I agree with highlighting the appalling pollution caused by traffic in these areas and welcome stopping it. However, I do not agree with blocking buses and other means of public transport and emergency service vehicles.
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Some creative carbon accounting youâve got there
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Much as I donât like interventions to cause people inconvenience - I think ER have done an excellent job at raising the profile of greener issues.
Such is the politics of rebellion - you donât get press by handing out stickers. You need to do something grittier.
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And by this strategy, you have to be edgier and edgier to keep peoplesâ attention. I worry what they might do next.
Also I worry that theyâll never be satisfied with the governmentâs response, and theyâll never stop the activism, even if the UK achieves XRâs target (net zero greenhouse emissions by 2025).
As demonstrated above, some people define UK emissions by what Chinaâs doing!
And where in XRâs banners and placards are they upfront about the financial cost of all this environmental progress? Changing the UKâs power mix to 50%+ zero carbon did not come for free. We all paid for it, including low-income households, via our energy bills. What XR call for is effectively a radical new form of austerity.
And of course the government will then be attacked for this, because theyâre damned if they do, and damned if they donât.
Well that is partly because climate change does not respect national borders. We need to show leadership but also work with other countries.
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How will we work with China? Do you think China cares?
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We already do lead the way, particularly with our current government:
So when the Greta Thunberg roadshow came to the UK I was disappointed that she attacked the UKâs record.
But then again, she is a 16 year old privileged daughter of a European celebrity, and not a climate scientist, so we canât expect her to be fully informed.
What would happen if Thunberg did a roadshow in China and India criticising their governments and demanding their children walk out of school? Because thatâs what the world needs right now.
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âI worry what they might do next.â
In that case - they are winning ⌠staying present in peopleâs mind.
They are also doing inspiring some lovely things especially with children ⌠they delivered 1000s of letters signed by children to the Queen dressed in bee costumes.
They also helped inspired the climate change protests such as the St Barts => https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/17664680.youth-strike-4-climate-st-bartholomews-school-in-sydenham-marches-down-sydenham-high-street/
The children are the ones that are losing by the inaction on climate change by the stuck-in-the-muds and the fat-cats. So great to see them learn + get involved.
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That is something Lewisham Council should know, but the research has not been done so we donât have the data. My own observations lead me to believe that there is a huge amount of commuting through the borough i.e. journeys that neither begin nor end in in Lewisham.
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Quite a lot of people it would appear, or there wouldnât be a problem. People have other options.
Do you have stats on how many rush hour car journeys are âunnecessaryâ (and we must, of course, define âunnecessaryâ)?
My point is that the rush hour grind is hell for drivers. Surely people wouldnât drive through congested streets at 7:30am for fun? Or maybe Iâm wrong, and they do? Letâs see the stats, if you have them.
The cycle from Lewisham to the far side of london is 90 minutes for an unfit, unskilled person. (The cycle to Victoria is about 40 minutes.) The public transport commute is 90 - 120 minutes, more expensive, more tiring (subjectively but also exercise is shown to increase energy levels), has worse health outcomes, is worse for the planet. Same for the drive.
My bike cost ÂŁ150, learning the route was immediate with citymapper and a phone holder. Going from terrified and wobbly to basically competent took a week, making the decision took a fair chunk of motivation.
So relevant stats would be:
How many people travel from Lewisham to central London or a shorter distance,
How many people have a disability that prevents them cycling but not driving, or are pregnant? (Not counting physical ill health that would obviously be improved by regular exercise)
I donât have those to hand, do you think it would be a large percentage of commuters that travel further than Lewisham to central London or have a significant disability?
Feeling the other options would be less comfortable is not the same as not having options.
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I would caution anybody who is planning to attend this type of event not to declare it on any open internet forum these days.
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Why not? Bottled water is one of the most environmentally damaging consumer items. The transport alone! HGV trucks of plastic bottles full of water!
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I support this action in the hope that it might make a few people consider their life choices. If a few who can easily use greener forms of transport get nudged into doing that thing, then all the better.
Itâs all very well saying that more traffic disruption is annoying, but the artefacts of climate change on our country are several orders more severe (and expensive) than that. For those of us in less fortunate countries the effects are literally the erasure of homes and communities, and loss of life. Our fellow species on earth are becoming extinct because not enough action has happened to date.
Hopefully that adds some much needed perspective.
Or just try and turn the lights off after you leave the room and keep complaining about your commute, whatever⌠
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Hi Chris, there were reports about this last year - yes UK emissions are down but I think its because we now get all our stuff made in china / india / indonesia etc. It means that the emissions data for our consumption gets tagged onto those countryâs figures as does all the pollution resulting from their manufacture. UK ends up smelling like roses despite our consumer culture. Same for coal - most of our coal comes from abroad since our pits were closed. We still use it but other countries get the emission stats as theirs. UK gov also massively subsidise fossil fuel extraction by uk companies abroad so we dont get that on our record either. Things arenât always as straight forward as they seem! Ă find it quite sad that anyone critisises Greta. What she is doing - effectively giving up her personal life to try to change the terrible crisis we are all facing is truly admirable in my opinion. Sheâs trying to give a future to everyone on the planet. Thanks for doing the poll Chris, and Iâm heartened to see that the majority of the responses are positive for this action!
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Is that a phenomenon of the last decade? I thought weâd been buying stuff from the Far East since the 80s (and earlier)? UK environmental progress is massively superseding our peer nations. I find it hard to believe this is because weâre suddenly consuming lots of stuff from the Far East, while our peers arenât?
I follow http://gridwatch.co.uk/ to track our coal usage - itâs showing zero/negligible. Which coal power stations are currently burning coal but are not included in the figures provided by OFGEM / gridwatch etc?
Sheâs not much different from any other celebrity in the sense that sheâs on tour, standing up in front of crowds etc. Her new-found fame will generate a lucrative career, so I donât think we should canonise her quite yet. Iâll drop the skepticism when she makes a difference where itâs most needed: in China and India.
Iâm aware I have a strong pro-technology / pro-capitalism slant to my thinking and this puts me at odds with others here. Below is an interesting podcast that contrasts two totally opposite approaches to saving the planet:
Iâm in the âwizardâ camp. There are a lot of âprophetsâ commenting here. Both camps are probably too polarising and the best thinking probably lies somewhere in the middle.
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I wonder what sort of reception the protesters will get if the start to hack off local residents. Possibly a bit different from Central London.
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Coverage from the Evening Standard:
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