Climate Change Protests - will they make a difference?

Oh I give up.

That’s exactly what I mean.

People will always find a reason why they should be the exception.

She is contributing to a very important event. We can't go back to the dark ages completely. We still have to travel. It just needs to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The girl is making an excellent contribution.

So her thinking was?

I’d really like to know.

It is ok for me to cause pollution (after all I’ve kept it to as little as I can without giving up what I want to do) because........

Then surely that reasoning is ok for all of us.

Diesel of course, since less than half of Swedish trains are electrified.

Or she could have stayed at home for zero pollution

Any more bitchy comments Eglantine?

eglantine she has actually made a two day train journey to get here, to keep her carbon footprint to the minimum.

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I doubt any of the thousands of people swarming to the coast this weekend were thinking about climate change when they were driving their cars, eating meat patties or hot-dogs and using plastic bags.
Brighton and Weymouth.

Gosh. And she rowed all the way from Sweden.........

Or could she possibly have utilisedtransport that involved -gasp- pollution

Do you not know who she is? Proves something definitely.

Greta Thunberg?

How did they get there I wonder?

Car for one ?

I think it proves my point as above

Greta Thunberg is there now!!! And David Attenborough.

To all this cynics on here who like to believe that all the protesters constantly jet off on holiday and do nothing themselves to curb their consumption - where is the evidence for such generalisations? Answer: There isn’t any, they are an eclectic mix of people, from all over the country all ages, classes, it isn’t a political movement - it is direct action, they are not rentamob. Those who think we are doing enough by doing a bit of recycling need to think again.

some countries are doing better than us

I’m an old cynic Monica. For everyone like you there are a dozen (at least) that just won’t bother.

Or who will think that their own need/desire exempts them.

You only have to stand in the supermarket, take a walk in the country or look at the school run to see that.

Great Britain leads the world in its plans to reduce emissions, obviously different countries will do it in different ways and in different orders. A lot of this will depend on all sorts of practical, and cultural issues. In colder climates, space heating is very important, other countries are economically dependent on energy hungry heavy industries. In sparsely populated countries it is easier to replace cars with public transport. This is much less easy to do when a country is heavily populated with networks of suburbs, petering out into villages and a spiders web of communication routes. It is difficult in countries where all adults in a household work and change jobs often in industries that do not operate in the local town, or village and when shops have migrated from town centres to town outskirts.

No one size fits all.

Eglantine I think you are unnecessarily hard on people. There are many people who make considerable personal sacrifices to follow causes their conscience tells them are right.

Unfortunately, too many of these (though not all) feel that where their conscience drives there is no need to study the facts as to the rationality or possibility of where their conscience takes them.

I could start up a campaign demanding zero emissions by the end of 2020. Why not? All of us, in our conscience, knows it is essential we do it so as soon as possible, so why not make it as immediate as possible? the practicality of this, like the practicality of doing it by 2025 can go hang. But it gives me such a warm righteous glow because my conscience leads me there.

Other governments are managing to set targets for zero emission vehicles sooner than those proposed by our government. Our government needs to be shaken up.

Crossed posts there

That's very true. There is no argument. I don't like insults being flung at Extinction Rebellion, because my grandson is a member, and I know how sincere he is with this.

But there is no point in continuing to discuss this with the bulk of GNrs. So, I'm off.

Btw they had a standpipe off of the mains to refill their water bottles.

Gonegirl I said mainly, and I should have made it clear that I was referring to the core organisers.

However, I do think anyone supporting a cause that wants zero emissions by 2025, should be now themselves be leading an as close to zero emission life as they can possibly manage, regardless of age or social condition.

I would also like to see ER produce a policy plan that shows how this can be done. It would require every dwelling not already running on electricity to change to that by 2025. All road transport to be emission free by 2025, every single industry we have, to convert to electricity, probably requiring some industries to scrap and replace machinery costing tens of millions of pounds. All ships and planes coming into the country to run on electricity.

It would also have to show how we could install sufficient emission-free power plant to meet the hugely increased demand for electricity. Wind turbines are fine but they only work when the wind blows and despite how many wind turbines we have and how widely around these isles they are distributed the amount of power they generate varies enormously, from 30% on some days to 5% or less on others. A winter syncline over the British Isles, temperatures below feezing, clear sunny skys, and no wind blowing can and does reduce wind power to single figur production of power. What emission free source will the rest come from?

Anyone doubting this, I suggest they do what I do and check gridwatch.co.uk/ . At 17.51 precisely the UK is getting 35% of its power from renewables: 16% from wind, 14.6% from solar, (on a hot sunny day, less when it is cloudy and even less when days are long and cold) and 4% from biomass. In an hour or two when the sun goes down solar will drop out completely. What emission free technologies (other than nuclear) can we use to bridge the unreliability of wind and solar and the diurnal pattern of solar?

How can this change of equipment and huge demand for new power resources be acomplished? How much will it cost? Who will finance it? and how many extra tons of emissions will be created doing it?

If a cause as radical as this comes forward with aims like this, which most people consider impossible to do, it needs to come out with clear, detailed realisable plans on how to do it, written with consultation with mainstream experts in each field and reputable economists and financial experts to do the economic and financial calculations.

To launch a campaign like this without a very solidly supported plan on its feasibility, smacks to me of rentamob and I am grieved to see so many idealistic and well-meaning people sucked in to support it.

Except everyone following their own conscience doesn’t really work does it?

Most people can find reasons for doing what suits them.

What argument? We all want the same result don't we? I'm just saying that to nitpick about someone's credentials as an entitled protester is a waste of energy.
They are following their consciences. We may think there is a better way to make a point but is it any more valid?

Umm is that for me gg?

Are you asking the question or putting forward a fact? If the latter, then the first four words of your comment are superfluous.