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?

I’d love to see them try to bring a main thoroughfare in Beijing to a standstill by gluing themselves to the road. And deface historic art and monuments. They get away with it here because our police are not fit for purpose and the media give them the coverage they crave.

db11, the suffragettes issue has been covered at length upthread. Has there ever been any major progress made on any issue due to this kind of protest? I keep thinking about Greenham Common. I was full of admiration for the women involved at the time, but looking back I'm not convinced their actions made a difference.

I will be joining them as soon as I retire and haven't got to "behave" myself because of my job.

Wonderful. Another person to lock up at tax payer's expense without actually making any difference to the cause.

Slow hand clap.

To be fair to her, it's difficult to travel green to Egypt these days. Ferries from Europe stopped in 2013 and the overland route via Syria is now too dangerous. Her only option would be to find a freighter with a spare cabin.

No maybe not, but it did draw attention And I'm sure I heard somewhere that the Americams didn't end up housing as many nuclear weapons in England as they wanted to.
Thing is, suffragettes it was a simple give us the vote, which was in the govts hands.
What exactly would the govt of this country need to do to get them to stop
And even if they did, would they carry on because the world in general hadn't listened.

The nuclear missiles were removed. The Greenham Common women helped to influence Thatcher (she would probably not have admitted it) who in turn influenced Reagan which brought about the treaty between the US & Russia to reduce nuclear weapons.

It's a good comparison with Just Stop Oil because the protests were part of a broader international campaign which influenced our government through their actions.

I think that says a lot more about you than the protestors, you wish the death penalty/families disappear/very long jail sentences, nice :(

People should be allowed to protest without the fear of being killed or 10 year sentences.

If you don't understand this, then maybe consider why Eastern Europe escaped life under the Russians or Taiwan doesn't want to be incorporated into the Chinese state.

Probably a waste of time for people like you.

There's a difference between peaceful protest and what this lot are doing. Throwing rubbish at paintings and defacing statues makes them look like peevish dolts, doesn't go down well with the public at large, and doesn't actually achieve anything. As pp says, it's drawing attention to them behaving like brainless, selfish brats rather than the cause they claim to be supporting.

Of course it is peaceful protest. No-one is getting hurt due to their actions.

They are not bombing or kidnapping people which is how some protest groups achieve their aims.

And they are very successful at drawing attention to their cause as a result. Their message couldn't be clearer.

Renewable energy is the cheapest. We’re an island with plenty of wind and surrounded by sea, both of which can create energy. Why is this not much more heavily invested in?
Germany just dismantled one of its wind farms in order to expand the open pit lignite coal mines ,
also previously on stand by mines will return to generate electricity .
renewable energy can’t take over completely .

I'd argue they're drawing attention to their cause - just googled the group and the headline stories are:
Sky News - protesters spray orange paint on Rolex store in Knightsbridge
Guardian - jso activist tries to glue her own head to Girl with a Pearl Earring [for some childish reason this made me snort)
Daily Mail - Dutch climate activist glues himself to table at a talk show
The Atlantic - the Art Vandals are Embarrassing
CNN - are JSO's dramatic art museum protests hurting their own cause?

So the headlines are very far removed from their cause.

Also, I believe glue contains petro chemicals. Although trying to stick your head to a Vermeer with flour and water paste probs wouldn't be very effective.

I find throwing huge amount of toxic paint at shop windows and using chemical based glue quite paradoxical.

@electricdreaming except Emily died by accident whilst trying to grab the horse’s bridle. So it’s more a case for the Darwin awards than an intentional act.

2 women died unable to be reached by ambulances in time due to traffic from the protests - this isn’t the way.

Negotiations on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty started 11 months before the peace Camp was established, while Jimmy Carter was still President. There's no evidence that the protest speeded negotiations along.

@queenofarles Renewable energy is the cheapest. We’re an island with plenty of wind and surrounded by sea, both of which can create energy. Why is this not much more heavily invested in?

It is being massively invested in there are fully approved plans for offshore wind to increase by 500% within ten years, and even more plans in process.

Germany just dismantled one of its wind farms in order to expand the open pit lignite coal mines ,
also previously on stand by mines will return to generate electricity .

There's an energy and eight 20 year old wind turbines that are close to end of life unfortunately can't compete with coal.

renewable energy can’t take over completely
**
The UK energy market will be zero emissions by 2035.

Oops energy crisis

The UK energy market will be zero emissions by 2035

Seems pretty unlikely as both wind and solar are intermittent so you’ll need natural gas peaker plants.

Not to mention how destructive to the landscape such diffuse forms of energy generation will be. Unless you go for nuclear ofc, which seems beyond the ability of the UK (but would be nice to see for sure)

But this was Boris Johnson’s initiative, so hopefully it will just wither on the vine.

@BerriesOnTop peak infill is likely to come from nuclear and energy storage.

I'm not sure how offshore wind is destructive to the landscape?

And they are very successful at drawing attention to their cause as a result. Their message couldn't be clearer

I really don't think that's true. They are drawing attention to themselves, but I don't think their message is getting through to the general public. 'Just stop oil'? Well what exactly do you want me to do? How shall I do that?

It was only from a thread here that I learnt that they want the govt to stop giving out new licences for fossil fuel (I think). Their message isn't clear at all, it comes across as middle class young people who have no idea about the real world having a tantrum. I can't 'just stop oil', that's not in my hands. Ask me to walk to work one day a week, ask me to not buy new clothes in November, whatever, but make it clear what you want and what ordinary people can do to reach that goal. Then the public might see the point.

Starting to get dangerous now. Members of the public are getting involved. Could go horribly wrong.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/29/just-stop-oil-activists-dragged-out-of-way-by-motorists-at-london-protests

Solar farms are not destructive to the landscape, nor are wind turbines. They change the look of it, although solar panels are usually hidden behind hedges and trees, but are temporary structures that are completely reversible.

Of course it will go horribly wrong. Someone desperate to get to work as they've been threatened with the sack due to lateness (from protests) isnt going to check to see if a hand has been glued to the road, they will just grab and haul. Yet they will be the one prosecuted for assault. So they will have a criminal conviction, no job, possibly lost a house/family split up because we have a fucking wet police force who won't implement the laws we already have (breach of the peace, obstruction, etc).

Still can't get over the protesters using oil based products for transport fuel to travel there, paint to throw, the glue. Bet they are using one time plastic packaging for coffee and snacks too. But they are so much better than the rest of us 🙄

How is it 'amazing'

Nothing is going to change because of it.

And I hope all those causing criminal damage get prison sentences

Their banners and hi-viz jackets are oil based too!