Stupidity and short-termism makes me cry – campaigner
ONE Extinction Rebellion activist blockading the entrance to the Syngenta chemical works said he was driven to tears by the “stupidity” and “short-termism” destroying the climate.
Andrew Farr, who co-ordinated the blockade, became emotional as he explained the reason for the protest.
“This is scary,” he said. “It makes me bleed, it makes me cry... the absolute stupidity of the processes that are going on in this world at the moment and the short-termism.”
Extinction Rebellion targeted Syngenta because the company produces agricultural pesticides, including some that were banned in EU countries following studies linking the chemicals to the decline of wild bees and other pollinators.
The group are also protesting about the firm’s alleged “massive releases” of CFCs, which harm the ozone layer.
Andrew added: “And what it is, it’s being fed purely by self-centred capitalism that is exploiting the resources of the Earth – raping the Earth of all of its resources to make short-term profit in order for a very few people to put huge amounts of money into offshore havens.
“Many more times than they could possibly spend in their lifetime – and destroy the world that we live on?
“What can you say? If you’re not crying now, you’ve not got a heart.”
Syngenta recently announced an effort to decrease their carbon footprint by 50% but Extinction Rebellion says this is irrelevant.
Climate activist Anna Marie Byrne said: “What they’re making is poisonous. What they’re currently manufacturing is things that end with ‘-cide’, that’s things that kill.
“And we want them to change that. We don’t want them to throw some nice money at trying to make some other things better, we want them to change the stuff that they are doing, which is destorying the natural world.”