An Extinction Rebellion activist was arrested after blocking a road for the cause.
Activists sat in the streets of Harpenden and Berkhamsted on Saturday (May 1) at 11am to divert traffic and get their message of the climate crisis across.
Over 200 activists nationwide took part in the ‘rebellion of one’ protest at the same time on the same day.
Sue Hampton, a writer from Berkhamsted aged 64, chose to sit in Leyton Road in Harpenden with a place card reading ‘I’m terrified that government greenwash won’t protect the world’s children from climate change’.
She was arrested during the demonstration and taken to Hatfield police, she was charged and later released.
The writer said: “I am doing this because desperate times call for desperate measures. It is now clear that the government has no intention of ‘building back better’.
“Quite the reverse – the Government are pumping twice as much money into road building, as into action on the climate. They are ignoring what the science is telling us – that we must take dramatic action now, to avoid total climate breakdown.”
The rebellion for one protest aimed to draw attention to the government’s refusal to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, drafted by climate experts, which the group believed would set a template for real, impactful, and immediate action.
Molly Berry, a lip-reading tutor aged 69, similarly decided to sit in the middle of Berkhamsted High Street with a place card reading ‘I’m terrified there will be more pandemics because of the climate crisis’.
Molly Berry was approached by police (Photo: St Albans Extinction Rebellion)
She said: “I don't know what else to do. The Climate Crisis is far, far more frightening than the Government or media admit.
“But the government continues to pay lip service. They set hollow targets, and then pursue airport expansion, a new coal mine, and issue new oil and gas exploration licences for the North Sea.
“I felt a rush of certainty that as a Grandma I must show my love and fear for the world's grandchildren because governments are not protecting them. It's an act of sheer desperation."
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