Govind TekaleTwo climate protesters painted Charles Darwin’s grave orange to warn that Earth is getting dangerously hot. The Just Stop Oil activists wrote “1.5 is dead” on the white marble grave at Westminster Abbey on Monday morning.
Their message points to a worrying fact: Earth’s temperature has exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels for the first time in 2024. This rise in temperature can lead to severe impacts on the environment and society.
“We have passed the 1.5-degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe,” one of the activists said. “Darwin would be turning in his grave to know we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction.”
The Abbey’s cleanup team is working to remove the paint, and they don’t expect lasting damage to Darwin’s memorial. Police arrested the demonstrators, who will appear in court in February.
Similar Posts
The timing of their protest matches recent findings that 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded. Since the 1970s, we have lost three-quarters of all wildlife—a change that could impact various aspects of our ecosystem and daily life.
Darwin’s grave sits in a special area of Westminster Abbey called Scientists’ Corner, next to other famous scientists like Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. The protesters chose this spot because Darwin studied how nature adapts to change—something we’re now forcing all living things to do as temperatures rise.
Just Stop Oil has made headlines before by throwing soup at famous paintings and stopping sports games. While some people support their message about climate change, others say damaging historical sites hurts their cause.
The protest raises an important question: as our climate continues to change with potentially severe consequences, what’s the right way to push for change?
