advertisement


London Climate Protests

MikeMA said:
According to reports on Today this morning, one of the protestors objectives is to close Heathrow over Easter. If successful I imagine such action would engender a mixed response among the general public.

On a point of detail, how do protestors who superglue themselves to trains and airoplanes, etc. expect to come unstuck?
Click to expand...

You peel 'em off ... fast, then make 'em pay for any damage. Finally let's give a nice criminal record.
 
simon g said:
These protests, whilst well intentioned, entirely miss the crucial issue, as do most other 'environmentalist' type campaigns.

We have become, in the main, a technological, energy consuming society. OK, let's do what we can to reduce energy consumption, but what about the ever increasing use of resources by China, India and the like? Should we say to them; sorry, we've enjoyed the last many decades of using energy and building a modern, technological society, but now you can't have any of that? Just take a look at how many thousands of miles of motorway China is building every year. All the new infrastructure. Consumption on an epic scale. Anything we do in our part of the world will make virtually no practical difference on a global level. That isn't to say though that we should do nothing.

Increasing population is also a massive challenge. More people consume more resources. I don't see anybody proposing much in the way of population control.

As a society, we also pursue medical advances meaning that more people live longer. Thus consuming more resources.

Migration is also problematic. For example, if you relocate from many countries in Africa then you'll be coming from a relatively low consumption lifestyle and move in to a very high consumption society. So, the same number of people, but consuming more resource.

The resource the world needs much more of is energy. Energy is the key. Not producing this energy from fossil fuel, or other finite resource, is what is required.

There should be a world wide campaign to divert far greater resources in to research in to alternative energy sources. Fusion being a prime example. In relative terms fusion research has tiny, tiny funding, yet if achieved, could answer the global energy problems, plus many of the consumption problems. Clean, cheap energy. Space based energy collectors/transmitters. Better use of solar (and I don't mean a few panels of your roof!). Et al.

We can't put the genie back in the bottle and all go back to nomadic, hunter gatherer type lives. What we can do is harness the amazing capability that humans have to answer technological challenges and address the fundamental challenge which is simply that: We Need More Energy. That energy to come with as little consumption of resource and environmental impact as possible. To achieve that goal requires a fundamental change in society, in my opinion, but that's another question for another day.
Click to expand...

One of the few sensible things I've seen posted on this subject. I would have added that, on top of everything else, and excluding me, there are just too many of us.
 
Yeah, we should give up and do nothing about it.
drummerman said:
They will achieve very little.
Click to expand...
Whereas you will achieve more? Can you explain more, or, like so many people, are you just giving up? That's not being negative, many of my friends have resigned themselves to the awful reality of what the future will bring.
 
London climate protests.

It strikes me that if the weather was cold and raining, i.e. Normal, then there wouldn't be so many protesters.

The weather is shining down on the righteous so it appears.

My best mates daughter has been down in London protesting. Apparently there are compost lavatories set up for their convenience requirements. Free food being handed out (it sounded unpalatable to me) and a general sense of festival.
Good luck to them, although my focus would be more on urging people to vote for the Green party if they want political change.
My daughter protested many times in her youth, Newbury bypass, some local wood being torn down etc.

It is good to have protest I think, whether one agrees with it or not. At least in the U.K. one can protest without the fear of death or 'disappearing.'
 
MikeMA said:
According to reports on Today this morning, one of the protestors objectives is to close Heathrow over Easter. If successful I imagine such action would engender a mixed response among the general public.

On a point of detail, how do protestors who superglue themselves to trains and airoplanes, etc. expect to come unstuck?
Click to expand...


Water will unstick skin from superglue.
 
avole said:
Yeah, we should give up and do nothing about it.

Whereas you will achieve more? Can you explain more, or, like so many people, you are just giving up. That's not being negative, many of my friends have resigned themselves to the awful reality of what the future will bring.
Click to expand...

Nothing will make any difference. It's a runaway train. Token gestures.

Real, drastic, life changing, inconveniencing efforts will be made ... when it's likely already to late.

Many here are grand and noble in their armchairs giving their undying support to something like the protests. Wait until things happen that will cause inconvenience to folks here, even if it's something as little as a protest outside their local supermarkets forcing it to close for a day then see how supportive they will be.

Watch public support diminishing as these protests carry on.

Its human nature. We dont like inconvenience. It's also the reason, amongst other economic factors that we're f****. Whilst most of the west may have some half decent intentions folks in developing countries have other things on their minds. Little things like surviving. Of course they also want some of the pie that is wealth that we here have taken for granted for so long and can you blame them?

Enjoy while it lasts mate.
 
Marky-Mark said:
You need an eye doctor to treat the extreme roll dislocation after observing people caterwauling over an old building burning when the environment required to support their very existence is on the brink of failure.

Where do I get my Cathedral avatar overlay so I can blend in?
Click to expand...
Well, Notre Dame got obscured by thick smoke a second time, billowing from someone’s psychodrama on that thread.
 
vuk said:
ffs -- you keep missing the point. how about i just restate this and say uninhabitable atmosphere. does it really matter if the atmosphere vanishes or turns into an oven? we seem to have unleashed a runaway process, the outcome of which nobody can predict with great accuracy. would you prefer to be eaten alive by a shark or a tiger? one of these situations is very different because it would take place under water.
Click to expand...
I'm not missing the point. Firstly, as Cav says, you're not as smart (or as informed) as you think you are - your Mars comment laid that bare for all to see, but when I pointed it out, rather than exhibiting humility and acknowledging the error, you doubled down.
Secondly, your silly challenge had no basis in the post you replied to. The Earth was devastated by a 'dinosaur killer' meteor strike which brought about the end of an epoch and extinguished most of the (flourishing) life in the planet, 70 million years ago, yet here we are. That was my point, the planet is robust, but the fauna isn't. You either missed that point, or chose to, in order to display your intellectual superiority. You're just pissed that it blew up in your face.
 
MikeMA said:
One of the few sensible things I've seen posted on this subject. I would have added that, on top of everything else, and excluding me, there are just too many of us.
Click to expand...

Yep, the UK spends more on petfood in a year than there is funding for fusion research.
 
drummerman said:
Nothing will make any difference. It's a runaway train. Token gestures.

Real, drastic, life changing, inconveniencing efforts will be made ... when it's likely already to late.

Many here are grand and noble in their armchairs giving their undying support to something like the protests. Wait until things happen that will cause inconvenience to folks here, even if it's something as little as a protest outside their local supermarkets forcing it to close for a day then see how supportive they will be.

Watch public support diminishing as these protests carry on.

Its human nature. We dont like inconvenience. It's also the reason, amongst other economic factors that we're f****. Whilst most of the west may have some half decent intentions folks in developing countries have other things on their minds. Little things like surviving. Of course they also want some of the pie that is wealth that we here have taken for granted for so long and can you blame them?

Enjoy while it lasts mate.
Click to expand...
So that's a yes ?
 
As with everything bad, capitalism is the root cause. It's pernicious sickening evil is such that even environmental issues are often ignored until they find an angle to make money from it! They'll ban "x" as being polluting maybe but only when/because a profit making recycling process for the disposal of "X" has become practical! They'll then flaunt their green credentials whilst making a killing from the process... this will go hand in hand with a new greener replacement product "Y" becoming available and at a higher price than "X" and which now has a captive market as everyone needs a "Y" to replace the "X" they've had to get rid of! If there was no money to be made from the recycling of "X" and selling of "Y" then "X" would be allowed to go on polluting as much as it likes and anyone protesting against it would be branded "tree huggers", "unwashed ecowarriors" etc.
 
drummerman said:
You peel 'em off ... fast, then make 'em pay for any damage. Finally let's give a nice criminal record.
Click to expand...
No worries. The Saj has announced he’s going to crack down hard on them. The party faithful will be wetting their adult nappies at the prospect.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
As with everything bad, capitalism is the root cause. It's pernicious sickening evil is such that even environmental issues are often ignored until they find an angle to make money from it! They'll ban "x" as being polluting maybe but only when/because a profit making recycling process for the disposal of "X" has become practical! They'll then flaunt their green credentials whilst making a killing from the process... this will go hand in hand with a new greener replacement product "Y" becoming available and at a higher price than "X" and which now has a captive market as everyone needs a "Y" to replace the "X" they've had to get rid of! If there was no money to be made from the recycling of "X" and selling of "Y" then "X" would be allowed to go on polluting as much as it likes and anyone protesting against it would be branded "tree huggers", "unwashed ecowarriors" etc.
Click to expand...

Almost worked with plastic. Collect it and pay for it to be shipped to China for recycling. I wonder how much actually got there?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top