Environment Protesters Trash The Environment

Why are our school children being brainwashed into believing that the government is doing little or nothing to reduce carbon emissions - after all, that was what this so-called "strike" was all about wasn't it? Whoever taught them that is either ignorant, or deliberately covering up the fact that UK CO2 emissions have fallen consistently in each of the past six years (the result of government-mandated action to shut coal-powered power stations). Indeed, so the scientists say, the UK 's CO2 emissions were at the lowest levels in more than 120 years - this despite the fact that our population and output is vastly higher than they were back then. Add to this that the UK contributes little more than one per cent of global CO2 emissions, and you wonder what these children have been told by their teachers.

The focus of this demonstration was Parliament but in truth that was actually the wrong target. If the strikers' aim was to protest about climate change, they should have demonstrated outside the Chinese Embassy in Portland Place - near Broadcasting House, BBC Radio's iconic headquarters - some two miles to the north.

But those children probably weren't told that, for example, that China is building almost 260 gigawatts of new coal-fired power generating capacity and that's equivalent to roughly the output of all U.S. coal power stations currently operating. And they're likely to be ignorant of China's financing last year of more than a quarter of worldwide coal plant construction amounting to $36bn. And they probably weren't told that China is responsible for almost a third of all the CO2 emissions worldwide as this graphic illustrates:

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And why did they not protest two miles to the south of Parliament Square outside the newly-relocated Embassy of the world's second largest polluter?

Maybe these three photos of the event in question will give you a clue as to why Parliament was the target:

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The waving of the Soviet flag - by someone who looks somewhat older than a school kid - and the brandishing of placards thoughtfully provided by the Socialist Worker's party suggest that what was billed as a demonstration for action to protect the environment - to attract the juvenile participants - was cynically hijacked by the far left and morphed into a hard-left political demonstration. Many of those placards demand "System Change Not Climate Change" which is the antithesis of what the school kids were led to believe they were demonstrating for.

The waving of the Soviet Red Flag is a particularly inappropriate choice: a Greenpeace banner would have been more in keeping with the stated aim of the event. But those teacher members of the Socialist Workers' or Corbyn's Labour Party are unlikely to have taught their pupils that the Soviet Union was one of the world's most prolific polluters.

The Chernobyl nuclear blow-out in 1986 was only the most spectacular example of Soviet environmental blight - and, incidentally, the only one which the Soviet government was unable to cover up or prevent being known about in the West. The effects of that disaster are still being felt today and will continue for many a year. Also, in 2013 a Russian scientist from Murmansk disclosed that, despite official denials, the Soviet navy had been dumping nuclear waste in the Barents Sea, several hundred miles from the Norwegian coast in a known fishing area. Apparently the Soviet fleet punctured the protective containers, so the barrels of radioactive waste would fill with seawater and sink, rather than risk them floating and being discovered. And in Corbyn's favourite holiday spot at the time of Germany's reunification, only half of the East’s domestic sewage was receiving treatment: half of the country’s lakes were considered dead or dying. And in some parts of Communist East Germany the level of air pollution was between eight and 12 times greater than found in ‘capitalist’ West Germany.

This was a political event against capitalism and our democratic processes that cynically used school kids to carry their message, pure and simple.

I also support young people being politically engaged. Their views may be naive and idealistic. My own opinions of 25 years ago are very different to what they are today. But it serves them well for later in life when they begin making decisions of consequence. A lot of people would vote for a Turd if wore a red or blue rosette in an election.

I do agree that it is a pain in the balls that the Socialist Workers Party and other groups on the extremist fringe frequently try and make these things about them instead.

Every time there is some sort of anti Government protest, the Socialist Worker Party have a little stall by Elizabeth House, and hand out banners. As a result, you get a lot of SWP banners at these protests even though they have had no part in the organization of the event.

It is, in my opinion, a poor tactic as it just makes it look like a far left protest and it undermines those who are there. School kids, of course, are an easy target. Just hand them a banner and off they go.

This isn't from the teachers per se. It's from their silly little stall that they put up.

A good auguement for staying part of the EU well done Mawk

Its global now

You're quite wrong in thinking that the Brexit Betrayal march is a PR disaster which I guess you infer from the number of marchers - 200 - who set off from Sunderland a couple of days ago. Those 200, as well as echoing the number of participants at the start of the Jarrow March, are the 'core marchers' who've signed-up to march the entire 270 miles from Sunderland to Parliament Square. Apparently they will be joined by, what the organisers predict will be thousands, on the final six-and-a-half mile leg from Chiswick and for the demonstration outside the Palace of Westminster where they're due to arrive at around 4pm.

But this has nothing to do with the topic

Huh? What are you burbling about? The school childrens' so-called "strike" has nothing to do with our membership of the EU - except that continental Europe's "power-house" is a worse polluter than the UK!

Its about political protesting, one could ask where these passionate kids are on Farage's march. Where have the others gone as there were just 75 including photographers yesterday?

Those hip young cats were in Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham.

I don't think you'll get many on that march until nearer the time. Why would you? But on March 29 you can bet Parliament Square will be packed and buzzing with pro and anti Brexit people in their silly costumes. Probably get the SWP there handing out banners again, too.

Firstly I would hope that there are no kids skiving off school for two weeks to attend the Sunderland to London march. Secondly why do you persist in calling it "Farage's march"? It is no more his march than it is Andrea Jenkins' or Kate Hoey's, two MPs who are taking part. The march is being organised by a campaign group (Leave Means Leave) and is their march. And thirdly, please provide a source for your claim of there being fewer than 75 actual participants yesterday.

And the relevance of that picture is? In case you hadn't noticed, none of those photographed is (likely to be) a school-aged child and they're don't appear to be taking part in a demonstration.

Hoey ,having bunked off from her temporary day job is back in the commons today so maybe 74

To much walking

If I had the chance I would support the "leave means leave" march myself, unfortunately I only have a short time in the UK.

A long walk, full respects to those that participate.

They have been getting wet

Mark you can easily count them might be 50

"I thought one of the funniest takes was the marcher who said: “For every person here, we’ve got a million people marching with us. I can feel that presence.” Except that she is basically … correct. (Though I did appreciate the pictorial contrasts between the estimated 700,000 marchers who showed up for the last Remain march.)"

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...e-sorm-hit-minion-nigel-farage-brexit-protest

Yes, it rains "up North" Keith

So, on the one hand Vince Cable tells delegates at the Lib-Dem Spring Conference last week that "there is now a climate emergency. But you wouldn’t think so from the complacent attitude of the government", whilst his own councillors in Cumbria this week unanimously approved a new £165 million coal mine set to extract coal along the Copeland coastline. The Liberal Democrat chair of Cumbria County Council’s development committee, Geoff Cook, said "We felt that the need for coking coal, the number of jobs on offer and the chance to remove contamination outweighed concerns about climate change and local amenity."

Vince has overlooked, or more likely ignored, the fact this year the UK's CO2 emissions have fallen to their lowest levels since 1888.