'Don't Look Up' Plays Out in Real Life: Scientists Lead Worldwide Protest for Climate Change

      Last week, a group of over 1,000 scientists around the world stepped out of their lab coats and onto the streets to demand greater action to curb global warming. They staged protests over new reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report warned that rapid and deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are absolutely necessary by 2025 to avoid catastrophic climate effects. What is most alarming about this encounter is how little news coverage this story has been receiving. 

      The group, called the Scientist Rebellion, writes in a letter that “current actions and plans are grossly inadequate, and even these obligations are not being met.” Their protests “highlight the urgency and injustice of the climate and ecological crisis,” per a statement from the organization. In Los Angeles, scientists chained themselves to the JP Morgan Chase building as an act of resistance. During the protest, JPL scientist Peter Kalmus made a teary speech imploring people to listen to the warnings of climate change experts.

    “We’re going to lose everything,” Kalmus said in a video. “And we’re not joking, we’re not lying, we’re not exaggerating.” 

    Unfortunately, they were met by about 100 police officers in riot gear and arrested, despite exercising their human right to a peaceful protest. For too many years, people have ignored scientists and their call to action regarding climate change. The average global temperature has already risen more than 1 degree Celsius, and climate scientists worry that if drastic change not be done in the coming years, the ambitions of the Paris climate accord could be futile before 2030. Recent discoveries by NASA warned that the world would likely reach the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere needed to push global temperatures past an average rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius above normal levels in just five or six years. It is critical not to ignore these threats since some of the worst consequences of climate change will quickly become irreversible, including significant sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, and some populated areas will eventually become unlivable for humans due to persistent drought and extreme weather fluctuations. 

    While Comet Dibiasky may not be hurtling toward Earth at this very moment, it is easy to see parallels between our reality and Don't Look Up. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-stage-worldwide-climate-protests-after-ipcc-report-180979913/

https://insideclimatenews.org/todaysclimate/in-scientist-rebellion-researchers-face-arrest-for-climate-action/