Climate change activists shooting themselves in the foot?

[2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]

I had sympathy with the both the cause and actions (though not the vandalism) until today. They are now paralysing the public transport system. Isn’t the main thrust of encouraging better habits for climate change , getting people out of their cars and onto public transport.
Fact 1: people need to work
Fact 2 : most need to commute , short journeys or long.
Fact 3: protests are to promote awareness and get the people on your side.

THIS WON’T !

so feel free to shrug off your Scots chip.
Racist much?

We are going the other way. Bridge is a mess. What a shame as it's blowing into the river and will kill the swans and fish. Hopefully the lovely river barge people are out dredging it up - now they belch out diesel fumes.
Protests need to make the right point in the right way. Climate change is now being talked about which is fantastic. But at the expense of causing extra pollution and waste.

Now zooming along the South bank and London looks lovely in the sunshine.

No one wonder the country is going to pot with some of the horrendous comments on here. When did everyone become so closed-minded?

Instead of judging people, why don’t you look at WHY they are doing it and find a way to do your bit. Write to your MP, ask questions of people in power. But do something. Don’t just love your perfect lives faffing about in gardens not giving a shit about anything more important than belittling other humans who have tried to make a difference.

Climate change won't reduce your heating bills, no.

GidgetGirl What, you read the post of someone who has made concerted efforts on their own carbon footprint for over THREE DECADES, has been an activist in many ways for forty years, and that's the best you have got in riposte?

Shame on you! You should have far more belief in those 'ruffian's than that.

I'll take a whole bloody packet of biscuits, thanks

And I was responding directly to Mustard when I wrote the list. My point was that no poster here knows what other do. Sanctimonious finger pointing isn't the way to get things changed.

What have you done for 'the casue'?

"Protests need to make the right point in the right way."

What is the 'right way' to protest about something so potentially catastrophic?

And as PPs have said, it's not about using a few less carrier bags, it's about the actions of governments and multinationals which far far outweigh anything we can do as individuals.

The government that is in recess?

Don’t just love your perfect lives faffing about in gardens Oh dear! Don't you realise that the only way we, as individuals, can have any effect whatsoever is to change our consumption habits.

What we stop buying today will no longer be made in some tomorrow.

Pfaffing around in house and home is the start of an ENORMOUS global change. How much larger can an effect be than everyone?

The problem with activists these days is they just see the outward gloss, they don't always see or engage with the very small changes that add up to make a real difference!

So stop mocking thos e small changes. Start encourgang everyne you knwo to make a single change, and then another, and then anpther....

@CuriousaboutSamphire That's lovely, really lovely. Honestly, well done on your recycling efforts, etc etc.

You still seem to be missing the point that your efforts - laudable as they are - are the tiniest drop in the vastest of oceans. We need more than you'll ever be able to do on your own in your nice rural middle-class way. As I and others have said, these worldwide protests are about the bigger picture and are about encouraging governments to act. Should the suffragettes have conducted a nice gentle letter-writing campaign rather than committed the huge number of crimes and disruptive behaviours that they did?

They're as disruptive as they're meant to be and that's just tough titty to you and everyone else (including myself).

Mustard my life is far from perfect Thankyou very much and you may see it as faffing about but the bees appreciate it even if you don’t.

Oh so many assumptions!

Again, what have YOU DONE? Have yuou even thought about thos e'small actions' that every single person can take? How they can add up - I think a man called Ghandi may have had a thought or two about them and how effective they are!

If you think I have no idea about worldwide protest and bigger pictures you are being utterly obtuse. Think of me as your grandmother and put down the eggs!

Governments and multinationals are run by individuals. Every individual can make a difference, however small. And they should. But the crap that this lot have caused has made me angry. It looks like sodding Glastonbury and is a mess - why did they need to make a mess ? Easy not to, just use a bin. Or take rubbish home with you. I just don't understand how climate activists can not see the damage they have done to the environment. And why this week when politicians are on holiday so they dine even see it or get disrupted. Nope. Just the hard working commuters who need to use public transport.
Anyway we are late now and if mum isn't seen by the specialist then you'll see me on the news punching people on Waterloo bridge. My mum could die if she isn't sorted asap so I'm pretty fed up.

Peacefully, low impact Protests have been made for around a decade

Emissions are still rising. People are still more worried about profit and jobs today than lives tomorrow. Governments still fiddle over Brexit. Peaceful protests have fuck all impact.

Climate change will cause more harm and change to our lives than a few problems on transport. Not fixing it would be so much worse.

The protestors are hypocrits. I work in conservation, do a lot in my home life and spend a chunk of my own money on conservation projects. The kids on these protests wouldnt give up their phones or washing machines for the cause - it's empty attention seeking which disgusts me.

'As long as climate change and global warming act together to reduce my heating bills, I'm a big fan of both.'

It has been getting warmer on average in UK yes, but these changes in other countries have meant catastrophic extreme weather events displacing killing loads of people, destroying homes communities businesses etc

But as long as it's a bit warmer here you're cool with that? This is agoady piss take Katy Hopkins style joke I hope?

@CuriousaboutSamphire You're asking me to list my achievements in the imaginary World Cup of 'oh but of course I already have a reusable coffee cup'? That's still so wildly far off the mark I'm not even going to dignify it with a response.

Take your eyes off yourself, have a wee break from patting yourself on the back and look at the bigger picture.

I reread your post cherly and it really does read that you are happy for vast numbers of people around the world to suffer and die if it gets you a few quid off your heating bill.

OK it's a straightforward stance and one that is at the heart of Capitalism.

Just surprised to see someone so open about it really.

This will not it fix it. It's just a pain in the bum for anyone trying to move around London. They've made me so mad I feel like burning some fossil fuels just to piss them off. Clean up your mess you bunch of lazy idiots.

ANd no, lots of small actions by lots of people are not enough to solve this problem.

Unless by small actions you mean you have no meat, no dairy, no food grown abroad, no home heating, no car , no flights, no TV internet or mobile phone, no xbox, no plastic, darn your socks , no children, no kettle boiling , if you are rich you have your own wind and solar energy to cook your dinner and wash ...then a few million people might be able to reduce the problem for the millions more who don’t see the problem

I remember reading an article a couple of years ago, which stated that out of all the things that were polluting - flying, driving, eating meat - having children was the top of the list. And that if people wanted to be truly green, they would have smaller families.

I've just googled and it was a Swedish Uni that did the study, back in 2017. Going without a car would save 2.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, eating a vegetarian diet would save 0.8 tonnes per year. Having one less child saves 58.6 tonnes per year...

I applaud anyone who makes an effort to live a greener lifestyle. But we all make our own choices and personally I find it bloody annoying to be lectured about driving a car (a necessity for my job) and flying on holiday (once a year to Europe), by someone that has chosen to have multiple children and wants to talk about their concern for the world their children are going to inherit.

Gidget No, I am asking you what you have done? Trying to point out that each small step adds up and you keep on talking to me like I am daft!

Take your eyes off yourself, have a wee break from patting yourself on the back and look at the bigger picture About 30 years ago I did just that, hence the smugness that I openly laid claim to in my post about my own carbon footprint and acknowledging that other posters here will have done much more! Some far less.

As far as I am concerned everyone concerned about climate change should know their own carbon footprint. How much they are part of the problem.

You insist on not understanding or simply dismissing my popint about individuals being the most important factors in climate change - both root cause and possible alleviation.

If anythingposted here causs 1 person to change a habit, to reduce their own crbon footprint, even to measure it, to know what it is, that is a positive step. One that will, if everyone does it, make all the fifference to the world.

All the Extinction Rebellion seems to have done is annoy people and left a lot of litter (that NEVER happened when I took part in rallies - we ALWAYS cleared up after ourselves)

For anyone who is interested in understanding their own footprint, this might help

www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx