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Just Stop Oil? At What Cost?

(91 Posts)
Anniel Tue 25-Jul-23 22:59:32

I read this piece in Guido Fawkes ( you may have your own opinion on this site )

Just Stop Oil’s protests have cost the taxpayer more than £7.7 million in Met Police funding over the last 13 weeks, with 150 officers a day having to respond to their pointless stunts. Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist revealed the equivalent of a whopping 23,500 officer shifts had been wasted on attending to the eco-loons – even though the officers have often just stood around idly as the unwashed tribe glue themselves to the road…
Twist told LBC:
“…When you get into deliberately causing serious disruption to the public of London, stopping people from going about their daily business, disrupting people from going to work or hospital or taking their children to school then that tips over into crime… One of the challenges we have with Just Stop Oil is they don’t tell us where they’re going to protest, they don’t tell us when they’re going to take action.”
£7.7 million could pay the salaries of around 200 officers…

So Grans what should be done about this group?

MaizieD Wed 26-Jul-23 20:08:14

Here's the original paper

www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39810-w

I note, from googling, that concern has been expressed about the possible failure of this system for a number of years.

GrannyGravy13 Wed 26-Jul-23 20:24:51

MaizieD

Here's the original paper

www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39810-w

I note, from googling, that concern has been expressed about the possible failure of this system for a number of years.

I have seen this, but honestly didn’t understand a lot of it.

ronib Thu 27-Jul-23 08:17:31

GG13 wattsupwiththat.com will be an easier read.

MerylStreep Thu 27-Jul-23 09:16:06

How many of you are storing photos you will probably never look at again in The Cloud.
Are you aware of how much electricity The Cloud is using.

www.greenamerica.org/faq/how-much-electricity-does-cloud-use#:~:text=In%202012%2C%20analysts%20at%20the,American%20homes%20in%20a%20year.

Grany Thu 27-Jul-23 11:29:49

@EllieChowns

How loud do the alarm bells have to ring before the government wakes up?

The #ClimateEmergency is here already.

Now we need action. Only
@TheGreenParty
has the vision, commitment & policies needed.

2022 was UK’s warmest year on record, says Met Office

Sicily and Greece roads ‘burning’ in flames, sea temperatures higher

Stillstanding Thu 27-Jul-23 11:52:01

Just stop oil............these people will be seen as environmental heroes in the future....if there is one.

Foxyferret Thu 27-Jul-23 12:02:02

I believe the Greek police have said the fires were caused by arsonists.

EEJit Thu 27-Jul-23 12:11:20

Whenever I see a report of a JSO protest, my first thought is, how did they get from home to the protest site? Did they walk? Did they use motorised transport of some kind?

I'd bet for most of them it'd be the second option.

hazelnuts Thu 27-Jul-23 12:34:29

electric vehicles have been around for hundreds of years ref BBC 2 7pm Tuesday but ford in America changed to petrol because the cars were cheaper and easier to manufacture.From this programme I fail to understand why we cant switch over quicker and make these cars affordable-- only a little step on the way but never the less a step. No I dont support the activists because they have caused people to miss hospital and other important appointments . I support the cause but not the blockades .

undines Thu 27-Jul-23 12:47:23

I understand the extreme actions of these panicked, evangelising activists - the media have been ramping up climate crisis for a while now. If it's all over the media, someone wants us to know, and be afraid - fearful people may be easier to control and may accept taxes and charges foisted on them by those much more wealthy and powerful. Follow the money. So I'm not sure what is really happening. Clearly we must be polluting and damaging but to what extent, and where is a complicated question. I do believe our right to be effing nuisances as we peacefully protest should be respected, but I have many doubts about so-called green policies. Surely electric cars are using energy generated by the grid?? And the batteries within them cause pollution, not to mention the fact that the substances needed to make them are obtained in cruel ways that are unfriendly to people and planet. I believe people need to stay calm, weigh things up more and stop getting panicked

Authoress Thu 27-Jul-23 12:50:39

The Gulf Stream may flip THE YEAR AFTER NEXT. Just Stop Oil and organisations like them are doing a great job publicising the utter necessity for an urgently accelerated green agenda, not the rowing-back that both Labour and the Tories are indulging in at the moment.

Pippa22 Thu 27-Jul-23 13:20:11

I worry that one day I might be behind a Stop Oil crowd stopping vehicles. I get agitated enough when I see them on the news that I just don’t know what I would do if I was close to them.
It’s just a waste of time and surely they could wear their Stop Oil shirts whilst doing some community good.
Our Police don’t help the situation and just stand and watch at best , socialise with the protesters at worst.
I saw some protesters in France who had superglued their hands to the road and Police were chiselling them off to screams of pain. They won’t do that again !
German film on YouTube showed glued hands being removed by cutting a chunk of road up with the hands still attached and the protestors being sent off carrying the piece of tarmac with hands attached! Again they won’t do that next time.
One day soon a motorist will lose control and a protestor will be run over or assaulted and we will have to blame the Police to allow this to happen.
I wonder how these protesters have the time to stroll along a road, some are retired I’m sure but not all.

Philippa111 Thu 27-Jul-23 13:20:43

Yes, they were /are very disruptive and extreme but most of us are sleep walking ,trying to be oblivious to the fact that this planet is in deep crisis and if something isn't done soon it will, without a doubt, be a literal hell on earth for future generations.

We need to fly less, use our cars less, buy produce grown more locally, ( do I really need veg from Chile?) think twice before buying that unnecessary Chinese made item on Amazon, stop using plastic etc etc. But how many of us are taking responsibility in our daily lives? Vey few. I still see people buying packs of six, bottled water, shrink wrapped in plastic. Get one bottle and fill it from the tap!! .
It's easy to say one persons activities won't make any difference but if everyone was more aware it would all add up and help. Humans don't like the discomfort of change and ,yes, it's much easier to just hop in the car than get on the bus.

What motivates me is looking at my little grandchild and wondering what we are leaving for her to have to live through?

So my answer is it seems that drastic situations need drastic measures and these people are actually courageous and following their hearts.

It may be costing some money and inconvenient but it does bring the issue into focus. It will be costing trillions and trillions more to help all the droves of displaced people whose countries are no longer habitable because of raging fires, foods or famine.

Humans are slow learners and quick forgetters...we need reminding!

The problem is huge as the planet is set up in the way it is and changing all of that is a monumental task. But when I die I want to be able to say that at least I did what I could!

grandtanteJE65 Thu 27-Jul-23 14:06:22

Let's try this again without all the emotional responses:

In most countries, demonstrations have to be notified to the local police in advance and can if a chief constable deems it necessary be refused permission.

Apparently, the Stop Oil Now demonstration had not been notified in advance, which probably means that demonstrators can be arrested and fined.

So there are three issues here:
illegal demonstrations, the cost of policing them, and the whole evironmental issue

Hardly surprising if there are many illegal demonstrations that the police get tired of policing them, and taxpayers annoyed at the amounts of money used to do so.

So let us be clear about the fact that the laws about when it is legal to assemble in public to demonstrate have to be obeyed.

That said, a demonstration timed so as not to inconvenience the general public is unlikely to focus the said public's awareness on whatever it is the demonstrators are demonstrating in aid of.

So it follows that demonstrations like strikes are planned to cause maximum attention of the issue and a fair amount of inconvenience in order to goad those who refuse to discuss the issue at stake to actually do so.

IMO we need to stop using fossil fuels as soon as possible, which means focusing on implementing alternatives NOW.

You do not need to approve of the manner in which people are demonstrating, but wake up and admit that their contention that the environmental crisis exists and must be solve as soon as possible is correct.

Seakay Thu 27-Jul-23 14:13:45

Just Stop Oil are against NEW development, they are not advocating for the immediate cessation of all use

December 2020 "In a major policy shift, the PM will commit today to ending taxpayer support for fossil fuel projects overseas as soon as possible, as the government works to support the sector’s transition to low-carbon energy."

www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-the-uk-will-end-support-for-fossil-fuel-sector-overseas

On 28th June 2023, the independent Climate Change Committee - tasked with advising the government on reducing greenhouse gas emissions - reported that it is failing to meet nearly every climate target. The decision to give the go-ahead on fossil fuel projects, such as a new oil and gas field in the North Sea, has contributed to the committee’s belief that the UK has “slipped behind”

Back in 2021, the world’s most influential energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, said there was no room for new oil and gas expansion anywhere in the world if the global energy system is to reach net-zero by 2050

MaggsMcG Thu 27-Jul-23 15:39:25

Theres too many countries who can't or won't do anything to slow down climate change. Those that can are trying, but unfortunately the way they are going about it, including the protesters is just annoying the average member of the public. There has to be better ways than making joe public pa through the nose for it all.

Anniel Thu 27-Jul-23 16:19:17

Foxyferret,

I was wondering why I see few references to arsonists, maybe without thinking, who caused many of the dreadful fires in Greece. Are there harsh laws in place about lighting fires in the hot summers and where wind is a factor. Australia has very harsh laws about setting or just lighting a fire. There are fires that erupt quickly in hot, dry and sometimes windy conditions and maybe people just do not think before it is too late.

Grantanow Thu 27-Jul-23 18:37:48

The cost has to be spread out through taxation otherwise people will reject governments who introduce green measures.

varian Thu 27-Jul-23 19:06:26

We do need a government which aims to reduce the wealth inequality.

Why , for instance, do high earners not pay the same rate of NI contributions as low and average earners?

NI was first introduced to fund the welfare state and the NHS, but is now just another tax.

Why do high earners only pay 2%, rather than 12% on their income over £967 per week?

varian Thu 27-Jul-23 19:07:01

www.gov.uk/national-insurance/how-much-you-pay

M0nica Fri 28-Jul-23 08:19:23

Just Stop Oil and organisations like them are doing a great job publicising the utter necessity for an urgently accelerated green agenda

Are they? To start with everyone already knows about global warming. 82% of the population are seriously worried about it, so their antics to draw attention to themselves are a waste of time.

What I want to here from them, to convince me that they aren't a complete waste of time and a group of self centred useless people is a clear idea what their policies are for for reducing Global warming is. Saying 'Just stop oil' without clear policies about how we would feed, clothe and keep ourselves warm in winter, is not a policy.

GrannyCarrots Fri 28-Jul-23 08:28:46

So many climate change deniers! The science has been done, rigorously, and yet people still refuse to believe it. Maybe because it's just too uncomfortable and changing behaviour is hard sometimes. Just Stop Oil, XR, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth are activist heroes, desperate to save our beautiful planet. If as much money was invested in green technologies as in fossil fuels and nuclear (there is no solution to nuclear waste), and we all started to live in a more eco-friendly way, there's be no need for activist groups. This has to be people and government led. Stop buying plastic, recycle and re-use, and realise people are more important than money.

GrannyGravy13 Fri 28-Jul-23 08:43:12

M0nica I totally agree with your post 08.19

bear1 Fri 28-Jul-23 09:12:42

if they were real stop oil supporters they would be walking every where dont expect they do , they would not be wearing shoes or clothes most have some oil by product in them and where do they expect their food and a lot on their every day items come from if all oil production was stopped as there would be no transport no food grown all need oil to manitain machinery even electric cars have oil or a byproduct in them somewhere and why are the younger ones not at work or looking for work are they scrounging of the taxpayer by claiming benefits

M0nica Fri 28-Jul-23 10:21:07

GrannyCarrots No one is climate change denying on this thread, or only the occasional one. We all know and are concerned about it. But Just Stop Oil and the rest are a just a lot of loud mouths who think shouting is an answer to problems/

As for If as much money was invested in green technologies as in fossil fuels Well, that has been happening for years now. The people actually doing something about the situation are all the scientists, technologists, engineers and construction workers, researching, designing and constructing the wide range of alternative energy resources that have been built and are being built and all the ordinary citizens who, daily make small changes in their behaviour to reduce their energy footprint or replace hydrocarbons with alternative sources.

I would like to know exactly what all those supporting all these loud mouths have done to build just one wind turbine, help take one step towards making wind, wave or tidal power more possible, or by how much they have reduced their energy foot print.