Climate change protests

IronGiant

I was trying to keep it simple
a) we weren't discussing the Sahara
b)I was talking about the current state of the fuel market

Crafty

Quite. Interesting article: Debunking energy myths: renewable electricity is not cheap - Watt-Logic

nheather

Another potential hypocrite.  

Extinction Rebellion: Olympic canoeing champion Etienne Stott arrested in climate change protests

I wonder how many air miles he racks up flying around the globe to play his canoeing games - hardly essential travel - hardly contributing to society - just self-satisfaction and possibly the enjoyment of a small number of followers of the sport.

And whilst we are on airline travel.  The likes of Emma Thompson says that it is a necessary evil, she wishes she didn’t have to.  Point understood but why does she fly first class, taking up the space that could be occupied by at least four economy passengers.

Cheers,

Nigel

tapzilla2k

No, renewables become competitive when they produce energy at a cheaper cost than a fossil fuel. Which looks like what's happening to coal in the US (will probably make Trump cry if it happens on schedule) -
'Coal is on the way out': study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind

Even the big oil producers like Saudi Arabia are investing heavily into solar and other renewable energy sources to help them transition their economies to a less heavily carbon based economy.
Then you have things like biocrude from algae which could be a game changer if they overcome the current extraction problems. This looks like it might solve the extraction process problem -
Turning algae into fuel | UNews

There won't be a silver bullet that solves all of our energy problems, but it looks like several solutions will come along that helps to solve it. We'll have to see if Lockheed Martin's new fusion reactor delivers on the hype they've been churning out about it. I think it probably won't be any better than current fusion reactor designs -
Will Lockheed Martin Change The World With Its New Fusion Reactor?  

Look at what the current Government has done when it comes to renewable energy and fracking. Fracking looks like it's a folly based on an overestimation of what's actually available to extract. It's one of those resources that should be left in the ground.

Air quality is not great in the UK, being asthmatic I notice it more than others might do. Central London always makes me ill and leaves me snorting out black snot and hacking up horrible looking mucus.

People have a right to protest, I'm sure people had similar feelings when the chartist movement started and the trade unions came into being. People don't like disruption to the status quo, even if a change is required.

Toko Black

Well that's your mistake right there with people like me around you silly billy

Bl4ckGryph0n

I totally agree about air quality in London. And the UK. When I was living there the black stuff was always on my windows and curtains. And still when walking around it is horrible. There had been a lot of improvement but I find it still noticeable. And not just on emissions, noise levels as well. Over the last few days bring back in Amsterdam even my daughters were commenting how much cleaner the air feels, and less noise there is. And that was without prompting.

tapzilla2k

I can notice the difference in air quality, usually by how much or little it makes me wheeze. Central London usually makes my chest go very tight and has me reaching into my bag to extract my inhaler and spacer. Funtimes having people stare at you whilst using an inhaler with a spacer.  
The UK has a lot to learn from Holland when it comes to cycling and public transport, seems like a good balance has been struck there. Trouble with the UK is we have some really bad drivers and cyclists which tends to dominate things a bit too much. I don't like cycling in Oxford much these days, due to the traffic. It's almost as bad as central London. Drivers are terrible, cyclists ignore red lights and so on.

One bonus of these protests, it's reduced air pollution in certain areas -
London Air Quality Network

Bl4ckGryph0n

Oh nice, they are “teaching” children a lesson now during their school holidays.

Climate protesters stage 'die-in' at Natural History Museum as demonstrations enter second week — The Telegraph

Crafty

But these protestors are demanding a silver bullet, which, as you suggest isn't just going to appear in a puff of smoke. Their inability to comprehend that is damaging, they will not be taken seriously.

                                                                                                                                               
UK CO2 emissions are at their lowest events for over 200 years. Fantastic progress - should we give up ? no, of course not, but when put in to perspective:

                                                                                                                                               

Of course, this is our failure - we decided we didn't want to make anything anymore and have all that nasty pollution, which is fine, but we still want the products, so lets ship it off to China, then environmental & eco laws aren't our problem...

We have to understand that its far bigger than our little island.

Interesting article I came across - the thinking is that the Chinese building coal plants is as much about keeping the economy moving as it is needing power:

Satellite images show 'runaway' expansion of coal power in China

As for the protestors, of course they have a right to protest, but at what point do their actions cross the line - disabling transit systems, deliberately trying to get arrested, they threated to disable Heathrow too. If you did the same thing with hoax bomb threats you'd be arrested under terrorism charges (and rightly so).

Its already documented that some of the ones shouting loudest are jet setters, so one rule for us, another for them then ?

Frankly, I can't take them seriously, which surely is the whole point of a protest, to be taken seriously and listened to ?

Some images of our environmentally concerned friends and what they've left behind so far:
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                               

Don't worry though, one has an idea to solve it all:
                                                                                                                                       

nheather

The O2 output is what everyone has been saying but the graph illustrates it very well.

The litter in the park is shocking.  Is that from the recent days events? - if so it is hypocrisy beyond imagination.  Forget all the sniping at celebrities and their few questionable actions, this is blatant hypocrisy en masse.

Cheers,

Nigel