just need a majority of the population to not
be against you.
“If you look at the polling that was done after our
big rebellion in April,” he adds, “you saw a huge
increase in the number of people in the U.K. who
thought climate change was one of the top issues we
need to focus on right now. And you saw the media
start to cover climate change as if it’s an emergency.
So even if people disagree with our tactics, they still
might realize, ‘Oh, shit. I actually do want my kids to
have a future.’ ”E
XTINCTION REBELLION is growing worldwide,
with nearly 800 branches in more than 57
countries. Here in the U.S., where there are
dozens of chapters from Montana to Miami, XR mem-
bers in New York shut down Times Square last Octo-
ber, and more than 60 people were arrested. A good
start — though far from a revolution.
Stateside, the most successful new group is the
Sunrise Movement — a self-described “army of young
people” taking a more traditionally political route.
Sunrise, which was born in 2013 inside a borrowed
office at the D.C. chapter of the Sierra Club, grew outof the campus divestment movement, where stu-
dents pushed their colleges and universities to stop
investing in fossil fuel. It made its first big splash in
November 2018, when 51 young people were arrest-
ed after taking over Nancy Pelosi’s office and calling
on her to support the Green New Deal. A just-elect-
ed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stopped by to show
her support, and the videos went viral.
Sunrise has boomed in part because it’s been savvy
about communicating with Gen Z’ers and millenni-
als: The group is fluent in Twitter-speak, handy with
memes, and knows how to engineer a viral moment,
like a subsequent sit-in at Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s of-
fice where the 85-year-old California moderate lec-
tured the kids on political realism but mostly suc-
ceeded in winning more converts to Sunrise’s cause.
So far, the movement has devoted most of its en-
ergy to organizing politically: pressuring lawmakers,
advocating for legislation, and helping get out the
vote. In January, Sunrise endorsed Bernie Sanders,
and its top priority this year is mobilizing young vot-
ers in November. But according to the group’s five-
year plan, while 2020 is about winning the election,
2021 will be dedicated to “engag[ing] in mass nonco-
operation to interrupt business as usual.”
Meanwhile, Extinction Rebellion is gearing up for
another worldwide campaign starting May 23rd — one
that it hopes will be even bigger. “We’re calling it a
rolling rebellion,” says Clare Farrell. “The goal is sus-
taining it for six weeks. We’ve done quite well at ring-
ing the alarm — that’s been heard. Now we’re focused
on mobilizing as many people as possible. Our ambi-
tion is to get a million people activated this year.” She
admits it’s a high bar. “But,” she adds, “it’s our job to
be audacious.”Iconic. Provocative. Infl uential.
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