The Bangor Extinction Rebellion (XR) group will be welcoming the Change is Now Bus Tour to Bangor on Friday 30 September.
As soon as the bus tour arrives, local XR supporters will spring into action: They will be organising outreach sessions designed to hear from local people and offer them ways to get involved in the movement to demand action on the climate and ecological crises, and to join with thousands of others taking action in Spring 2023.
The activities will take place on Deiniol Road opposite Pontio and in Storiel from 12 – 3pm this Friday. The group activities will include art and talks. Free daffodil bulbs and cake. They will also host a climate café (a safe place to share concerns and worries about the climate and ecological crisis) at 1.30 pm at Storiel. An important focus for the bus tour is to inform people about participatory democracy processes such as Citizens Assemblies, an independent democratic process by which ordinary people sit around the table, learn, listen and overcome their differences.
The Change is Now Bus Tour is part of a nation-wide tour raising awareness about the climate and ecological crisis, and how it connects to the cost-of-living crisis. Bangor is one of over 60 towns and cities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that Extinction Rebellion members will be visiting from 20 September.
Alison Shaw, retired geologist, explained: “We can see how the cost-of-living crisis is a direct result of the climate and ecological crises. This summer the UK suffered temperatures up to 40 degrees, followed by flooding and sewage on our beaches, with a predicted crop failure of up to 50%. Oil and gas companies continue to rake in billions of pounds in profits, and the new government seems set on helping them do it. As ordinary people, we must do something before it’s too late.”
Recent polling by Ipsos found that 8 in 10 people in the UK are concerned about the climate crisis and over 52% percent think the government’s plan to get net zero by 2050 is too late, that’s around 35 million people who think the government’s plan is not good enough.
Helen McGreary, 47, Dance teacher, of Menai Bridge, said, “I’m taking action to demand the government take climate change seriously. This summer the drought in the UK has shown that climate change can be a catastrophe.”
John Brown, a local XR member, said: “I’m part of XR as I want my children to grow up healthy. We have to take action now.”
