Climate change was making Meagan Bluestein feel depressed, and frustrated, and hopeless.
So she decided to do something about it.
On Monday, she was arrested after gluing herself to the door of a Chase bank in downtown Austin, protesting the bank’s role in funding the fossil fuel industry.
The protest was organized by Extinction Rebellion ATX, a local chapter of an international movement demanding real solutions to the climate crisis. Throughout the entire week, members of Extinction Rebellion have been organizing actions like these around the world to call attention to the issue and demand action from those in power.
“We need to take the next step of this direct action to show those in power that we’re serious and we feel so strongly about this that we’re willing to put our livelihoods at risk,” Meagan said during an interview with AEN.
The Austin chapter of Extinction Rebellion was founded pretty recently, with help from Echo Colón, who was propelled to get more involved in climate activism after she saw the real impact it was having on people all over the world, including her own family.
“So I’m Puerto Rican, and Hurricane Maria happened,” Echo said.
“It’s really just seeing my aunts, my family members, who can’t survive anymore in a place that they’ve lived their whole entire lives… This is affecting us.”
Members of Extinction Rebellion ATX at Chase Bank on Monday, photo from Extinction Rebellion ATX
How to get involved
If you’d like to learn more about Extinction Rebellion ATX you can follow them on their Facebook page and get information about upcoming meetings. You can also learn more about the larger Extinction Rebellion organization on their website, here.
