Climate Change Protests

**pete** · 20/08/2007, 1:21 PM

At a time when people in the West of Ireland want more flights protests in the UK want less.

Heathrow Protests

Is there a point to these protests or are they just a rent a mob?

Since the UK is an island how else are people expected to travel if not by airplane?

**John83** · 20/08/2007, 1:31 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Is there a point to these protests or are they just a rent a mob?

What I'd like to know is what percentage of those people drove to Heathrow.

Since the UK is an island how else are people expected to travel if not by airplane?

Canoe; all the way man.

**inexile** · 20/08/2007, 4:38 PM

nothing worse than muppets with a cause

**pete** · 20/08/2007, 5:08 PM

I lost interest last week when I heard one of the leaders of the protest link Heathrow to the worlds homeless & claimed 150,000 (i think) people killed by climate change every year. Those facts might be correct but did sound like just imagined.

I see the the paper today that the Police respecting the protesters views by using horses to control them

**Jerry The Saint** · 20/08/2007, 5:56 PM

I know these hippies don't follow the news but someone really should have tipped them off that the authorities might not look too kindly on people causing trouble around airports in this day and age.

Kinda reminds me of the Fathers For Justice protesters who think their kids will be impressed if they break into Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman or the pro-foxhunting lobby who don't see the possible downside of attacking MPs in the House of Commons.

**Saint Tom** · 20/08/2007, 8:12 PM

half to laugh at the local NIMBY's "supporting" the protest. amazing how the prospect of a third runway has brought out the tree-huggers in them!

**BohsPartisan** · 20/08/2007, 9:18 PM

Originally Posted by Saint Tom

half to laugh at the local NIMBY's "supporting" the protest. amazing how the prospect of a third runway has brought out the tree-huggers in them!

If someone wanted to build a runway in your back yard it'd bring out the tree hugger in you pretty quickly. I hate the term NIMBY. Its always bandied about by people who's "back yards" are not under threat. Thing is, the same people will give out about protesters travelling to a protest because they are not locals, when they are locals they are NIMBYs!

**pete** · 21/08/2007, 9:41 AM

Seen a discussion on tv this morning.

* Suggested Protester a failure are only 1,500 people turned up & nobody has changed their flying habits.
* Climate change protester asked why they targeted the perishable foods section of th airport where goods being flown in from the 3rd world. Where do people in the 3rd world (e.g Kenya) get revenue if we stop buying their goods. The climate change spokesperson could only offer the "they won't have an agriculture industry when global warming starts"

For what its worth they are targeting the wrong people. If you try to deny ordinary UK residents their chance of a sun holiday you won't win many arguments.

If BAA want to build a runway through your house surely you have a choice whether to sell or not? If they laws in the UK force you to sell then change the laws...

**Dodge** · 21/08/2007, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by pete

At a time when people in the West of Ireland want more flights protests in the UK want less.

Imagine people having different opinions

Seems to me another one of these "In theory" nice ideas. Never going to slow down development of Heathrow though. Have to laught at people who buy houses beside Airports and then complain about the noise...

Originally Posted by pete

Is there a point to these protests or are they just a rent a mob?

Slightly OT but waiting for a bus in Navan the other day two blokes came up handing out fliers protesting about the M3 through Tara. One even had his face painted with that squigly Meath crest thingy. I burst out laughing when I heard their English accents.

**jebus** · 21/08/2007, 12:16 PM

I don't like it when people criticise protestors over their actions, merely because you don't have the same opinion as them. It seems that some people get slightly agitated by people who have it in them to stick up for their beliefs, maybe it holds a mirror up to their 'I accept I'm a lowly piece of trash, here to be trod on by anyone with more power than me' existence? Who knows? Although obviously protests attract a lot of people who are just there for the laugh (G8 for example), or people who are just mindless thugs (whichever animal rights group(s) attack scientists at Huntington as a means of protest etc.)

As for the Heathrow protests, well as Pete says, targeting ordinary people going about their daily routine is the wrong way to go if you ask me. They need to try and build support from Joe Public, not make it late for work, holidays, whatever. I said the same when the Shannon Anti-War protests went down a similiar route. I still feel that the best way of getting climate change put firmly on the political table is to encourage general people to make changes in their own lives, and to make it part of their routine

**pete** · 21/08/2007, 3:58 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Slightly OT but waiting for a bus in Navan the other day two blokes came up handing out fliers protesting about the M3 through Tara. One even had his face painted with that squigly Meath crest thingy. I burst out laughing when I heard their English accents.

I did not mention earlier as I did not want to accused of bringing up mayo again but I heard the 'Shell to Sea' campaign had a stand or something at the Heathrow protests. Must look for a link... Can't see what they would have in common in their causes...

**BohsPartisan** · 21/08/2007, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by pete

I did not mention earlier as I did not want to accused of bringing up mayo again but I heard the 'Shell to Sea' campaign had a stand or something at the Heathrow protests. Must look for a link... Can't see what they would have in common in their causes...

I suppose they were drawing the link between multinational oil companies and climate change.
I agree with you that they are targetting the wrong people. Its the same point that I made before when talking about fair trade. YOu make no impact targetting te consumer, you have to hit the producer.
You know what my answer for everything is so I won't bore you with the rest.

BTW as a Meath man I am firmly against the M3 motorway route and so are my parents and most of my relatives so the Anti-M3 people are not all rent-a-mob. Plus I think I'd be annoyed if I heard the Peruvian government were going to demolish Machu Pichu or the Egyptian government were going to destroy the pyramids or that US bombers were going to destroy some of the earliest artefacts of human civilisation (oops too late) so I don't think you have to be a Bregan like myself to protest at whats going on out there.