An Epic Saga of Climate Defiance: A Case Study in Self-Parody

Radical anti-fossil fuel activist group Climate Defiance on Thursday protested at Energy Department’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, claiming to have “shuttered” the entrance. 

“Breaking: we have shuttered the entrance to the Department of Energy. Cops swarming by the 100. Senior officials on edge. Revolution in air. Updates imminent,” the group stated in a post on X. 

Andrew Follett, senior analyst at Club for Growth and former DOE contractor, said the group was actually blocking an unused entrance to a parking garage. 

“That’s the entrance to a closed parking garage you notwithstanding nitwit! The entrance is around the other side!” Follett said in a comment on Climate Defiance’s post.

It’s not clear that the protest was “shuttering” the agency as the group claims. The Department of Energy is one of the least-utilized federal headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/protest-against-fossil-fuel-use-climate-defiance-blocks-unused-entrance-doe

When the dust of history settles, some episodes are destined for the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” department. Case in point: Climate Defiance, a climate activism group, recently made headlines by “shutting down” the Department of Energy. Or so they claimed. In reality, they staged a protest blocking the entrance to an unused parking garage, which is as effective as barricading a revolving door with a sticky note. Their social media triumphalism was rich: “Revolution in the air!” they proclaimed, while senior DOE officials apparently remained blissfully unaware of this Earth-shaking inconvenience.

Blocking a Ghost Entrance: Bold Strategy, Guys

The self-described “shuttering” of the DOE turned out to be a laughably ineffective gesture. Andrew Follett, a senior analyst at Club for Growth and former DOE contractor, summed it up best: “That’s the entrance to a closed parking garage, you notwithstanding nitwit!” This group’s idea of guerrilla climate warfare is the equivalent of cutting off a phantom limb. But hey, when your primary goal is attention, success is measured not in CO₂ reductions but in retweets.

Virtue Signalers Backed by Big Money

Climate Defiance’s antics might seem like grassroots foolishness, but their funding paints a different picture. The group is backed by the Climate Emergency Fund, a $6 million war chest fueled by Hollywood elites like Adam McKay and Abigail Disney. These champagne environmentalists fork over millions from their air-conditioned mansions to bankroll protests that inconvenience no one except a few bemused D.C. commuters. McKay’s $4 million donation alone could buy enough private jet fuel to make Al Gore blush.

And speaking of mixed-up priorities, this crew also dipped its toe into Gaza activism, because nothing says “climate justice” like conflating environmental issues with geopolitical flashpoints. It’s as if the group spun a wheel labeled “causes to hijack” and just went with whatever came up.

Civil Disobedience Meets Champagne Socialism

Jane Fonda, Hollywood’s perennial activist-in-residence, graced a Climate Defiance event with her presence, urging attendees to engage in civil disobedience. It’s unclear if Fonda stayed long enough to endure the consequences of such acts or if she promptly returned to her five-star accommodations. The hypocrisy isn’t lost on anyone who remembers Fonda’s past escapades in Vietnam or her more recent knack for blending activism with high-gloss PR.

The Real Victims: Sanity and Public Discourse

What makes Climate Defiance uniquely absurd isn’t just their misguided tactics but their utter lack of self-awareness. They act as though they’re modern-day Rosa Parks while blocking an entrance that nobody uses. They cry injustice as “dozens” of members are arrested, calling it a “crime” to demand an end to fossil fuels. Meanwhile, their arrests are about as consequential as their protests. After all, no movement has been more coddled by sympathetic media and deep-pocketed donors.

Let’s not forget the irony of these activists relying on modern transportation and digital platforms—both heavily dependent on fossil fuels—to organize their protests. Perhaps their next act of civil disobedience will involve chaining themselves to an ExxonMobil gas pump while tweeting their demands from an iPhone.

Final Thoughts: A Movement Adrift

The Climate Defiance debacle isn’t just an indictment of the group’s tactics but a microcosm of the broader movement’s intellectual bankruptcy. Their actions scream privilege and superficiality, not substance. Blocking an unused garage in D.C. does less to “save the planet” than it does to confirm the movement’s image as a playground for Ivy League dilettantes who confuse hashtags with hard work.

So here’s some unsolicited advice for Climate Defiance: If you want to be taken seriously, try doing something that, you know, actually matters. Until then, enjoy your time in the police van—it might be the closest you get to making an impact.