Just Stop Oil's daily protests

[CatsAreAlwaysCute]

Is anyone else concerned about where these daily protests will lead us?

The public are clearly getting more and more irritated by their antics. It's only a matter of time before one of the protestors are seriously injured.

I'm also worried that the government will ban certain types of protest as a result?

This thread has made me realise how important the work of Just Stop Oil is.

Most posters are outraged by the protesters, but utterly unconcerned about the very real and deadly effects of a continued dependence on fossil fuels.

The laughable suggestion that all terrified secondary students get their STEM qualifications...that would, of course, take years. Go for it, students, we need all the talent we can get. But the point of the protests is that we are facing an emergency. Which we are. We need action from government right now.

This is the same argument as "but why didn't the suffragettes vote for change?"

I do not support hurting the protesters. I don’t particularly support criminalising or jailing them either.

However I think they’re already failing, to be honest. If the best idea they’ve got is to threaten to damage the artistic output of people who’ve been dead for hundreds of years and can’t answer back, that’s really weak. It’s not an argument, it’s just diffused, aimless spite and cowardice.

These groups tend to be flashes in the pan because they lack coherent leadership. XR is pretty much a busted flush these days. Would the XR of a few years back have cancelled its protests because the monarch died? I think not.

My dad worked for over 40 years in developing engineering solutions for renewables. A lot of the reliable tech we have today in wind farming, tidal, solar and nuclear, not to mention EVs, have his ideas and work built into them.

And for over 40 years, people around have continued to vote for politicians and governments that prioritise short-term profit over people and environment, even when it is short-sighted and counterproductive. At one level, it’s no surprise that we are where we are.

A few angry people whose only solution is to smash things up rather than build something new are hindering, not helping. I’d like to see them become 21st century versions of my dad, not flash-in-the-pan property wreckers.

I think Squirelnutkins and Pixiedust1234 raise good points. I wrote a very long post along similar lines and lost it (probably just as well ), but practical solutions and actions would help far more, people aiming to become MPs, engineers, climate scientists, crop scientists etc.

What have you done that is more effective? I would like to hear your suggestions on how ordinary people can force urgently needed change.

UK per capita emissions are higher than India, if you include imported emissions they are higher than China. 40% of all emissions are directly attributable to domestic energy consumption.

Be very careful before throwing stones in this particular green house.

Yeah I don’t really understand why they choose to protest the way that they do, but what can the ordinary person do? How do you force change? A small group of them voting for the Green Party under a FPTP political system isn’t going to change much. What is the solution? How can ordinary people solve this crisis?

Well they’re aims demand focus on alternatives - renewables and nuclear.

I’m not sure what you want an activist group to suggest for other products made with a depleting resource, other than make your peace with not having these things at some point in the near future unless you fund research into viable alternatives.

Necessity is the mother of invention and all that, at this point in time in needs a shove because people are much happier pretending it’s not happening.

FleecyMcFleeceFace, we're not only talking about today's teens - this has been known about for years, individuals have had opportunities to get their engineering degrees, stand for parliament, start renewables businesses for the last twenty or thirty years since it started to become obvious what was happening.

Underanothersky, universal suffrage was gained far more as a result of women's real, practical achievements during WW1 and the work of the suffragettes than Emily Wilding Davidson throwing herself under the hooves of a horse.

people are talking about the idiots protesting - not their cause

At the moment yes but there is net zero concrete, recycled metals, renewable electricity etc.

The big petrochemical companies are investing massively in renewables and green technologies.

People on the side of the establishment rarely welcome change or those trying to enact change.

I suspect most of those who are complaining about the protesters will also be first in line to complain and rant when global food chains begin collapsing or when energy prices start to sky roc.......oh wait they already are.

And before anyone comes back saying the energy price increases are because of Russia, they indeed are. BUT the UK has around 30% of all of Europe's offshore wind capacity (25% in Scotland 😉) and has known that a) fossil fuels are finite and b) climate change was worsening for decades.

If successive governments had decided to properly invest and develop that resource, we would have been largely insulated from the volatility of the fossil fuel markets, and have reduced our emissions too. Instead they chose to remain fixated on oil and gas to our and the world's detriment.

BigFatLiar there are solutions to all these things but they require visionary government and positive policies to scale them up to make a difference.

Renewable electricity is much cheaper than electricity from gas or nuclear, but onshore wind is banned in England and the government is considering banning solar.

We can make green hydrogen from water and renewable energy which can be used to make green concrete and steel processing.

Well they’re aims demand focus on alternatives - renewables and nuclear

Most alternatives require large amounts of oil/gas to make them. The basics of a wind farm use lots of concrete and metal which need vast amounts of energy to make. We could go down the nuclear route but we have no viable plan for the waste and who wants a nuclear waste dump nearby. If we did start a major nuclear building program you'd have more protests about that.

Dought is a major issue in many areas yet we still drill wells. They adverise on telly for funds to build new village wells but they cause other areas to dry up and eventually run dry themselves. Often there simply isn't an easy answer.

@electricdreaming Yeah, I don’t really care what you call me. You have proven you are not worth listening to.

If you don’t like being patronised, you shouldn’t act like a child.

Anyway, I’m done with you now. We all know the way this will end: some protestors will get run over, the vocal minority like you will whine and cry about it while the rest of us will be celebrating an end to this madness.

Semi weird that you’d be celebrating someone’s death, have you tried seeking professional help?

The basics of a wind farm use lots of concrete and metal which need vast amounts of energy to make.

Simply not true BigFatLiar. Living up to your name?

A wind farm repays the energy used in its manufacture in about 3 - 6 months. The electricity it continues to generate for 25 years is completely carbon free.

There's no arguably about it! The suffragettes attempted to set off a bomb in the Theatre Royal whilst it was full of civilians. And also in churches. Thankfully, they were shite at making bombs so they weren't successful but the intention was to kill/maim large numbers of the innocent public, both male and female.

They did however invent the letter bomb and cause multiple postal workers to be blinded and horrifically burn scarred from the bombs exploding in transit in the faces of said postal workers.

Suffragettes were closer to what we see from ISIS etc and the Ariana Grande nailbomb attack.

I 100% agree

A group of rich middle and upper class people destroying the livelihoods of working class people. They are extremely selfish and stupid and I hope they get long jail sentences.

That has nothing to do with the point I was making.

Most alternatives require large amounts of oil/gas to make them. The basics of a wind farm use lots of concrete and metal which need vast amounts of energy to make

which is why, in part, it’s better to start transitioning now whilst looking at alternative ways to manufacture. The resources we have now could be used to safeguard the future.

We could go down the nuclear route but we have no viable plan for the waste and who wants a nuclear waste dump nearby. If we did start a major nuclear building program you'd have more protests about that

True, but currently it’s one of our best options.

Solar and wind are both green solutions even accounting for the energy used to create and decommission them