<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Tom Jacobs/Courtesy of Birth Strike</span></p><p class="caption">Blythe Pepino, age 33, is the founder of the BirthStrike movement with spokeswoman Alice Brown.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>A recent trend of environmental bad <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oceans-warming-faster-than-we-thought-2019-1">warming oceans</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/un-report-devastating-arctic-temperature-rise-locked-in-2019-3">melting ice sheets</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deadly-us-tornadoes-storms-southeast-getting-worse-2019-3">more intense tornadoes</a> - prompted New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-americans-worry-about-kids-children-climate-change-poll-2019-3">pose the question</a>: '<span>is it OK to still have children?' in a world threatened by climate change.</span></li><li>A growing group of women concerned about climate change agree with AOC. And they're wielding a new weapon in the war against <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/10-year-challenge-climate-change-photos-2019-1">"business as usual."</a> They're choosing not to reproduce.</li><li>These women, <a href="https://birthstrike.tumblr.com">called BirthStrikers</a>, <a href="https://birthstrike.tumblr.com">all agree </a>to not bear children "<span>due to the severity of the ecological crisis and the current inaction of governing forces in the face of this existential threat." </span></li></ul><p>Blythe Pepino grew up walking with her parents on blustery, cold English beaches and in the Welsh mountains.</p><p>She remembers fondly sitting in the freezing cold with hot chocolate, aware of her environment and its fragility. As she grew older, the singer-songwriter watched a lot of news, and read books like Naomi Klein's "<span>This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate," with growing dismay.</span> </p><p>While she wanted to hold politicians and governments accountable for their inaction on climate change, she found herself "anxious to the point where I had to switch off," she told Business Insider.</p><p>Then she went to an Extinction Rebellion lecture last year - which was "very blunt about how nightmarish this could get and how quickly" - and realized she had to do something.</p><p><a href="https://rebellion.earth/faqs/">Extinction Rebellion</a> is a group of activists that seek to stop <span>climate breakdown, halt biodiversity loss, and minimize the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse by means of education and nonviolent protest. </span>Their lecture changed Pepino's outlook on the climate change crisis.</p><p>"I knew I couldn't go back," she said. "I knew stuff I couldn't un-know."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_November_23_2018_(19)_Extinction_Rebellion_Protest_Tower_Hill.jpg">David Holt/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p><p class="caption">The Extinction Rebellion activist group protested on November 23, 2018 in Tower Hill, London.</p></div><p></p></div></div>That was the genesis for Pepino's controversial<span> and growing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saXUSm95fiw">BirthStrike movement</a>, created for people who have decided not to have children in response to the threat of a warming planet. While the movement is small, it's part of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-capitalism-economic-threat-worse-than-depression-2019-2">growing group</a> of activists, politicians, and scientists attempting to communicate that our warming planet has passed multiple <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greenland-approaching-threshold-of-irreversible-melting-2019-1">irreversible tipping points</a>.  </span></p><p>BirthStrike began with a modest membership of 60 men and women. Now, global membership is around 200, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/12/birthstrikers-meet-the-women-who-refuse-to-have-children-until-climate-change-ends">according to the Guardian</a>.</p><h2>'We're too afraid to bring children into world with the future that's forecast'</h2><p>Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines in February when she brought up the idea that having children was no longer a given in today's environment. <span>"It is basically a scientific consensus that the lives of our children are going to be very difficult, and it does lead young people to have a legitimate question: is it OK to still have children?" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-americans-worry-about-kids-children-climate-change-poll-2019-3">she asked her followers on Instagram Live</a>.</span></p><p><em><strong>Read More: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-2019-1">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls the Green New Deal the 'moonshot' of our generation. Here's what to know about the plan and the opposition it faces.</a></em></p><p>This vocalization of a core BirthStriker message may have helped pave the way for the media attention that Pepino's new movement is getting. She publicly announced the BirthStrike movement two weeks ago. <span style="background-color: #ffcc00;"></span></p><p>"We're too afraid to bring children into the world with future that's forecast," Pepino, age 33, said. "This is a really powerful way of communicating the severity of what's going on."</p><p>The UK-based Birthstriker movement started with Pepino - freshly grieving from her decision to not have children - reaching out on Facebook to friends and others who she thought might feel the same way. </p><p>Pepino's movement quickly attracted notice, and the founder recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saXUSm95fiw">appeared on Fox News</a> to talk about her project and the growing threat of a warming planet.</p><p>"I know that sounds calculated, but I made this decision [to not have children] personally first and then realized it was a great way to get more people, especially the right wing media, on board with the climate change crisis," she said.</p><p>While BirthStrike is new, the idea of not having children because of climate change has been percolating for years.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/53213603">Chip Somodevilla / Stringer / Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption"> Conceiving one fewer child is equal to a savings of 64 tons of carbon dioxide annually over the course of a parent's life. </p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><span>'Maybe we should protect our kids by not having them'</span></h2><p><span><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">"I think it's seen as such a massive decision to make, especially for the younger women like myself," Lydia Dibben, a BirthStriker from West Sussex, told Business Insider. "Children are seen to be the ultimate goal in life, something that everyone wants, and so promising never to have them seems extreme to a lot of people."</span></span></p><p><span>Travis Rieder, a bioethics professor at Johns Hopkins University, lectured about the morality of continuing to have children some three years ago.</span></p><p><span>"Here's a provocative thought: Maybe we should protect our kids by not having them," Rieder <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/08/18/479349760/should-we-be-having-kids-in-the-age-of-climate-change">told NPR</a>.</span></p><p><span> Another organization, a non-profit called <a href="http://conceivablefuture.org/">Conceivable Future</a>, was started on the notion that "the climate crisis is a reproductive crisis." The US-based group, founded in 2015, demands an end to US fossil fuel subsidies by "telling the stories of climate change's impact on our reproductive lives."</span></p><p><span>In 2018, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/climate/climate-change-children.html">the New York Times reported</a> on more than a dozen people ages 18 to 43 - most of them American women - voicing concerns over bringing a child into a world saddled with increasing climate-change driven natural disasters. </span></p><p><span>Some said they faced ethical questions that previous generations did not need to confront, including the fact that having a child is perhaps one of the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-are-avoiding-having-kids-because-of-climate-change-2018-2"> most environmentally costly decisions an individual can make</a>.</span></p><p><span>Conduit doesn't own a car, walks to work, and eats vegetarian. Pepino said she doesn't fly anymore. But </span><span><a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541">a 2017 study</a> found that having even one less child is a more effective way of cutting down a person's carbon footprint than recycling, driving an electric car, being vegetarian, or using renewable energy.</span></p><p>That said, the BirthStrikers - <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/12/17967738/climate-change-consumer-choices-green-renewable-energy">and many scientists</a> - argue the scale of the climate change problem has become so severe that collective action is more important than individual actions.</p><h2><span>The movement is not about population control</span></h2><p>One of those suggested collective actions is controlling how fast the number of humans living on Earth grows. Though the world population currently hovers around <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/">7.7 billion</a>, <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html">the United Nations expects</a> that number to grow to 9.8 billion in just 30 years, and reach 11.2 billion by 2100.</p><p>Each additional person uses up more of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-climate-change-solution-no-one-will-talk-about/382197/">already-scant resources</a>, and contributes to even more greenhouse gas emissions that serve to further warm the planet.</p><p>But the BirthStrike movement isn't founded on notions of a "child ban" or population control. In fact, Pepino's biggest concern is that the BirthStrike movement "will continue to be re-edited as a population argument."</p><p>Hannah Conduit, a 27-year-old Birthstriker from Bristol, UK, pointed out that "nothing in the movement demonizes having children."</p><p>"The idea of a sort of mass movement against having children is damaging to society," Conduit told Business Insider. "But BirthStrike highlights that some women see [having children] as a choice that they might not be able to make in good conscience."</p><p>Conduit said she decided before college that having children wasn't something she could do. Now, her entire life is focused on making the world better for her future nieces and nephews. One of three sisters, Conduit supports her siblings in their desire to have children.</p><p>She doesn't have a significant other in her life right now. Pepino does.</p><p>"We still talk about how we want kids, and it's hard to come to terms that this is the end," Pepino said of her and her partner's conversations about starting a family.</p><p>Alice Brown, a 24-year-old from Bristol who works on the BirthStrike movement with Pepino, <a href="https://birthstrike.tumblr.com/post/183189420509/alice-brown-24-why-i-wont-have-kids">said on the BirthStrike website</a> that "<span>instead of dreaming about my career and family, I'm burdened with the disease we've created."</span><span></span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomas Jacob</span></p><p class="caption">Alice Brown, age 24, is "gutted" not to be able to start her family.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>"My decision not to have a child I truly feel is a necessity not a choice</span>," <a href="https://birthstrike.tumblr.com/post/183189420509/alice-brown-24-why-i-wont-have-kids">Brown said</a>. "<span>I cannot imagine how scared our kids are going to be."</span></p><p><span>For Dibben, who worked with the Extinction Rebellion movement before joining BirthStrike, there's no price too high in the fight for system change and climate justice. </span></p><p><span>"People doing extreme things for what they believe in always gets attention. It's worked in past social movements, like the suffragettes chaining themselves to railings, and it really needs to work if we have any hope of surviving the years that are coming," 22-year-old Dibben said.</span></p><h2>'It would break my heart to bring children into the world and have it collapse around them'</h2><p>The BirthStrike movement has dealt with plenty of conservative backlash<a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/03/13/tucker_carlson_to_birth_strike_activist_have_some_kids_itll_make_you_happier.html"></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=birthstrike&amp;src=typd">social media vitriol</a> in the two weeks since the organization's formal announcement. But that doesn't deter BirthStrike followers.</p><p>To these women, their power of reproduction is the hammer with which they strike at a world that seems indifferent to its impending demise. "We're going to have to take a hit on our arrogance as a species," Pepino said. "We are becoming less than we are as our babies, our future, and our natural world are disappearing."</p><p>And while the loss of the opportunity to give birth may seem like too much pain for some, for women like Conduit, the tragedy of conceiving a child and raising it on a planet with an uncertain future is perhaps worse.</p><p>"It would break my heart to bring children into the world and have it collapse around them," Conduit said.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/non-dairy-milk-health-dietitian-coconut-soy-almond-rice-oat-2019-3">A dietitian explains which non-dairy milk is best for you</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wonders whether people should have kids in a climate-ravaged world. So does this movement of 'BirthStrikers.'

<br /><ul><li><strong>This women’s day, pickout books and drown yourself into the inspiring accounts of women.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>This week, we bring books that are real accounts of pioneering women and their achievements and lifestyle — to celebrate womanhood, their experiences and complexities.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Here are a few books that will inspire you.</strong></li></ul>This women’s day, pickout books and drown yourself into the inspiring accounts of women.<br /><br />Business Insider collates interesting books to read, giving an outlook on career and professional growth, setbacks and opportunities. This week, we bring books that are real accounts of pioneering women and their achievements and lifestyle — to celebrate womanhood, their experiences and complexities.<br /><br />Studies show that reading a book for merely six minutes can reduce stress by over half as it releases tension in the muscles. <br /><br /><strong>Here are a few books that will inspire you.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough</strong><br /><br />Blood Water Paint is an inspiring account of Artemisia Gentileschi, who was the first <keyword id="6354542" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="woman">woman</keyword> in the world to fight patriarchy. She took her sexualt assault case to court. The book talks about the courage, determination and need for speaking up for your rights. <br /><br /><strong>The Colour Purple by Alice Walker </strong><br /><br />The story dates back to 1900s in rural Georgia where a young African American teenager finds herself a victim of sexual abuse by her own stepfather, who gets impregnated twice. Later, she ends up in a marriage which is just as abusive and finds herself as the stepmother to many young children. The title of the book refers to the colour of injury which is inflicted on many women in the novel. The novel is all about how she discovers love, her own sexuality and the strength of forgiveness. <br /><br /><strong>Back Talk by Danielle Lazarin</strong><br /><br />Back talk is a collection of inspiring short stories of women on their unexpressed needs, thoughts and their desires to push the boundaries imposed by the society. “Getting to know these women on the page through Lazarin’s expert storytelling is bracing, galvanizing, electrifying,” reviews Patrick from Penguin Books Editorial. <br /><br /><strong>Princess by Jean Sasson </strong><br /><br />The book is a true story of an anonymous yet spirited Saudi Arabian princess and her travails as she fights patriarchy and deep-rooted hatred for women in the society. She also treats readers with the rich history, culture and traditions of the Saudi society in addition to giving a sneak peek inside the women’s quarters and their dreary lives. <br /><br /><strong>Burn it down: Women writing about anger</strong><br /><br />From sexism at the workplace to the impediments to personal growth, women have a lot to be angry on. Burn it down: Women writing about anger is a collection of essays from 22 writers who are frustrated with the society that refuses to accept emotions of a woman, basis gender norms. The book talks about male anger and violence, which acts as a barrier to the success of a woman.<br /><br /><strong>The following is a book by climate activist Greta Thunberg.</strong><br /><br /><strong>No one is too small to make a difference</strong><br /><br />No one is too small to make a difference is a book by climate activist Greta Thunberg. The book includes a series of speeches made by her at the UN Climate Change Conference, the European parliament and at Extinction Rebellion protests — with a message that “change is coming”, whether we like it or not. <br /><br />Much like her speeches, her book vents out the frustration on adults who have the power to bring changes.<br />

This women's day, read these 6 inspiring accounts of triumph over patriarchy

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Environmental activists blocked congressional staff and lawmakers after super gluing themselves to doors and each other in&#xa0;the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon.</li><li>The group glued their hands to one another and to door knobs, forming chains around entryways and exits.</li><li>Activists appeared to yell out in pain as law enforcement officials made their way through.</li><li>Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana posted a video of his staff navigating through the hallways of the Capitol: "Supergluing yourself to a door is a very dumb way to protest."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>Environmental activists blocked congressional staff and lawmakers after super gluing themselves to doors and each other in a building on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon.</p><p>The Washington, DC, chapter of Extinction Rebellion glued their hands to one another and to door knobs, forming chains around entryways and exits at the basement in a building for House lawmakers.</p><p>The protesters hung signs around themselves imitating emergency notices and calling for the passage of the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/trade/what-green-new-deal">Green New Deal</a>.</p><p>"DECLARE CLIMATE EMERGENCY," one sign said.</p><p>"We're sorry. Due to the CLIMATE EMERGENCY Congress is shut down until sufficient action is taken to address the crisis," another sign said.</p><p>Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana posted a video of his staff navigating through the hallways of the Capitol: "Supergluing yourself to a door is a very dumb way to protest," the video's caption said.</p><p>Activists appeared to yell out in pain as law enforcement officials made their way through:</p><p>Activists said the brand of glue they used was Gorilla Glue, according to Washington Post reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/mikedebonis/status/1153804871134351361?s=20">Mike DeBonis</a>. The manufacturer <a href="https://www.gorillatough.com/wp-content/uploads/Clear-Gorilla-Glue.pdf">advises</a> to "drench affected area with water for at least 15 minutes" if the glue comes into contact with the skin.</p><p>"Obtain medical attention if irritation develops or persists," the company warns on its safety sheet.</p><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/washington-dc-famous-landmarks-secrets-facts-2019-7">7 secrets about Washington, DC landmarks you probably didn't know</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Environmental activists are super gluing themselves to buildings on Capitol Hill

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/d8ddeWAc4z4">Gian-Reto Tarnutzer/Unsplash</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>But a lot of the world's biggest banks are all talking about climate change, and say this is the year investors are most aware.</strong></li><li><strong>Markets Insider spoke to Goldman Sachs, UBS and JPMorgan to see why they have been investing in climate change and why investors and clients say it's at the top of their minds. </strong></li><li><strong><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com">View Markets Insider's homepage for more stories. </a></strong></li></ul><p>In July, Goldman Sachs formed a Sustainable Finance Group, a much-hailed project that CEO David Solomon in a letter called a "significant, long-term" priority that is increasingly a "strategic growth opportunity and competitive necessity for our firm and our clients."</p><p>Goldman and other banks have for years been researching and investing the topic, which has morphed into projects and financing that is now known as ESG - or environmental, social, and corporate governance.</p><p><em>This year has been critical. </em></p><p>"Now, more and more often, clients are coming to us for advice on how to tackle climate change," John Goldstein head of Goldman's Sustainable Finance Group, said in an interview with Markets Insider. "At the end of the day, people want to make money. And, say - take a pension fund, people need to get their money in 20 or 30 years, climate change poses a question of, will people get that money then? And how will the fund be affected?"</p><p>Goldman last month released a 34-page report, which analyzed the impact of climate change on cities. The results were terrifying. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/goldman-sachs-climate-change-threatens-new-york-tokyo-lagos-cities-2019-9-1028552494">Read more about it here.</a></p><p>Goldstein said clients want to be able to plan for changes that will arise due to climate change, whether it be physical changes, market moves, or policy, and added that more often clients are coming to Goldman for expertise on how to manage the risks associated with climate change.</p><p>"It's why we've put in a lot of time and money into research on ESG, as we don't want to approach it with an ad-hoc fashion," Goldstein said.  "This something we need to plan for in terms of managing risk, or driving growth, or is it something we can use to drive resilience across a portfolio."</p><p>The Goldman exec added: "We see this as an opportunity to unlock economic growth."</p><p>And it's not just Goldman Sachs. </p><p>"Climate change is affecting everyone and everything, so it would be unexpected not to find such effects in markets and business models," a UBS spokesman told Markets Insider.</p><p>"Markets are often driven by human behaviour." As a result, cultural milestones such as activist protests in the last year, including those by the Extinction Rebellion, as well as 2019 climate documentaries by David Attenborough ,are "important in making it more likely that the issues of climate change and inequality will affect markets."</p><p>JPMorgan agreed that this year was a critical one for investors when it comes to ESG, as it released an investing note in May, titled "Climate changes everything": </p><p>"2018, 2019 will be remembered as watershed years for climate change awareness," a note released by the bank in May said. "Weather- and environment-related events have convinced the public and policymakers that global warming is not a risk, but a reality."</p><p>In the note, it highlighted that "sustainable investing does not have to sacrifice returns, and may be of growing importance."</p><p>UBS backed this up by crunching the numbers on the economic impact of a heating globe, something that its spokesperson was keen to highlight it has been researching for a decade.</p><p>From a note in April, researchers found that if the temperature increased by just 4 degrees Fahrenheit, US GDP would drop 2%. If it went up 8 degrees, then 4% would be lost. </p><p> </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>UBS</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=finance&amp;itm_campaign=10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019"></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-heel-spurs-donald-trump-vietnam-deferments-jacqueline-sutera-2017-8">A podiatrist explains heel spurs, the medical condition Trump said earned him a medical deferment from Vietnam</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Here's why JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs say 2019 is the year climate change is at the top of investors' minds

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The United Nations' COP25 climate conference concluded in Madrid, Spain on Sunday.</li><li>The 2-week-long conference yielded very few tangible outcomes related to addressing climate change.</li><li>Here's what to know about COP25 and its disappointing conclusion, by the numbers.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The 25th iteration of the United Nations' biggest annual conference on climate change, COP25, came to an end on Sunday in Madrid, Spain.</p><p>But despite a year of increased climate cognizance worldwide - led in part by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg - the 13 days of negotiations yielded few tangible outcomes. </p><p>"I am disappointed with the results of COP25," António Guterres, UN secretary general, <a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1206199048660611073">tweeted</a> as talks closed. "The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and finance to tackle the climate crisis. But we must not give up, and I will not give up."</p><p>Delegates arrived in Madrid on December 3 with the intention of solidifying the legislative "operating manual" for how to achieve the goals set in the Paris climate agreement. The Paris agreement, established in 2015, is a voluntary accord between 200 countries to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius by cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.</p><p>But recent research has revealed that meeting those objectives is becoming more and more challenging, especially given that President Donald Trump has initiated the process of pulling the US out of the accord. Limiting warming seems even more difficult given the lack of progress made at COP25 - the world's biggest emitters failed to sign onto any binding emissions reduction agreement.</p><p>Critics pointed to the final declaration's weak language, which cited only an "urgent need" to close the gap between the world's current path and the Paris agreement goals.</p><p>Here's what to know about the climate conference, by the numbers.</p><p><strong>Number of participating nations in the COP conference:</strong> 190</p><p><strong>Number of delegates who went to Madrid for the two-week proceedings:</strong> 27,000</p><p><strong></strong></p><strong></strong><p><strong>Number of years COP has been held annually: </strong>25</p><p><strong>Cost of putting on the event: </strong>an estimated $100 million dollars</p><p><strong>Number of hours COP proceedings went past their <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop25-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-madrid?utm_content=buffer0ecf5&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer&amp;stream=top">scheduled conclusion</a>:</strong> 44</p><p><strong>Number of people who marched in Madrid on Friday to demand climate justice:</strong> 500,000</p><p><strong>Number of protestors kicked out of the conference venue: </strong>about <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/activists-kicked-un-climate-talks-protest-154300795.html">200</a></p><p><strong>Truckloads full of horse manure dumped outside COP25 by protesters with the Extinction Rebellion group:</strong> 1 (It was accompanied by the message: "The horseshit stops here.")</p><p><strong>Number of miles between the conference's original location, Santiago, Chile, and Madrid:</strong> 6,646 (On November 1, the UN moved the conference to avoid protests and riots at the Chilean capital.)</p><p><strong>Number of boat trips Thunberg took across the Atlantic Ocean to get to COP25:</strong> 2 (The last-minute move left the teen activist, who refuses to fly due to planes' high carbon emissions, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greta-thunberg-sailing-to-spain-with-youtubers-2019-11">scrambling to get a boatride back to Europe</a>. She had sailed to the Americas this summer in hopes of reaching Chile in time for COP25.)</p><p><strong></strong></p><strong></strong><p><strong>Current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere:</strong> <a href="https://www.co2.earth/daily-co2">411 parts per million</a> - the highest in human history</p><p><strong>Amount greenhouse-gas emissions have increased by since the Paris accord was signed in 2015:</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/04/paris-climate-deal-world-not-on-track-to-meet-goal-amid-continuous-emissions">4%</a></p><p><strong>Degrees Celsius Earth is on track to warm by 2100:</strong> 3</p><p><strong>Degrees Celsius Earth has already warmed above pre-industrial levels: </strong>at least 1</p><p><strong>Year by which the European Union has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions: </strong>2050</p><p><strong>Number of times after this conference that the US will participate in international negotiations related to the Paris agreement:</strong> 0</p><p><strong>Number of small island and coastal nations "appalled and dismayed" by the results:</strong> 44 - they signed a <a href="https://www.aosis.org/2019/12/15/cop-25-aosis-closing-statement/?fbclid=IwAR38X9l8WE7muvg_j6lKdjjJHndikGpFRmr7SVwbjvm0mapso79WNe5onkE\">statement</a> together</p><p><strong>US dollars pledged to help small nations and Pacific island states cope with the impacts of climate change:</strong> 90 million - "But, adapting to secure 1.5 costs vastly more," the 44-nation statement said.</p><p><strong>Agreements signed to set up global carbon markets: </strong>0</p><p><strong>International agreements made during COP25 to reduce emissions: </strong>1 (But it wasn't part of COP25 talks. In Brussels, European Union leaders <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe-pledges-carbon-neutrality-by-2050--but-it-cant-get-one-of-its-biggest-coal-users-on-board/2019/12/13/da7ae092-1b8a-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_story.html">pledged</a> to eliminate their carbon footprints by 2050.)</p><p><strong>Major emitters who agreed to make their emissions-reduction pledges more ambitious: </strong>0</p>

The latest UN climate conference by the numbers: $100 million, 25,000 attendees, 1 prominent Swedish teenager, and 0 tangible outcomes

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sophiakianni/">Sophia Kianni</a>, 19, is a <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword> activist based in Virginia.</strong></li><li><strong>She works with the <keyword id="6355835" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="un">UN</keyword> and the <keyword id="159493" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gen-Z">Gen Z</keyword> consulting firm JUV.</strong></li><li><strong>She broke down what her typical day looks like.</strong></li></ul><p>Days are busy for <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sophiakianni/">Sophia Kianni</a>, a climate activist and founder of the nonprofit <a href="https://www.climatecardinals.org">Climate Cardinals</a>.</p><p>Much of her work centers on the <keyword id="1484485" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-crisis">climate crisis</keyword>, a topic she has been interested in since visiting Iran, her parents' homeland, seven years ago and discovering her extended family knew nothing about the subject.</p><p>Launched in May 2020, Climate Cardinals translates information about the climate crisis into over 100 languages, including Swahili, Bulgarian, Mongolian, and Portuguese. Kianni, 19, had realized that most of the research was in English but that most people in the countries <a href="https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/top-countries-most-affected-by-climate-change">most affected</a> by the climate emergency don't speak English.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-in-the-next-decade-2019-11">Climate change</a> is a global issue that disproportionately affects communities that don't speak English," Kianni told Insider. "It's critical to translate climate information into as many languages as possible to make sure that these mostly-minority communities are informed."</p><p>Kianni made headlines in 2019 after joining the activist Greta Thunberg's <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/">Fridays For Future</a> to organize climate strikes and protests with high-school students. She became a national strategist for the group and a partnership coordinator for the environmental advocacy group <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/">Zero Hour</a>.</p><p>Last year, Kianni was named a spokesperson for another climate-crisis organization, <a href="https://rebellion.global/">Extinction Rebellion</a>.</p><p>She's also a climate advisor at the <a href="https://www.un.org">United Nations</a> and the American Lung Association; a board advisor for the tech startup <a href="https://www.communityx.tech/">CommunityX</a> and the charity <a href="https://earthpercent.com/">EarthPercent</a>; and a senior partner at the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-rise-of-gen-z-led-consulting-agencies-marketing-2020-6">Gen Z marketing</a> firm <a href="https://www.juvconsulting.com/">JUV Consulting</a>.</p><p>When she's not working, she's studying public policy and environmental science at Stanford University.</p><p>Kianni was hailed <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k94dd/the-activist-translating-climate-crisis-information-across-the-globe">as one of Vice's humans of the year</a> in December. She was selected as a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKhEC8GA5Kd/">National Geographic Young Explorer</a> and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis <a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateCrisis/status/1261416238867197953">tweeted</a> about her advocacy.</p><p>Kianni broke down what a typical Friday looks like, including taking meetings with UN officials and getting pizza with friends.</p><h2>She wakes up around 5:30 a.m.</h2><p>Kianni wakes up in her home in McLean, Virginia, and eats breakfast: a banana, a homemade rice pudding, and a protein shake. She styles her hair, packs her computer and a few professional blazers for her meetings, and checks her calendar to see what her day looks like.</p><div type="image" title="Sophia Kianni Day In the Life" height="3024" width="4032" msid="83281960" hostid="261"></div><p>On this day she headed to New York City to visit the UN and JUV's headquarters. Last year, all of Kianni's events were virtual, but since being vaccinated she's been traveling to attend meetings in person.</p><p>"My relatives in Iran knew very little about climate change because there's very little information available in Farsi, which is their native language," Kianni said. "The United Nations only provides climate information in six languages that account for less than half of the world's speaking population."</p><p>Kianni, who is bilingual, began translating articles about the climate crisis from English to Farsi and sending them to her family via WhatsApp. Last year, she decided to further her work by launching Climate Cardinals, where she and 8,000 volunteers translate climate information and upload the documents online for anyone to access.</p><p>Climate Cardinals also works with organizations such as Unicef and the UN Environment Program.</p><h2>At 7 a.m., her friend's mom picks her up</h2><p>Her friend is also headed to New York City, so they take the train together. Kianni lives about a 30-minute car ride from the nation's capital. She and her friend arrive at Union Station at 8 a.m. and buy bagels as they wait to board their train.</p><p>Once seated, Kianni reads "The Martian" by Andy Weir, a science-fiction novel that was made into a film starring Matt Damon in 2015. "My friends and I have a mini book club," she said. Now that school is out for the summer, she said, "I have time to read again."</p><h2>Still on the train, she virtually attends a UN meeting at 10 a.m.</h2><p>Kianni calls into a UN meeting with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jayathmadw/?hl=es">Jayathma Wickramanayake</a>, the UN secretary-general's envoy on youth, and six members of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.</p><p>Kianni was invited to join the group last summer as the only US, Middle Eastern, and Iranian representative - and its youngest member. As part of the group, Kianni attends meetings with António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, and gives him advice on things like which UN documents to translate and when to emphasize environmental racism.</p><div type="image" title="Sophia Kianni Day In The Life" height="3024" width="4032" msid="83281964" hostid="261"></div><p>During the call, they all give updates on their projects. In December, the group published a report outlining <a href="https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/yag-report-release.pdf">six key actions</a> young people wanted world leaders to take regarding the climate crisis.</p><p>"Our generation is going to be disproportionately affected by climate change," Kianni said. "There is a need for young people to be involved in decision-making spaces, so we can really convey the work we've been doing for the past few years."</p><h2>Next she answers emails</h2><p>Kianni coordinates speaking engagements and confirms her attendance for an ocean-conservation gala in Washington, DC.</p><p>Kianni also goes over updates from Climate Cardinals, which has chapters in over 41 countries.</p><p>As she's just transferred to Stanford from Indiana University, Kianni posts an introduction message in the Stanford 2025 Facebook group to connect with classmates. "It's a great success," she said. "Students from Stanford follow and direct messages to me on Instagram."</p><h2>At noon she arrives in New York City</h2><p>Kianni walks from Penn Station to her hotel to drop off her luggage, then takes the bus to the UN building in midtown. She's greeted by Esther Agbarakwe, a UN program officer.</p><div type="image" title="Sophia Kianni Day In The Life" height="3024" width="4032" msid="83281970" hostid="261"></div><p>They head to the office of Selwin Hart, a special advisor to the secretary-general on climate action.</p><p>Kianni said that in the beginning she was a bit nervous about meeting big names. "But now I really believe that I belong at the table and that my voice is important to UN discussions," she said. "I'm no longer nervous but more so excited to share my experiences and perspective on climate justice."</p><div type="image" title="Sophia Kianni Day In the Life" height="3024" width="4032" msid="83281973" hostid="261"></div><p>Kianni and Hart discuss strengthening the UN's commitment to youth participation and the role of young people in advocating the delivery of <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/climate_and_energy_practice/blog/?1182266/climate-finance-100bn-hope">the $100 billion that countries pledged in 2015</a> to help combat the climate crisis.</p><p>"You really need money in order to fund the infrastructure needed to have a sustainable transition away from fossil fuels," Kianni said, adding that it was "critical" to prioritize frontline workers. "We need to make sure they can now work in the clean-energy sector."</p><p>After the meeting, she goes on a brief tour of the UN building.</p><h2>At 2:30 p.m. she heads to her next job</h2><p>She walks to the nearest bus station and heads to JUV Consulting's headquarters to meet the rest of the senior executive team.</p><div type="image" title="Sophia Kianni Day In The Life" height="3024" width="4032" msid="83281976" hostid="261"></div><p>Cofounded in 2016 by <a href="https://www.ziadahmed.me/">Ziad Ahmed</a>, 22, the firm works with over 20 Fortune 500 companies on everything from major research projects to full-scale marketing campaigns. Last summer, Kianni applied to work at JUV as a consultant, and she was promoted to junior partner before becoming a senior partner in January.</p><p>At JUV she advises clients on social media and <keyword id="49089" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> and how to use TikTok to reach Gen Zers.</p><p>After meetings, the team takes a break. "We make some fun TikToks and also head to the rooftop to have coffee and enjoy the beautiful weather," Kianni said.</p><h2>At 4 p.m. she meets with friends</h2><p>She walks across the city to meet up with some friends at Madison Square Park.</p><p>Kianni says she walks everywhere because it's better for the environment and more affordable than pricey Uber rides in New York.</p><p>"Honestly, I got a blister after a few days 'cause I was walking so much," she said.</p><h2>She walks back to the hotel at 6 p.m.</h2><p>Back at the hotel, Kianni takes a nap before continuing work. She schedules a Zoom call with a BBC reporter about the climate emergency and a call with a new JUV client.</p><p>Around 8 p.m. she meets up with another friend. They walk to an Italian restaurant and order a margarita pizza.</p><h2>Finally, around 10 p.m., it's bedtime</h2><p>Kianni walks back to her hotel to answer a few more emails.</p><p>She texts her younger sister to help her find a prom dress. Kianni scrolls through TikTok and Instagram for 20 minutes before she gets drowsy and falls asleep.</p><p>On Monday she'll head back home and continue to do it all virtually.</p>

This 19-year-old climate advisor who started her own nonprofit and worked on Greta Thunberg's youth strikes spends her days meeting UN officials and grabbing pizza with friends

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>A climate-change advisory group, which helps the UK government shape policy, has called for a ban on all frequent flyer reward programs to discourage people from flying from air.</strong></li><li><strong>The Committee on Climate Change said in a report last week that just 15% of the entire British population take 70% of all flights from the country.</strong></li><li><strong>It has also called for an "air miles levy" to punish people who fly long distances, which would target those who rack up the most air miles, rather than people who travel shorter distances.</strong></li><li><strong>These recommendations were made in an attempt to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>A climate-change advisory group is calling on the UK government to ban frequent flyer reward schemes to discourage people from traveling by air.</p><p><a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/behaviour-change-public-engagement-and-net-zero-imperial-college-london/">In a report published last week</a>, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) - which advises the UK government - noted that about 15% of the entire UK population take 70% of all flights from the country.</p><p>One way to punish this elite group of travelers is to "introduce regulation to ban frequent flyer reward schemes that stimulate demand," the group said. It did not give specifics.</p><p>Frequent flyer programs - provided by almost all airlines around the world - are designed to reward and encourage customers for traveling with the same airline, by giving them the option to upgrade their class, or get free flights, if they rack up a certain amount of points.</p><p>Some passengers take extra flights to reach or maintain benefits with certain airlines, which is the kind of behavior the proposal would target.</p><p>The CCC's proposal could discourage flyers from remaining loyal to certain airlines or discourage them from flying as much as before.</p><p>Airlines would also risk losing out to competitors as travelers lose incentive to stay loyal.</p><p>Airlines who partner with banks to issue airline-branded credit cards could also lose revenue, as they currently receive money from the bank for every mile the card user accrues, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-31/airlines-make-more-money-selling-miles-than-seats">Bloomberg reported</a> in 2017.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>The CCC has also proposed an "air miles levy" to target frequent flyers while protecting those who don't travel as much or travel shorter distances.</p><p>By placing the levies on frequent flyers, rather than a flat fuel tax, those who don't fly as often would in theory not be disproportionately affected.</p><p>"Aviation has so far enjoyed generous tax treatment despite a large proportion of flights being taken by a small, wealthy segment of the population," the CCC said.</p><p>"Given that there is a finite budget of carbon emissions allowable if global warming is to be held below 1.5 degrees, the highly uneven distribution of emissions due to flying raise equity concerns."</p><p>The levy would increase according to the number of air miles flown, rather than the number of flights taken, the CCC said. Carbon emissions from one long-haul flight could be higher than those from several short-haul flights.</p><p>Imposing an "air miles levy" would "limit rising demand for flying in a way that does not make it inaccessible to lower-income households [and] encourage shift in demand from flying to trains and from long-haul to short-haul," the CCC said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>The report also listed a series of recommendations to help the UK government achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 - a challenge that, according to the CCC, the country is not ready to meet at this rate.</p><p>Here are some of the other recommendations:</p><ul><li>Increase government funding for the procurement of electric vehicles for the UK government and local authorities.</li><li>Reopen disused rail lines and bus services in the UK to make people less reliant on cars.</li><li>Fund training in plant-based, or vegan, cooking so people can eat less meat and dairy when they're out.</li><li>Introduce laws to discourage larger-than-required portion sizing in restaurants.</li></ul><p>The report comes as more and more governments and businesses are signaling willingness to take climate change more seriously.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-ubs-jpmorgan-say-2019-is-the-year-for-climate-change-2019-10">Here's why JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs say 2019 is the year climate change is at the top of investors' minds</a></em></p><p>Environmental activists have also resort to extreme protest measures in recent days, with a demonstrator linked to the UK's Extinction Rebellion movement <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/man-lies-down-on-airplane-climate-protest-london-city-airport-2019-10">climbing on top of a British Airways plane last week</a>, ostensibly to bring attention to "the climate and ecological crisis."</p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/climate-change">Read more of Business Insider's climate coverage here.</a></h2>

Climate change group recommends banning all frequent flyer reward programs to cut carbon emissions by targeting jet-setters

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest airport, appears to have worked out how to jam drone signals to stop climate change protesters from grounding flights.</strong></li><li><strong>Campaign group Heathrow Pause planned to fly drones to disrupt flights on Friday, hoping to draw attention to the environmental impact of flying, but a live stream showed their drones failing to take off.</strong></li><li><strong>The group speculated the airport was "using signal jamming" and said the drones' WiFi was not working. But it said one drones was eventually able to take off, indicating jamming technology may have failed.</strong></li><li><strong>Heathrow and the London's Metropolitan Police declined to discuss the incident.</strong></li><li><strong>Heathrow Pause's plan was to fly the drones only at head height, and far from the airport, in a way that would cause disruption but be unlikely to actually interfere with a plane.</strong></li><li><strong>Ten people this week were arrested over the protests, including two caught inside Heathrow's perimeter fence. The group is planning to continue with more protests.</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>London's Heathrow Airport appears to have worked out how to jam drone signals to stop climate change protesters from disrupting its airspace.</p><p>Activists from the group Heathrow Pause attempted to fly drones close to the airport around 3 a.m. Friday morning, but found when they tried to launch them that most did not work.</p><p>They speculated that airport staff used "signal jamming" to stop the drones from working. The airport, and police in London, declined to discuss their methods when contacted by Business Insider.</p><p>The group, Heathrow Pause, said it planned to fly their drones within a 5km "exclusion zone" around the airport, potentially prompting the airport to shut down as a safety measure.</p><p>The group said it wanted to fly the drones only at head height, and relatively far from the runway, in the hope of causing severe disruption without endangering any planes.</p><p>However, their plan failed to materialise, as seen by video footage showing the group trying in vain to fly their drones.</p><p>One of the group's members said in the video: "There's a jamming signal, so basically we can't get a signal from the remote to the drone."</p><p>Cal Harris, a member of Heathrow Pause, told Business Insider that the signal appeared to be jammed and that the drone's WiFi signal did not work. He said that the group members who experienced the issue and have more information have been arrested.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><p>Based on the group's description, this is different to common software installed in many drones which uses GPS positioning to prevent take-off in known exclusion zones. Drone users have shown this can be bypassed.</p><p>Harris also told Business Insider that the group was able to make one drone flight in the restricted area - indicating that jamming technology may have stopped working or some other drone malfunction had been fixed.</p><p>Neither Heathrow Airport nor London's Metropolitan Police would comment to Business Insider on any tactics they may have used.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-million-square-feet-ice-melted-july-hottest-month-history-2019-8" data-analytics-position="3">Around 1 million square feet of sea ice melted in July as the globe experienced its hottest month in history</a></em></p><p>The group said that its members acting as pilots would call the police when they were done and await arrest, and other pilots would then take over. One of the group's members <a href="https://heathrowpause.org/content/uploads/2019/09/HEATHROW-PAUSE-MEET-POLICE-THREE-DAYS-BEFORE-DRONE-ACTION-BEGINS.pdf">said</a> before the attempt on Friday: "I'm likely to get arrested and I could be going to prison."</p><p>"So why am I doing it? I'm doing it because I'm a father. I've got children and I'm thinking about their future. I'd also like to think that I'm doing it for all the children in the world."</p><p>The group announced their protest in advance and met with Metropolitan Police officers to coordinate. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-heathrow/uk-police-confident-heathrow-climate-protest-will-not-bring-chaos-idUSKCN1VW218">told reporters on Wednesday</a> that he was "very confident" that measures were in place to stop the drone flights.</p><p>The incident is a marked departure from drone-related disruption in late 2018 at London's Gatwick Airport, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gatwick-drone-attack-could-be-inside-job-british-airports-coo-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">which was paralyzed for more than 36 hours by sporadic drone sightings near the runway</a>.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gatwick-drone-attack-could-be-inside-job-british-airports-coo-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">Drone attack that wreaked havoc on the United Kingdom's second-busiest airport could have been an inside job, Gatwick officials say</a></em></p><p>In response to that incident, <a href="https://www.gatwickairport.com/business-community/aircraft-noise-airspace/airspace/drone-safety/">UK airports expanded the "exclusion zone"</a> - an area around an airport where remote-controlled aircraft are not allowed - to five kilometers (thee miles) around the airport. This was the area Heathrow Pause planned to use to fly their drones.</p><p>Some of the group's members were arrested before the protests took place. <a href="http://news.met.police.uk/news/latest-policing-operation-at-heathrow-381221">Police said</a> that seven people were&#xa0; arrested on Thursday, in the run up to the protest, and that two more were arrested inside Heathrow's perimeter fence on Friday morning.</p><p>Another person was arrested later on Friday.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>The group is not formally affiliated with Extinction Rebellion - an international group of climate change activists that has <a href="https://www.insider.com/extinction-rebellion-climate-change-protest-chaos-london-2019-4">staged protests in cities like London that have disrupted travel</a> - but some of its members are involved with both groups.</p><p>Harris told Business Insider that the group plans to go ahead with more flights at the airport.</p><p>Heathrow confirmed to Business Insider on Friday that no flights were disrupted.</p><p>Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, had its <a href="https://mediacentre.heathrow.com/pressrelease/details/81/Corporate-operational-24/11532">busiest-ever day</a> on Wednesday, with 262,000 travelling through the airport. The airport said then in a statement that it is investing in new technology as it expands to "demonstrate our global leadership on sustainable travel."</p><p class="tagline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/drones-101?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=drone&amp;itm_campaign=drones-101"></a></p><div></div><div></div><div></div>

London's Heathrow Airport appears to have worked out how to jam drone signals to stop climate change protesters from shutting down its airspace

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hendrik Schmidt/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Flowers and candles on the market place remind of the two victims of a right-wing extremist attack in Halle, Germany.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The attack in Halle, Germany is the latest in a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Germany.</li><li>The inability to deal with these instances shows the failures of German society.</li><li>The German government and media need to take steps to address these problems.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>One certainly cannot accuse CDU party chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer of speaking in overly drastic terms. She sees the attack in Halle as a 'wake-up call'. It is alarm clocks that send out wake-up calls. Has somebody woken up from a deep sleep?<u></u><u></u></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2-people-killed-shooting-synagogue-germany-grenade-2019-10?utm_source=feedburner&amp;%3Butm_medium=referral&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29">Halle suffered this week</a> a more or less exact copy of the Christchurch attack. A radical right-wing man was filmed live as he got out of his car with the intention of entering a religious building (two mosques in Christchurch, a synagogue in Halle) to shoot at people indiscriminately using an automatic rifle - like a scene taken from a violent computer game.<u></u><u></u></p><p>In Halle, before beginning his murderous spree on the holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, the 27-year-old Stephan Balliet spoke the following words: "Hi, my name is Anon, and I think the Holocaust never happened." And then: "The root of all these problems is the Jew." Balliet did not manage to force his way into the synagogue. Instead he shot a woman on the street who just happened to pass by, and later a man in a doner kebab shop. Two more people were seriously injured.<u></u><u></u></p><p>That a massacre with more than 50 mortalities like the one in Christchurch did not occur was down to luck, the good internal security measures taken by the Jewish community and the fact that the assassin's weapon failed on several occasions. The name Halle is now associated with the unleashing of racist violence. And it is also associated above all with a failure by the state to fulfil its central obligation, which is to protect the public space. Why were there no police officers posted in front of the synagogue entrance on the holiest Jewish holiday?<u></u><u></u></p><p>And Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks of a 'wake-up call'. Perhaps it was a sign when, on October 4 in Berlin - only a few days before the attack in Halle - a Syrian man managed to overcome the barrier outside a synagogue, screaming "Fuck Israel" and "Allahu Akbar" before pulling a combat knife. He was arrested and released one day later. Apart from disturbing the peace, he was not charged with any other offences. Signs like that are understood. As an invitation.<u></u><u></u></p><p>Kramp-Karrenbauer's completely inappropriate use of words stands symbolically for a political culture dogged by euphemisms. There is a distinct lack of will to call things by their proper name. Instead, things are covered up or played down. And when some parts of the media do tell the facts or show horrific images, then it is often not the actual events that are discussed; instead those who describe the reality are criticized or even accused of incitement. Germany's political and media elites sleep the sleep of the righteous and dream the dream of political correctness. Are they scared of having their peace disturbed?<u></u><u></u></p><p>In Limburg, when an attacker with several previous convictions rams eight cars driving a stolen truck, injuring nine people in the process, and - according to eye-witnesses - shouting "Allah", politicians talk about a "deranged offender working alone." And German public television broadcasters ARD and ZDF initially only report about it on the margins, before referring to it merely as a "truck incident."<u></u></p><p>When there are doubts whether HSV soccer player Bakery Jatta is actually called Bakary Daffeh and is two years older than he says he is, it takes the police more than four years to investigate this and journalists systematically turn a blind eye. Instead, some criticize the fact that it is even reported at all, saying that such reports incite xenophobia.<u></u><u></u></p><p>When a man with several previous convictions butchers a person with a Samurai sword on a public street in the middle of a Stuttgart residential area, then German radio station Deutschlandfunk decides not to report on it. The supposed rationale behind this decision? The story is not relevant for Germany as a whole or for German society.<u></u><u></u></p><p>When, after the sadly infamous night of New Year's Eve in Cologne in 2015, Angela Merkel demands a "hard response from the rule of law," 661 female victims of sexual assault are identified, 1,304 legal complaints lodged and 52 men accused, three men are eventually sentenced for sexual offences.<u></u><u></u></p><p>Also of particular symbolic impact was politicians failing to act after judgment was pronounced in the Kuwait Airways case in November 2017. The judges decided that Kuwait Airways could not be expected to transport Israeli, that is, Jewish passengers out of Frankfurt because of Kuwaiti law.<u></u><u></u></p><p>But perhaps one could have expected the German government to say in the wake of this scandalous decision that, if Kuwait Airways cannot be expected to allow Jewish passengers to board its planes, then Jews in Germany cannot be expected to accept that Kuwait Airways be allowed to fly from Germany for one day longer. In a similar case, both Switzerland and the USA decided to refuse the airline permission to land or take-off on their territory. In Germany, politicians preferred to look the other way and thus tolerate blatant racism.<u></u><u></u></p><p>On September 25, a so-called "Palestine demonstration" was to take place at the Brandenburg Gate. The rappers Shadi Al-Bourini and Shadi Al-Najjar were to perform at it. These two rappers glorify terrorists in their song texts and in the social media networks, praise the arming of young children against Israel, and call for the city of Tel Aviv to be bombed, burned to the ground and for the inhabitants to be driven out of the city.<u></u><u></u></p><p>They shout at the Jews: "I want to crush you beneath my feet." These rappers were supposed to perform in front of the most famous symbol of Germany's capital city where, seven decades ago, the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question," the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews, was organized. Simply because they were Jews.<u></u><u></u></p><p>The demonstration was given permission to go ahead and did take place. The appearance of the glorifiers of terrorism was prohibited at the last minute only because of immense pressure from the public. When a counter-protester unfolded an Israeli flag, the police tore it out of his hands.<u></u><u></u></p><p>These are not wake-up calls. These are signs of the systemic failure of the open society. A country where the President traditionally sends letters of good wishes to the mullahs in Iran. In which the federal government refuses to ban the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Where a parliamentary decision against the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) is criticized by one of Germany's leading media outlets as being the result of sinister Jewish lobbyism. While another leading media outlet criticizes that this showcases Jewish influence on the media and places the term anti-Semitism in quotation marks. Such a country should not be surprised that hatred of Jews is slowly becoming socially acceptable again and many Jews are asking themselves the serious question of whether Germany can still be a safe home to them.<u></u><u></u></p><p>Racism and xenophobia are becoming stronger again in Germany. They have always existed. But the decisive factor is how the majority of the population and their democratically elected leaders handle these phenomena. Our current handling seems to be fanning the flames of hate. The main reasons are:<u></u><u></u></p><p><strong>First.</strong> Refugee policies that are highly questionable in a constitutional state and which hardly differentiate between war refugees and economic refugees. That is, fail to make a difference between people whose very existence is under threat (who we must help), and people living in precarious economic circumstances (who we cannot help indiscriminately).<u></u><u></u></p><p><strong>Second. </strong>A police force that is far too weak in numbers and badly equipped. That fails in an increasing number of cases to prevent and prosecute criminal offences. And fails in its duty to protect the public domain, thus making people feel they have been left alone to cope with their problems.<u></u><u></u></p><p><strong>Third.</strong> An overstretched and sometimes also deliberately inactive public administration and judiciary system, that does not identify criminals and criminal immigrants fast enough. That fails to deport without delay and does not by any means sufficiently exploit the legal framework provided for criminal prosecution.<u></u><u></u></p><p><strong>Fourth. </strong>A political elite that refuses to face up to reality or is far removed from it. Which talks instead of taking action and often promises far more than it actually delivers. And which does not defend the basic liberal order and our constitution passionately against imported and intrinsic intolerance. While, instead, being tolerant of intolerance.<u></u><u></u></p><p><strong>Fifth.</strong> A media elite that too often depicts and describes what things should be like instead of describing the situation as it is. Media that often give attitude priority over facts. And in this way, weaken its most important principles: credibility and trust.<u></u><u></u></p><p>Remaining silent about criminal offences committed by foreign nationals generates mistrust, gives rise to conspiracy theories and ultimately creates more hate of foreigners. The one-sided understanding for anti-Semitic attitudes among some Muslim immigrants reinforces radical right- and left-wing anti-Semitism. People stop listening when they feel that journalists and politicians no longer see and talk about what is really happening. And yet they mean well. For months, our politicians from all parties (or almost all - the AfD is a macabre alternative here) have been trying to outdo each other on their soapboxes with the same plea: "Anti-Semitism never again!"<u></u><u></u></p><p>After Halle, the country no longer needs one single demonstration, expressions of solidarity or a chain of lights. We also don't want to hear any more speeches crying "Anti-Semitism never again!" Because anti-Semitism is already among us. Every single day. In 2018 alone, crime statistics counted 1,800 anti-Semitic offences in Germany. And most people turn a blind eye. We do not need remembrance events or political speeches.<u></u><u></u></p><p>We need the constitutional state to assert the rule of law, to apply the laws that are already there. And we need a confident and sovereign defense of our liberal values. We need a truly empowered democracy. If Germany fails to gain command over the challenges presented by old, but newly kindled Islamist, left-wing and right-wing anti-Semitism, then it has failed to pass the litmus test it has been set by history. The eyes of the world are upon us and the world wants to know how capable we are of safeguarding liberty and how human we have become since 1945.<u></u><u></u></p><p>Things are changing in Germany. And we urgently need intelligent leadership to calibrate our moral compass and overcome old hostilities, new sectarianism and ill-guided hot-bloodedness and cold-heartedness. We can take hope from the younger generation, which is more political than it has been in a long time.<u></u><u></u></p><p>It is above all the 15- to 30-year-olds who have become active, for example, in the important fight against irresponsible climate policies, taking the matter into their own hands. It would have been a nice gesture if, on that terrible 'extinction day' in Halle, the demonstrators from the Extinction Rebellion movement had taken down their tents on Potsdamer Platz and gone as a united group to the vigil taking place before the synagogue in Oranienburger Strasse. I hope it was only by chance that this opportunity was missed.<u></u><u></u></p><p>I, in any case, do not want to live in a country in which people reprimand their neighbors for failing to separate their trash, but look the other way when their fellow citizens are murdered. Because of their skin color. Or because they are Jews. And I believe, or hope, that most Germans feel the same way.</p><p class="tagline">This is an <keyword id="6356002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion">opinion</keyword> column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vanderbilt-university-45-year-study-intelligent-children-success-2017-5">A 45-year-long study discovered trends in successful hyper-intelligent children</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

These attacks are not wake-up calls. These are signs of the systemic failure of Germany's open society.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">UK local elections 2019</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Results for the local elections in England and Northern Ireland are coming in.</strong></li><li><strong>Early results suggest the Conservative party are being punished by voters.</strong></li><li><strong>But Labour are failing to benefit from the Tory collapse.</strong></li><li><strong>Smaller parties with a clear anti-Brexit position are picking up votes.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.</a> </strong></li></ul><p>LONDON - Results have been pouring in for the 2019 local elections in England and Northern Ireland.</p><p>The Conservatives have suffered heavy losses, with Labour also falling back as voters put <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/local-elections-conservative-and-labours-brexit-anger-results-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">a plague on both the main parties' houses</a></p><p>Meanwhile smaller parties are making big gains, with both the Liberal Democrats and the Green party surging across the country.</p><p>Here are 5 things we've learned from the results:</p><h2>Voters are punishing the Conservative government for Brexit</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Local elections are about expectation management and Conservative spinners have put out some deliberately over-the-top predictions in recent days about the party's expected performance in these elections.</p><p>However, by any objective standard these are a terrible set of results for Theresa May's party, which are at least as bad as Gordon Brown experienced in the final years of the last Labour government, and could well end up being worse.</p><p>The party has lost major ground to the Liberal Democrats, and to a lesser extent Labour, with the party faring worst in areas where it has previously been strongest.</p><p>Anecdotally, Conservative activists have reported a terrible response on the doorstep, with both Leave and Remain voters furious over the government's handling of Brexit and the overall chaotic state of May's government.</p><p>As a result renewed calls for May to stand down have already begun, with former Cabinet minister Priti Patel <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1124162526332067840">taking to the airwaves to demand she steps down.</a></p><p>There are still lots more results to come in, with final results not expected until late on Friday afternoon.</p><p>However, with early results coming from areas where we would expect the Conservatives to do best, May's party are on course for a truly dire set of results.</p><h2>Jeremy Corbyn's party are not benefiting from Tory collapse</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>After nine years of a Conservative-led  government and two years of Brexit-related political chaos, you would ordinarily expect the official opposition to be absolutely clearing up in a set of elections like these.</p><p>Instead Labour have actually lost seats so far in both Leave and Remain-voting areas, with the lion's share of the protest vote going to smaller parties instead. Overall the party appears to be doing better in southern England than northern England. However, even in the South the party has made losses as voters switch to parties with a clearer anti-Brexit position than Labour has been willing to offer.</p><p>The nature of where early results have come from in the country means that Labour's overall performance will likely improve as the day goes on. If current trends continue they will probably end up with a modest national lead nationally. However, there is no doubt that these are a very disappointing set of results for Corbyn's party and are nowhere near as good as we should expect for a party at this stage in the electoral cycle.</p><h2>The Liberal Democrats are back</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The last time these set of seats were fought was in 2015 at the end of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. Back then voters furious with the Lib Dem's role in that government, punished the party hard at both a local and national level. As a result today's elections were always going to have a relatively positive outcome for Vince Cable's party.</p><p>However, early results suggest that the Lib Dems have well exceeded even the most optimistic predictions for their performance, with the party already picking up hundreds of seats in both Conservative and Labour areas. The party's clear anti-Brexit message appears to be winning over Remain-voting Labour voters across the country, while both Leave and Remain-leaning Tory voters also appear to be switching to them as a protest vote against the government</p><p>Vince Cable has committed to standing down later this month after what has widely been perceived as a disappointing time as leader of his party. Today's results could well cause him to regret that decision.</p><h2>Voters are going Green</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Possibly the biggest surprise in these results is the stellar performance of the Green Party, which has made serious gains in Remain-voting areas against both Labour and the Conservatives. Like the Liberal Democrats, they appear to be benefiting from voter dissatisfaction with both the major parties and have recovered their traditional role as a leading recipient of protest votes.</p><p>Recent events, which have been dominated by the "Extinction Rebellion" climate change protests across the country and calls for the declaration of a "climate emergency" have also almost certainly helped the party pick up seats.</p><h2>We are heading for a minority Labour government</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Today's results suggest that Jeremy Corbyn's party are not on course to win a majority at the next election. If Labour cannot make big gains in elections like these, with a government so visibly tearing itself apart over Brexit, then they are unlikely to be able to make sufficient gains at a general election in order to govern outright.</p><p>However, while the results are bad for Labour, they are truly terrible for the Conservatives. Theresa May's party has lost ground across the country in both Leave and Remain-voting areas, with activists reporting that the party's previously most reliable voters are deserting them.</p><p>And while the results are very bad for May, they could have been much worse. With Nigel Farage's new Brexit party not standing in these elections and UKIP also failing to stand in large numbers of seats, the national picture is almost certainly significantly worse for May's party than the final vote tally will suggest. </p><p>Add to that the resurgence of the Liberal Democrats, whose target seats are overwhelmingly in Conservative areas, and the picture for May's party looks particularly bleak.</p><p>And with May's party only hanging onto power as it is through a fragile pact with the Democratic Unionist Party, it is now overwhelmingly likely that the Conservative government will lose their grip on that power, whether the next general election is held later this year or in 2022. </p><p>That means the most likely outcome at the next general election is either a minority Labour administration, or a full on coalition government between Corbyn's party and the Scottish Nationalists or the Lib Dems. Whichever way you cut it, a Labour government - most likely led by Jeremy Corbyn - is now the likely outcome of the next election.</p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reporter-calls-out-claim-that-fbi-was-happy-comeys-firing-sarah-huckabee-sanders-white-house-press-briefing-2017-5">This video shows the moment Sarah Sanders lied to a room full of reporters about FBI agents telling her they were happy Trump fired Comey</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

5 things we've learned from the 2019 UK local election results

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Screenshot via YouTube/Lloyd Christmas</span></p><p class="caption">No thanks.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The Business Insider <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> team has checked out a few stations wagons recently, and our reaction has been utterly predictable.</p><p>I know, you think I'm going to say that we loved them to pieces at that we lament the decline of the wagon as a vehicle choice in the US, supplanted by the wicked, gas-guzzling SUV.</p><p>I'm not going to say that. We thought the wagons were okay, but limited.</p><p>And that, in a nutshell, it why the wagon market has collapsed in America. Sure, you can still buy or lease a few examples, notably the Subaru Outback, which has performed both stalwart and near-romantic duty in keeping the wagon alive as an automotive genre in the USA. Otherwise, you're looking at something like a BMW Sport, and Audi All Road, a Mercedes E-Class wagon, or the Volvo V60 - all European luxury models with a luxe price tag - or something like a VW Golf SportWagon, a cheaper vehicle we tried out but weren't terribly impressed by.</p><p>The rest of the haggard wagon market is made up of choices that are really more wagon-adjacent - not proper wagons, but crossovers that have been adapted to the cause, or offbeat players on the segment, such as the MINI Clubman.</p><p>The bottom line is that Ford isn't going to sell you a proper wagon, nor is General Motors. The mass-market guys have bailed.</p><p>But why?</p><h2>Family rebellion</h2><p>Simple: wagons don't serve their primary market any longer. That market is families. The decision used to be fundamental. You had some kids, you got a wagon, particularly if you wanted to buck the SUV trend. I did this, in the mid-2000s, with a Volvo V40. </p><p>It was a nifty car, a peppy ride (as many Euro-ish wagons are) thanks to its turbocharged engined and sharp handling, and a reasonable family hauler.</p><p>Until it wasn't. </p><p>The thing about kids is that they get bigger. And they have more stuff. And they make friends. Sometimes you have more than two.</p><p>A wagon can't handle any of this. The Volvo V60 Polestar we tested recently was a dandy set of wheels, but putting my 13-, 10-, and 6-year-old in there, plus my wife, plus me, wasn't going to happen. (The larger V90 wagon, for model year 2017, suggests that Volvo intends to double-down on its wagon strategy.) A friend if the family? I don't think they make a roof rack for that. A pet? Not unless he wanted to end up like Dinky, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkT5g1n8Tv8">tied to the bumper of the Griswolds' Family Truckster</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p><p class="caption">The Volvo V60.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>What can handle all this is a minivan, but the stigma is often too great, despite the extreme versatility and tremendous safety of the two main options, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna (the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country have been surpassed by their Japanese rivals, despite Chrysler inventing the genre; the T&amp;C is also now out of production). I owned an Odyssey for about four years, and it was basically ideal. But it was also a <em>minivan. </em>We loved it. But a lot of buyers can't overcome the soccer-mom image. </p><h2>The SUVs cometh</h2><p>Enter the SUVs and the crossovers. And in particular, the seven-passenger models. A wagon simply can't compete against a roomy crossover with three rows of seats. And for the smaller clans that might once have reflexively chosen the wagon, the versions with only a second row now dominate. Compact SUVs and crossovers are the hottest segment in the US auto market at the moment. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/BI</span></p><p class="caption">If you put the seat down, it can hold an ironing board.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>This leaves the wagons with perhaps the most narrowcasted demographic in the entire auto industry, made up of practical unwed hipsters, young childless couples, and car writers, who have always been BIG on the wagon thing because they lack other more obscure choices, such as updated El Caminos or a Subaru Baja.</p><p>The bottom line is that it makes sense that the wagon died. It was, in essence, an expanded sedan - an evolution of the family car of the 1950s and '60. If you started from scratch and considered what most families need their cars for, you wouldn't do a wagon - you'd take a pickup truck, ditch the bed, and add a few extra rows of seats, and cover the whole affair with sheet metal. Presto! SUV! Or you'd create the minivan. But then you'd be asking families to buy a small bus. Which worked for a while, until it didn't.</p><p>You know where this leads: extinction. In a decade, there probably won't be any wagons to buy. Maybe Subaru will stick with it. But we might as well start the eulogy now. So long, wagons! We were lucky to enjoy your twilight years.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-time-lapse-supermoon-november-london-hong-kong-new-york-2016-11">Watch a time-lapse of last night's stunning supermoon</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="J5cTJsNzE6ThHj9Qvfbw3ds9ccP_0ERG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Americans don't like station wagons - here's why

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Screenshot via YouTube/Lloyd Christmas</span></p><p class="caption">No thanks.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The Business Insider <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> team has checked out a few stations wagons recently, and our reaction has been utterly predictable.</p><p>I know, you think I'm going to say that we loved them to pieces at that we lament the decline of the wagon as a vehicle choice in the US, supplanted by the wicked, gas-guzzling SUV.</p><p>I'm not going to say that. We thought the wagons were okay, but limited.</p><p>And that, in a nutshell, it why the wagon market has collapsed in America. Sure, you can still buy or lease a few examples, notably the Subaru Outback, which has performed both stalwart and near-romantic duty in keeping the wagon alive as an automotive genre in the USA. Otherwise, you're looking at something like a BMW Sport, and Audi All Road, a Mercedes E-Class wagon, or the Volvo V60 - all European luxury models with a luxe price tag - or something like a VW Golf SportWagon, a cheaper vehicle we tried out but weren't terribly impressed by.</p><p>The rest of the haggard wagon market is made up of choices that are really more wagon-adjacent - not proper wagons, but crossovers that have been adapted to the cause, or offbeat players on the segment, such as the MINI Clubman.</p><p>The bottom line is that Ford isn't going to sell you a proper wagon, nor is General Motors. The mass-market guys have bailed.</p><p>But why?</p><h2>Family rebellion</h2><p>Simple: wagons don't serve their primary market any longer. That market is families. The decision used to be fundamental. You had some kids, you got a wagon, particularly if you wanted to buck the SUV trend. I did this, in the mid-2000s, with a Volvo V40. </p><p>It was a nifty car, a peppy ride (as many Euro-ish wagons are) thanks to its turbocharged engined and sharp handling, and a reasonable family hauler.</p><p>Until it wasn't. </p><p>The thing about kids is that they get bigger. And they have more stuff. And they make friends. Sometimes you have more than two.</p><p>A wagon can't handle any of this. The Volvo V60 Polestar we tested recently was a dandy set of wheels, but putting my 13-, 10-, and 6-year-old in there, plus my wife, plus me, wasn't going to happen. A friend if the family? I don't think they make a roof rack for that. A pet? Not unless he wanted to end up like Dinky, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkT5g1n8Tv8">tied to the bumper of the Griswolds' Family Truckster</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p><p class="caption">The Volvo V60.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>What can handle all this is a minivan, but the stigma is often too great, despite the extreme versatility and tremendous safety of the two main options, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna (the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country have been surpassed by their Japanese rivals, despite Chrysler inventing the genre; the T&amp;C is also now out of production). I owned an Odyssey for about four years, and it was basically ideal. But it was also a <em>minivan. </em>We loved it. But a lot of buyers can't overcome the soccer-mom image. </p><h2>The SUVs cometh</h2><p>Enter the SUVs and the crossovers. And in particular, the seven-passenger models. A wagon simply can't compete against a roomy crossover with three rows of seats. And for the smaller clans that might once have reflexively chosen the wagon, the versions with only a second row now dominate. Compact SUVs and crossovers are the hottest segment in the US auto market at the moment. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/BI</span></p><p class="caption">If you out the seat down, it can hold an ironing board.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>This leaves the wagons with perhaps the most narrowcasted demographic in the entire auto industry, made up of practical unwed hipsters, young childless couples, and car writers, who have always been BIG on the wagon thing because they lack other more obscure choices, such as updated El Caminos or a Subaru Baja.</p><p>The bottom line is that it makes sense that the wagon died. It was, in essence, an expanded sedan - an evolution of the family car of the 1950s and '60. If you started from scratch and considered what most families need their cars for, you wouldn't do a wagon - you'd take a pickup truck, ditch the bed, and add a few extra rows of seats, and cover the whole affair with sheet metal. Presto! SUV! Or you'd create the minivan. But then you'd be asking families to buy a small bus. Which worked for a while, until it didn't.</p><p>You know where this leads: extinction. In a decade, there probably won't be any wagons to buy. Maybe Subaru will stick with it. But we might as well start the eulogy now. So long, wagons! We were lucky to enjoy your twilight years.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-just-unveiled-teslas-top-secret-master-plan-2016-7">Elon Musk just unveiled Tesla's 'top secret' master plan - here are the details</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BoaTJ2NDE6ewk6Pt7Z8Wx9cnV6tg1bcp" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "Extinction Rebellion" and got 12 results

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