To think this is awful? (Just Stop Oil protesters throwing soup over Van Gogh painting)

[TheCatsPyjamas1]

Just read that some Just Stop Oil protesters have thrown soup over a Van Gogh painting in the National Gallery in London. AIBU to think this is unacceptable?

I fully support the message of the group (investing in environmentally responsible energy rather than fossil fuels, and helping to make society more equal for everyone), but I find their protest methods are awful and risk alienating people who would otherwise support them.

They keep on doing crazy things, and seem to be escalating their action each time they protest. I don’t really know when or how it’ll end.

It's all down to one thing as I see it , the planet is over populated . It cannot go on supporting an ever increasing number of humans

That's exactly right, overpopulation is the root of all environmental evils so why is the message HUMANS: STOP BREEDING never heard?

@edenhills as @7eleven posted earlier, it’s absolutely possible to care about art and the destruction of the natural world.

I think what I find so selfish is the way the protestors today (and on previous occasions) just show so little respect for other people’s property (okay, the painting today wasn’t damaged, but someone is going to have to spend time clearing up the mess they made on the painting’s protective glass).

It’s just a juvenile, small-minded way to protest to me, and doesn’t make sense. Instead of doing peaceful and constructive things like Greenpeace and other organisations would (talking to the whalers etc), XR and Just Stop Oil communicate using aggressive, invasive tactics which have nothing to do with the message they’re trying to get across.

No cos I already knew that we need to stop using oil. But it’s out of my hands, I’m waiting for companies to develop suitable alternatives. In the meantime I have no choice but to keep driving my petrol car. All they’re doing is annoying people.

I'm all for climate change and the current energy emergency is a reason to look at how we can use it less,more efficiently so the we can cook and heat our homes at less of a cost to us and the planet.
But these pointless antics mean that people stop listening to all arguements at a time when our headspace is filled with other worries.
It's ok to protest but it has to get a clear message across.
We need to find ways to reduce energy so that we don't have power cuts as the will badly effect the most vulnerable of us.

But Just Stop Oil aren’t saying to cease all use of fossil fuels tomorrow. They’re saying the UK shouldn’t license any new fossil fuel projects.
Well currently our alternative is to let people freeze to death. Because we don’t have any other sources of fuel.

Not at all. If you read the news and not just the headline, you'll see that the painting was unharmed because it is covered by glass.

@BloodAndFire further up this thread a pp suggested legalising running them over!

It's so weird how people feel quite so threatened by this, I guess it's media brain washing.
@SamphirethePogoingStickerist imo governments need to take meaningful action with policy more than individual action. Otherwise it might will seem like a bunch of crazies.

How to get them to do that though...
Stirs soup....

Wind, solar, hydro, heard of them?

I was wondering! Thanks for this!

They expect and want massive policy change from those who should be in charge, not dependent on individual small-scale decisions by families.
Then protest directly to those in charge! But they aren’t. Instead they’re disrupting the lives of individual families who have no power to create change. Stopping people getting to work and hospital etc.

But Just Stop Oil aren’t saying to cease all use of fossil fuels tomorrow. They’re saying the UK shouldn’t license any new fossil fuel projects

You are reliant on global supplies so you should actually be developing domestic gas & oil projects.

You wouldn’t think calling on the government to invest in a cheaper, more secure form of energy would be controversial

And what is cheaper and more secure in your eyes? Wind and solar are dependent on reliable supplies of natural gas, which Germany is getting a crash course lesson on …

And yes, I do believe we have the means to ‘transition’ from fossil fuels - green hydrogen, wind power, solar, the list goes on. But if these technologies aren’t invested in now in favour of new fossil fuel projects I worry the alternative will never materialise and climate breakdown will be irreversible

If there were a solid alternative to fossil fuels, it would be in wide use around the world. There isn’t a ‘Big Oil’ conspiracy to keep you using fossil fuels, they are in a fine position to develop alternatives if they were viable. They are not.

(Unless you are talking nuclear power, which can actually do the job of powering civilisation)

We don’t have enough of that to meet all of our energy needs. And it doesn’t solve the problem of needing petroleum products such as plastics. We currently have no viable alternative to replace oil.

@Crosswithlifeatm so what do you do? Really not being sarky but I try and do my bit individually but am also trapped in the oil thing, I have to use a car for work, heat my home, eat (i cut out meat mind) etc.
My £10 greenpeace donation is something.
What do you do?

Fucking idiots.

@Asparagoose we could be doing more I'm sure you'd agree though

But if these technologies aren’t invested in now in favour of new fossil fuel projects I worry the alternative will never materialise and climate breakdown will be irreversible

The amount of investment that is being made in this area now is astonishing, both in the U.K. and globally.

Real, tangible projects that will change the way in which we live in the next decade or so. In a generation, by 2050, the way in which we produce and use energy will have changed immeasurably.

Unfortunately, because it's not yet "visible" most just assume it's not happening.

Just think about how pre covid many were still seeing electric vehicles as a novelty - they won't be the enduring solution I don't think, but the major manufacturers are turning away from the internal combustion engine. It's happening before your eyes.

To give one example (which the U.K. is leading on), the Net Zero Teeside project which is already underway, will when commissioned, remove something like 20% of the U.K. industrial carbon dioxide emissions at the flick of a switch. Once that's up and running, they'll build more and better ones elsewhere as the concept will evolve. this is happening TODAY

We'll still need feedstock in the form of hydrocarbons, but the CO2 will not be produced.

The number of zero or low carbon (wind, solar, biofuel, hydrogen) projects waiting to be signed off in my company alone are so huge in number that it's difficult to keep up, and once they are they'll get turned around and be producing in 5-10 years.

Just Stop Oil are 10-15 years behind the curve at best, they really are.

Worse things happen at sea.

The thing is it’s easy to say people aren’t heeding the environment but it’s not necessarily true. Over the years we’ve had progress- we’ve come on in terms of modern appliances, medicine, heating, hygiene, food keeps longer. All of these things impact the environment but without them we go backwards. But we try. We take as many steps as we can, trying to figure out how to dry clothes in a cold country without using a dryer, drinking borderline disgusting water from a tap to avoid bottled water, buying from charity shops to stay away from fast fashion- the only thing a lot of us can afford.

Look at people saying eg governments need to look at insulating people. Here in Ireland we have grants now for things like solar panels, insulation, different forms of heating. Number one to get the grant you have to be paying a percentage, then they take so long you may have to pay their cut up front and they pay you back. To get solar panels your house has to have a really good energy rating. So basically unless the government can pay for all of it and fix your house what are your options? Oil or gas or burning fossil fuels. People can’t cope with prices rising again- those protestors have no idea

@EscapeRoomToTheSun and other sympathisers.
Why do you all ignore what has been done already? All vehicle manufacturers have used technology and developed systems to make engines more efficient and much less polluting.

Much electricity is now being generated from renewables.
More EVs have been sold to end consumers than was forecast.
There are limits to battery production. Lithium is essential but it is in short supply. The price rise is huge.
How else do we ordinary families' cope with more difficulty to live ordinary lives?

A pointless and stupid stunt by idiotic attention-seekers. They are entitled to campaign in support of their views, of course, but I have absolutely no idea why they think this juvenile behaviour furthers their cause.
Thank goodness the painting is OK!

It has to come from the top and our problem is our government is more interested in money and quick fixes rather than long term sustainable solutions ,it reacts it doesn't plan.. Insulation is a lowish cost initiative but that has not been followed through on.New builds,still not being built with solar panels,insulation and on flood prone land.
So we need to march and protest,at least that will keep us warm.!
What doesn't help people this winter and probably next is fracking and exploring for more oil wells and will not lower global fuel prices(that needs fixing first).

I have just seen the video on IG and they fumbled around with coats and cans for a while. Security must have been in the room

This kind or regurgitated parroting is totally unhelpful.

Floods happened in Pakistan because of decades of corruption, siphoned funds redirected from infrastructure projects to politicians and finally a culture of backhanders to evade planning rules.

I work in a related field - not an energy producer - so am aware that strides are being taken.

However - energy producers are investing vastly, vastly more in new oil and gas exploration than renewables. Here is just one investigation done into this - www.channel4.com/news/energy-companies-investing-just-5-of-profits-in-renewables -

“BP invested £300m into renewables and ‘low carbon’ in the first half of 2022 — equivalent to just 2.5% of its £12.2bn profits. By comparison, it invested £3.8bn in new oil and gas projects — more than 10 times its low carbon investments.

Shell invested equivalent to 6.3% of its £17.1bn profits into low carbon energy, investing nearly three times more in oil and gas.

The analysis found all four companies are investing more in fossil fuels than renewables and low carbon energy.”

Now I know people will say there’s no alternative to continuing to expand oil and gas extraction - but continuing the extraction of fossil fuels indefinitely (which, realistically, is what new projects entail) is most certainty not an option either.

I’m going to dip out of this thread now as, honestly, I don’t have the solution to what is such an intensely complex system - and neither does any one person on the internet! But I do know that if we are going to avert climate breakdown we need to start thinking beyond the existing ways of doing things.

And whether you like what they did or not, Just Stop Oil have opened up a conversation on just that through their actions.

Because "what has done already" still isn't even coming close to what needs to be done. Its barely scratching the surface.

People don't seem to understand that if we want to halt, let alone even try to reverse climate change it will mean HUGE changes to "ordinary lives" but even then that's better than the alternative which is that there won't be any ordinary lives left to live for billions because huge parts of the planet will be uninhabitable and the knock on effects on even those homes aren't flooded or to hot to live, lives will.be affected or ended by the knock on effects of global famine/mass migration etc.

The only outside chance to avoid either of those things is for governments to spend fortunes on researching and implementing alternatives so people can still live similar lifestyles to those we've become accustomed to, including forcing the huge companies that cause most of the issues to make drastic changes - but this will.still require changes in behaviour and lifestyles (much higher tax and things being more expensive as said companies pass on their increased costs to the consumer) to the ordinary person.