Climate Change protesters at the UN Climate Summit

So – just what is that all about? Finally the leaders of all the developed nations get together to start to discuss the reality of what can be done to combat climate change yet these wolleyhatted hippies persist in protesting. Apparently things aren't changing quickly enough for them.

I wonder how they all got to Copenhagen to protest too?

(Ohh, and I had to laugh at the opening speech when the speaker said 'A WARM welcome to you all'). 🙂

You make the mistake of thinking that these protesters are revolting over something, they are not – they are simply revolting.

Primal Scream had it right. Kill all Hippies!

rat on a piece of string ?

Finally the leaders of all the developed nations get together to start to discuss the reality of what can be done to combat climate change

Your post was going so well… The reality is more like "The 'Mericans would like very much to get shot of the very limited legislation that was enforced on them by Kyoto, and are looking at Copenhagen to introduce a very loose form of voluntary reductions that in reality would do nothing to promote reductions in emissions.

Which goes some-way to explaining why there are so many protesters…

perhaps they are suggesting we could and should do more to stop carbon emissions ? Perhaps 2 degrees C in the West Three elswhere is not ambitious enough? Perhaps they care more about the planet than profit?
The bits I saw they were chanting in Danish so I am going to guess that they used the fantastic public transport, their higher taxes paid for, to get there.

walks of before more of the right wing hate filled deniers – The Clarksons I shall call them – arrive to pour scorn on science and others who disagree with their right thinking world view.

Perhaps I do not have enough of the facts, but on the face of it, getting nearly 200 nations in the same place at the same time to discuss the same thing seems somewhat miraculous. Surely the protesters should be applauding the efforts finally being made and start to understand that the sort of changes required on a global scale to combat any change will take quite some agreeing. I just think they all have way too simplistic views and have no grasp of what is required to make any change happen.

Surely the protesters should be applauding the efforts finally being made and start to understand that the sort of changes required on a global scale to combat any change will take quite some agreeing.

Except that's not why the leaders are in Copenhagen – nickc has it about right.

Surely the protesters should be applauding the efforts finally being made

Except that the efforts being made are nowhere near enough to have any significant impact, and the whole process is being treated pretty cynically by many countries.

I just think they all have way too simplistic views and have no grasp of what is required to make any change happen.

Seems like you have no grasp of the radical and urgent measures that need to be taken if we want to actually make any difference.

I just think they all have way too simplistic views and have no grasp of what is required to make any change happen.

Yes they have a very simplistic view: Our western way of life is making the planet uninhabitable for all of us, and that is effecting now the populations of countries that can least afford to bear it. The solutions are very simple as well, really. The problem is that very rich people fear they will loose money, hence Govts fear this as well, hence their huge attempts to pretend to do something whilst in reality doing nothing or actively making it worse.

They're protesting because they haven't got a job, don't like to wash and have absolutly nothing else to do with their lives. What don't you get?

Is Richard Littlejohn operating multiple aliases on STW or something? God it's depressing on here sometimes.

They all looked pretty clean to me.

Anyone here ever gone on a protest?

So, was Thatcher right to reduce the UK's CO2 output by "closing all the pits"?

Discuss…

(runs away and hides)

I refused to have sprouts at a xmas lunch today and therefore feel i have done my bit to save the planet.

So every developed nation has gone to Copenhagen to discuss climate change and try to come to an agreement on how we can make real change but they are really just pretending to care and they have all gone there to devise ways of not really making any change whatsoever that makes any kind of real difference?

Anyone here ever gone on a protest?

Yup I did many years ago, can't remember what it was for but the Union paid for trains to be laid on for us to go down to London. Was a cracking day out.

Anyone here ever gone on a protest?

Yep.

"A Hard Day's Night" (Beatles fillum).

McCartney & Lennon on a train opposite an "ex-Army Major" type who's making grumpy disapproving noises about their generally youthful attitude.

Finally, he looks over his copy of the Times and says:

"I fought in the war for the likes of you!"

To which Lennon says:

" I bet you're sorry you won."

ooOOoo – Member

Anyone here ever gone on a protest?

lots.
i won't talk about them on here though.
it's not worth the sh!tstorm that would inevitably ensue!

So every developed nation has gone to Copenhagen to discuss climate change and try to come to an agreement on how we can make real change but they are really just pretending to care and they have all gone there to devise ways of not really making any change whatsoever that makes any kind of real difference?

Not exactly but the vested interests and blind adherence to the mantra of constant growth means that's pretty much the reality.

I don't understand why Goverments run by people cant agree that they need to look after our planet and do their utmost to halt & prevent further pollution, in an ideal world eh! I blame all these fat Americans and Chinese Coal Power stations. and the loggers.

The problem is that very rich people fear they will loose money

While that's no doubt true, another problem is that 'normal' people fear they won't be able to charge their iPods, sit around their house in T-shirts in winter, and drive 500m to the shops. Or buy that new 40" plasma screen. Or get that new car to sit in traffic in Beijing or New Delhi. Or nip over to Europe for the weekend on Easyjet.

Sure governments aren't whiter than white, but let's not pretend that *we* don't have something to do with it too. Maybe there are other reasons governments don't take more drastic measures besides keeping bankers in bonuses.

One of the news reports state that a there was a sizeable section of the protest group protesting about the whole capitalism structure saying that it was all broken and needed to be abolished and replaced with something else that was less harmful for the planet. I thought the way they were able to link capitalism to global warming was pretty inventive. I think inevitably there will always be a lunatic element to these protestors but they give the rest of them a bad name.
Largely this group of professional unwashed protestors have nothing to do with their stated objections and everything to do with just feeling at odds with the world.

I thought the way they were able to link capitalism to global warming was pretty inventive.

Why? I would have thought it was fairly obvious.

they are not able to protest in a peacfull maner , lmfao at the idiots being cable tied up.

Sure governments aren't whiter than white, but let's not pretend that *we* don't have something to do with it too.

We have everything to do with it, our goverments are becoming weaker and weaker, we're largely apathetic and globalisation means that governments have less and less control over business, of course we drive this too by consuming all the stuff they produce and demanding more and more for less and less.

Surely part of the protest is to raise the profile of their cause. Good work m-f, you seem to be helping them 🙂

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Anyone here ever gone on a protest?
Yep.

I know and the plebs still banned fox hunting … am i right ?
Yes and to stay with stereotyping for me the miners, anti fasicsm[which Cpt may have actually], Criminal Justice bill – went with crusty raver to55ers realised why we needed it did not protest!!, Pride – does that count?? some others just the highlights there

someone (by that i mean some old sociology prof. who sits in one of my classes) said that Denmark have repealed the Schengen Agreement in the run up to the conference. they've effectively closed their borders to non-nationals and you need a visa to cross into the country.

perhaps one of the reasons they chose to have it there.

the only way i can see us ('us' in the global sense) can help make a difference to the health of the globe is to all sit back. take life at a slower pace. work four days, not five. no more next day delivery. less cheap plastic crap filling our homes. fewer plasmas, wiiboxes, rice cookers and treadmills. no more cheap flights. more train, bike or bus journeys. flights should be limited to a minimum flight time; for example, on journeys that are over 36 hours by train.

industry (capitalism to some) won't change so drastically that the supply can't meet demand as cheaply as possible. the change has to come from consumers (you and me) by changing their buying habits. if we don't buy it, they won't produce it any more.

but how do we convince 3-4 billion people that they've got enough already, that they don't need a car, a television, an electric rasor, or a playwii.

So the talks have broken down – still we should applaud them for trying eh? That'll do.

I thought the way they were able to link capitalism to global warming was pretty inventive.

Why? I would have thought it was fairly obvious.

Not really. I think the link has very little to do with capitalism and everything to do with industrialisation. For example China isn't a capitalist economy (OK so it's not communist either; it's something in between) and it's the worst polluter in the world (I think – is that right at least in terms of total output anyway, certainly not by head of population where the US tops the list).

Unless you're operating a feudal system, almost all forms of organisation are going to end up striving for industrialisation.

Politicians need vote or they're out of a job. Not enough people give a shit to vote for a party that will make any changes. IT's not difficult to see why politicians don't give a shit either.

Not enough people give a shit to vote for a party that will make any changes.

Most people would probably actively vote against a party that was going to make any drastic changes.

Not really. I think the link has very little to do with capitalism and everything to do with industrialisation.

Where do you think the capital for industrialisation came from?

For example China isn't a capitalist economy

Riiiiight.

Like I said it's something in between. It's probably best described as a transition economy but it's not truly capitalist.

Mr Salmon, in comparison to how most of the world lives, we, in the west are those "very rich people" I was referring to…