‘More than worth it’: Climate protesters justify snarling DC traffic and forcing cars to idle

A media spokesperson for the protest named Devyn told the Washington Examiner the few hours of extra carbon emissions are worth it if their actions can spur lawmakers into action.

“I think criticizing folks like this who are taking action to demand systemic policy solutions to the climate crisis, which is a global collective action problem. I think to call those folks out by criticizing us for taking individual actions, like driving somewhere or using plastic, completely misses the point,” she said. “We’re all trapped in a system that forces us to continue to use fossil fuels and many of are doing the best that we can to reduce carbon emissions in our own lives.”

Devyn said political action is needed because even if everyone in the protest went vegan, stopped driving, stopped flying, and only wore hemp clothes, “we still wouldn’t make a goddamn dent, pardon my language, in the climate crisis.”

“So a few idling cars, if it forces them to wake up, is more than worth it,” Devyn continued, adding that the confetti they were scattering everywhere is biodegradable.

Some vehicles were able to turn and go around the blocked intersections, while others wound up stuck on one-way roads.

At another intersection near the White House, protesters blocked the road with a boat. Some chained an arm into tubes that ran alongside the boat, forcing police to use portable, gas-powered buzz saws to cut into the tubes and untie them.

One protester’s sign featured a guillotine and read, “The oil lobby’s gotta go one way or another.” The guillotine had “A Red New Deal” written at the top.

Other protesters chained themselves to step ladders that were placed in the middle of another intersection. At least 26 activists were arrested by police for blocking traffic.

Groups making up the climate coalition included Black Lives Matter DMV, Code Pink, Extinction Rebellion DC, Metro DMV Democratic Socialists of America, Movement for a People’s Party, Rising Tide North America, and Sunrise Movement DC. Their demands included a “Green New Deal,” respect for indigenous lands, environmental justice, protection of biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture.