Climate Change Demonstrations

Jabberwork - so do you expect kids to just say 'ah well, we can't control what happens in India and Chin, so we might as well just ignore and wait for extinction. FGS - how can you blame them for wanting to do something, to get involved, to make a change- and perhaps too, influence what happens elsewhere.

Part of the in the seas and oceans is stuff that we have sent there, or things that we as rich tourists leave behind or produce when we visit (including massive amounts of water needed locally for humans and beasts- for 'all those white fluffy towels'), etc.

I am ashamed that we are prepared to use any excuse to break their spirit, mock them for what they do- and the real sacrifices some of them make, day in, day out.

sarahellenw - most used public transport, for sure. And yes, there would have been a mixture at the gatherings. But I can assure you, I meet and work with, on a regular basis- youngsters who do try (as described in previous posts) to put theory into practice and do it very well. They themselves know that 80 or 90% is perhaps not enough- but they will always say that 10., 20, 30 and increasing % is much much better than zero%.

They are disgusted and truly upset at adults who constantly deride them for not being 100% correct in their everyday life - adults who refuse to even contemplate their own behaviour and make an effort, any effort - to adapt and change ...but continue, day in, day out - despite said 'adults'. Amazing kids.

Many demonstrated .How many of these persons will put into practice what they preach. ?
Energy usage has, we all or should know, been on the increase since the overpopulated world found many many uses for it and how it would improve lives (not forgetting filling pockets of providers with their products that cannot survive without energy).
Many protesters would use energy if needing transport to be part of this demo or would they have walked.?They no doubt used their phones if only to get an image of 'look at me saving the planet'How many protesters own a TV, tablet, PC .washing machine, tumble dryer, dish washer, fridge. energy gobbler freezer, coffee maker and would not think twice on returning home switching on not one but more of what is using that which they are protesting over.

Apart from protesting we can all do our bit by aiding the environment and helping nature.
Stop using weedkillers and insecticides could be one small step.

Until other countries can be persuaded to clean up just a bit then people can protest till the cows come home, it simply won't make any difference! Anyone seen the state of the Ganges lately?! that in itself is enough to make strong men weep! Never mind the wild fires! The sight of those poor Orangutans, never mind creatures you don't see, is enough to make us all weep in total despair!

There has always been tension between short term and long term gains.

What are they planning to do to solve it? I honestly don't think it is the earth's biggest problem-now clean water...that is a hige concern.

Speaking of jobs, Mittenma, I've just been reading about how hard-pressed families have been let down in Australia because a lousy 2,500 letters of objection to a new coal mine being opened which would have employed over 1,000 people.

So people now have to starve in order to save the planet ??

You've said it, GG13, nobody but nobody will ever go without what they think they're entitled to " to save themselves " never mind a planet that'll keep revolving ad-infinitum and this is my argument against demonstrating/protesting.
We've seen rank selfishness in this country alone when there's been a drought where people have continued washing their cars, watering their lawns so what chance is there ever from changing a thing ? It's ludicrous to even think a change will ever happen.

I wonder at some on here who continue with their many purchases have the affront to agree or even join in with these demonstrations. This is what gets to me about the two-facedness of some people. It's beyond laughable !!

Fiachna50, As the young people themselves say, what's the point of going to school if there won't be jobs, food and even society itself within their lifetime. The window of opportunity to change the climate trajectory will close if the government doesn't act very, very soon.
I am a proud member of Extinction Rebellion and have been campaigning most of my adult life (I'm 71) for action to prevent climate impacts we're starting to experience. I was at the youth climate strike in Aberystwyth yesterday and will be sleeping on the streets of London for a couple of weeks from October 7th. I hope to meet some of you there!

WWMK2 I highlighted infrastructure to make the point that on so many threads on GN, posters bemoan the lack of these things, whilst campaigning about climate change.

They are both interlinked, as developement inevitably causes damage of some sort to the environment which in turn has a knock on effect with regards climate change.

Nothing comes without a price and in the 21st century not a lot of people are willing to go without their consumables or change their lifestyles to "save the planet"!

gg13 well I’m glad you’ve cleared that up as your post only talked about infrastructure and wind turbines.

WWMK2, environmental destruction has an effect on climate change.

Fires burning in Russia for weeks on end, bellowing carbon into the atmosphere.

Deforestation in the Amazon and Indonesia, basic science, trees are the lungs of the planet.

I keep doing that at posters request, but it doesn’t seem to sink in so Ive given up.

Just to say that this thread is about climate change and not environmental destruction.

I keep telling people that they are muddling the two.

WWMK2, rather leave a what can only be described as an unconstructive comment, would you care to point out what in your opinion is wrong with my post?

There was a child and its mother on BBC1 being interviewed about the reason for joining protesters------the child didn't have a clue !! Just a school day off !

Yes, I agree that climate change needs action now .......but going into my local town this morning, the pavements are graffitied with various climate messages using chalk and paint following the protests yesterday. I wonder what resources will be used to clean that up!! Governments need to legislate ....but we can all make a difference....were the protests counter productive I wonder.,,.

For the naysayers: It was just one day out of school, for goodness sake! That isn't going to affect anyone's exam results. And as for Ban the Bomb not having succeeded, do you think we would have had nuclear disarmament (now under threat again) without it? Do not take young people's hope away from them. If you can't support them, at least don't badmouth them. They are marching for themselves and for your - and my- grandchildren.

Wasn’t meant to be nasty, just a fact after reading your post.

absthame

but our generation and that of our adult children deny our responsibilities

Quite an unjust generalisation.
Invariably each generation thinks it is doing the ‘right thing’ and consider their innovations and actions progress and fulfilling a need. It is only with the benefit of hindsight that we can see their errors. Burning coal to provide, energy, warmth and light was a wonderful find at the time, that was until the smogs caused thousands of deaths and it was realised that coal was the major factor.

WWMK2, why the nasty comment?

More than you by the sound of it gg13

Unfortunately, there can be no progress, new homes, Schools, factories, offices, hospitals etc without destruction of the environment around us.

wind turbines cause their own "pollution" kill birds, destroy natural habitats and have a large carbon footprint in construction/installation.

Virtually everything the human race does has consequences for the environment, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle and I am not sure what if any in depth knowledge of climate change and the science behind it some of these protesters actually have?

We are ignoring natural climate solutions...We spend 1,000 times more on global fossil fuel subsidies than on nature-based solutions. This is your money, it is your taxes, and your savings." -
@GretaThunberg

It's depressing to think of, but we are a small country and even if we all turned uber-green overnight, I wonder how much difference it'd make (not that I'm saying we shouldn't try!) when much bigger countries are unlikely to do much at all.

Once again this year, there's a piece in today's Times about the annual, vast forest fires in Indonesia - many started deliberately to clear the land for palm oil plantations. It's illegal of course, but corruption is rife there and I wouldn't like to wonder how many people are ever prosecuted. We have relatives in Singapore who suffer nearly every year from the appalling pollution wafting over it, so bad sometimes that schools are closed.

We visited several areas of Indonesia some years ago, when a dd was working there, and I can honestly say I've never seen so much plastic litter in my life. Much of it consisted of vast numbers of small water 'cups' - not even small bottles.

We also saw miles and miles of palm oil plantations, thousands of neat geometric rows of them - in areas which had previously been virgin rain forest.

Though having said that, I gather that much of the UK was once covered in forest, so much of which over many centuries has been cleared for farmland. So I suppose they are only doing what we once did - though of course nobody had ever thought of the consequences then.

None of this has ever stopped me and dh from trying to do our bit - a lot more public transport and cycling, not wasting food (not that we ever did), eating a lot less meat, not buying stuff we don't need, not ditching things just because we fancy a newer version.

I must confess to having often thought about a new kitchen (ours is 30 years old) but as long as it still works I doubt I can really be bothered with all the faff. And as long as it still produces a shepherd's pie now and then, dh couldn't give a toss.