Following the massive scandal in the UK where nearly 60 swimmers fell ill with Diarrhea during a Triathalon event which included sea swimming portion, Extinction Rebellion mobilized a weekend of dirty water campaigning.

Following the massive scandal in the UK where nearly 60 swimmers fell ill with Diarrhea during a Triathlon event which included sea swimming portion, Extinction Rebellion mobilized a weekend of dirty water campaigning.

On social media Angeles Wales, Ashburton, Southend, Seaton Cornwall, Hackney London, Swansea Langdon Beach, Lincoln, River Calder, Hebdon Bridge Yorkshire, Dorset, Liskeard Cornwall, Plymouth Devon, Minehead, The River Tonne, Seaford, and finally, Hasting and St Learnords, the group that engaged in the Toilet Sit in. 

 

The actions included banner dropping, street theater, and a lot of shit themed signage. There is a video on the XR UK Actions Twitter which works as a sort of ultimate shit post - with a video of all the actions. 

 

The entire montage made a rather humorous post, but the message was serious. A report published by the Environment Agency in March showed that Southern Water released raw sewage into UK rivers and coastal waters well over 16,000 times in 2022. Bexhill alone had 96 spills. Years of under-funding means that every time there is heavy rainfall, the antiquated sewage system struggles to cope, resulting in excess water being released into the sea along with the sewage.

Far and away the most effective imagery was the toilet sit in done by Hastings and St Leanards.

A spokesperson for the groups said: “We held the protest to show our disgust at Southern Water’s repeated discharges of raw sewage into the sea.“

Protesters sat on the toilets atop the concrete casing of the sewage discharge pipe, reading mocked-up newspapers with headlines such as ‘The Daily Discharge’ and ’The Daily Evacuation’. 

According to Surfers Against Sewage, a national campaigning group, there have so far been 256 alerts this year at the beach at St Leonards. In July alone, there were 12 sewage discharges reported at this location.

 

In Solidarity, Will Regan

SMALL NUMBERS, BIG IMPACT

hosted by XR NYC

September 28th, 6:30-7:30, EST

Four civil disobedience activists (including one rebel) blocked the road to the Burning Man festival. It generated hundreds of media stories.

Another rebel glued his feet to the floor of Arthur Ashe stadium and stopped a US Open semi-final game for 49 minutes. It generated thousands of media hits worldwide, inserted the topic of climate emergency where it is least seen - the sports pages.

Would you like to be a part of this new wave of climate actions, where a small number of brave people can make a big impact?

Come learn from these two rebels. It's not hard. It just needs a bit of pluck, a bit of creativity, and a straightforward message.

 

Register for a Zoom link.

 

for other events with XR NYC visit xrebellion.nyc/events

 

 

Join up with Declare Emergency and make Headlines in DC

Join DE This Sunday for a talk about how you can join this exciting group - and start making headlines of your own! Or at least help others do the same.
“What are our responsibilities at this time? Because of the fossil fuel industry, we are facing horrors of a magnitude never before experienced in our existence. Our government continues to lead us to the edge of no return. We must stand up and defend ourselves. No one else is going to do it. It must be us, if we want to live.
Our methods must be disruptive, and they must be nonviolent. Our actions are evidence-based, credible, and we have a plan. The only thing missing at this point in time is YOU!”
Register now at declareemergency.org/events

 

 

 

Will Regan

About

Will Regan has been a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion in the US and Declare Emergency. He's editor in chief for the Daily Rebellion and has been arrested 4 times since taking that role.