Not really, Annalogg, I was, in fact, responding to your reply to @YNWA250505, which was the one I quoted.
Anyway, let’s move on. 
It’s impact per person that matters. The Chinese are doing a lot already.
Coal in Germany, yes, but also a substantial amount of renewable energy (wind and solar panels).
Opposition to wind turbines has increased significantly in Germany and they will not now meet various targets.
I am new on this forum, joined because I love music and became a Naim owner last year. I want to add my ‘two penneth’ to the whole discussion regarding the protests and global ecosystem degradation etc.
Admirable as the protests may be, it is in essence lost and naive for some reasons I proffer below:
- Ecosystem disasters are human initiated as we know - waste, pollution, clearing of forests to grow crops (soya, palms etc included so the vegan brigade can’t escape), also to rear cattle for food (fast included).
- Ever increasing populations worldwide are a major concern to our existence, and will eventually lead to our downfall! Just think more and more land required for food production, water supplies under pressure, the very air we breath under strain as the reducing forests struggle to produce enough oxygen.
- Ever increasing demand for cheaper goods meaning precious resources dwindling. The nonsensical notion of technology for the sake of it!
The planet is trying to rid itself of the excess of humanity by natural disasters, ever evolving diseases etc, but we humans are clever and combat it! So the difficult and complicated decision humanity has to face is a total global reduction in population, less consumerism, designing and manufacturing for longevity, sympathetic understanding of nature and the realisation that everything on this planet is connected - if we hurt and destroy the very essence that nurtures and feeds us we hurt ourselves and destroy ourselves!
That’s it, my thoughts out in the open!
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The growing opposition to wind turbines in Germany & Europe in general is because they are on land & very visible.
UK has placed the big arrays out to sea & are mostly (NB “mostly”) out of sight. In that regard UK is very favourably located, a huge areas of shallow offshore waters & a geographical region that has practically constant wind. There is no reason why UK should not be carbon neutral & achieve that before most other countries in Europe.
I have to agree wind turbines are a visual pollutant, but what to do when the countries concerned have little or no coastline & the only option is to have them land based. I was in northern Spain a few months ago & was shocked to see so many land based turbines, the hills surrounding Pamplona especially. But talking to people it seems its something they are very proud of, Spain has periodically achieved over 70% power generation from wind. It also has to be said that Scotland had a weekend where they produced more power from wind than was consumed.
Interesting times, but maybe its now time the protesters let London & other places get back to normal.
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Not Germany, which hss already made substantial and sustained progress toward carbon neutrality.
As for “virtue signalling” accusations, they’re a meaningless form of what they criticise but with no productive proposal to offset the posturing. Lets stick to the facts. If we don’t make big changes fast, millions will suffer
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I ask (again), who is “we”?
I agree Mike, I think the protesters are in danger of outstaying their welcome (so to speak) if they haven’t already.
Gove has already said some days ago that Government has "heard them " . They want a meeting I believe. Perhaps the Government should follow through and meet with them, then perhaps they would disperse. (Except the rent-a-mob element that unfortunately tends to gravitate to these protests).
Exactly what Gove meant by his statement we will have to wait and see I suppose…
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That’s a sad rhetorical question: humanity. All of us. And those of us in “developed countries “ more than most.
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It’s neither rhetorical or sad …
I agree that your question was neither a sad, nor rhetorical. But you did get your answer, ie humanity, all of us.
Don’t feel you need to substantiate the game, just keep on playing. I’m sure you had no idea what I was referring to. After all, we have all the time in the world…,
Well, i’m rather pleased to see more and more people on the forum beginning to agree with what myself and George Frederik said more than 10 years ago.
There are too many of us on the planet.
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Were you one of the technical advisors to Dan Brown’s novel Inferno Don?
Scary stuff !
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I don’t understand what this response is intending to convey. If you want me to understand it, you’ll have to clarify it.
I’ve no problem with the protest nor the means of protest. Indeed if one reads in detail it has been meticulously planned and based on research of successful peaceful protests over the past 50 years. The naivety is not so much the protestors as those who believe this hasn’t really been thought through. Decent intro to the background in The Times today. Not wholly accurate but more so than the discussion here so far.
I find the idea that a protest is fine as long as it doesn’t impact others is risible. The ER research suggests that the only successful protests are those which are both peaceful and do exactly that. Given that numerous pieces of international research has always found the same it’s bizarre to suggest that such protests would be successful only of… the opposite is demonstrably (pardon the pun) true.
Whilst I wholly agree with those who comment on the underlying causes of the issue the reality remains that politicians are doing zilch and those with a green agenda such as the Green Party have been nothing but an embarrassing failure. The whole “ah but what about China” type argument is an argument propagated by neo-liberals and corporations with a vested interest in the status quo and simply won’t wash. This is a far more urgent issue than an exit from the EU etc. and most politicians are sufficiently in the pockets of lobbyists that they remain steadfastly determined to keep it off the agenda. In that context these protests may be the single most significant thing which happens this year.
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Well I hope you’re right. But only time will tell Mike. I think the Government need to do something symbolic too to kick things off if Gove meant anything by " we hear you". Cancelling Heathrow’s third runway for example would be a start .
Indeed. We seem to have become wedded to the idea that some things must happen and to have completely lost sight as to why. The third runway is but one.
Boris making good sense with clear and cogent precision. As ever … 