Greta Thunberg writes


and from this morning (22nd Feb 2020)

---

There have been heated discussions as to whether calling for "real action" is anything like as important as actually taking that action. While a significant number of people remain who are not taking action and indeed while some are still denying the need, both calling for action and taking that action are important. No comparative - it's not a question of ranking one against the other.

 
So Grahame, I think you are asking Coffee Shop members to support a school strike (ridiculous and pointless of course).  A bit away from our mission statement etc, but I suppose it’s your Coffee Shop so we must allow you some latitude …..

 

I'm telling you it's happening. And I'm telling you I believe that there's a need to keep calls to act on climate change reaching those who can actually make it happen, and those in positions of power / authority who can prioritise others to make it happen.   Whether you choose to use the information about the event to support it, to keep the heck out of Bristol that day, or to describe it as you have done is your choice.

From a Somerset briefing by their county council, I read "The majority of emissions in Somerset derive from the transport sector – 46.7%, compared to 29.5% from industry and 23.8% from the domestic sector".   I believe it is prudent to reduce those emissions from the transport sector.  Part of that is moving people from less 'clean' modes of transport to more clean ones, and part of the is cleaning up even the modes we're encouraging them to move to.    For sure it's a long way from a fare or delay-repay query, but it's still very much transport - and public transport too - related discussions and actions.   And they are part of what publicity stunts (if you like to call the school strike that) help propel up the agenda.

When you think back, can you imagine 5 years ago Somerset County Council organising a climate changed survey?  Perhaps the antics of groups such as you'll see next Friday have been one string on the bow of what's brought it onto their agenda?

 
From First Bus Bristol - have your say

 
I too would like to see joined-up cleaned-up transport, but at the rate things move, I fear that not only will all glaciers have melted by the time something is done, but new ones will have appeared. Greta Thonburg has done a remarkable job of raising the profile of the issue, and I am sure she will be welcomed with something close to ecstasy in Bristol. Mayor Marvin Rees will surely want his picture taken with her before finishing the order for more diesel vehicles for the council, and the Greens will get a look in. Then those with homes will go back to them, public transport will resume where it left off, and all will be as it was on Thursday.

I hope that the burden of arguably the world's biggest problem won't weigh too heavily on the young woman's shoulders. There are many who will turn out for a rock star but not the supporting acts, and she can't do it all herself. One day, the world will have a serious conversation about what is wrong and what to do about it, following the reignition of the debate that she has caused. In the meantime, we will chase a few targets here and there while business lobbies governments and not much happens. The scale of what needs to be done in this country alone to remove fossil fuels from the energy mix hasn't been realised by very many people yet, and if there is a plan for doing it, I have yet to spot it.

If she wants to know how it should be done, we can always let her take a ride on MetroBust via the opposite side of the New Cut rather than the currently defunct pointless guided bit.

 
How much extra pollution will be caused by Jemima or Tarquin ringing up the chauffeur on the latest 5G smartphone to pick them up from Waitrose or Harvey Nicks in the Rolls Royce to take them back to Clifton......or more likely Wayne or Sharon ringing Dad from a call box that only takes coins, to pick them up in the rusting red metro from 1981 from McDonald's or Primark to take them back to Art Cliff......

It would be supremely ironic if Greta had to be helicoptered in and out of the event for her own personal safety.

 
When is she appearing at these events in the worst polluting nation such as Russia and China rather than Britain which is making huge improvement already?

Graham - if you could let me have the corresponding dates for Beijing and Moscow I'd be grateful and I'll make sure I "plan ahead" accordingly.

 
I am disappointed to report that I have no plans to be anywhere near Bristol next Friday so will miss out on this marvellous opportunity to indulge in some collective virtue signalling.

 

I plan to be there if only to highlight the inordinate time it takes to do anything, plenty of time to gob about plans but action ....0

 
My daughter asked to attend a school strike in the summer, and I went with her because she finds crowds a bit scary. It was the first time she'd ever been to a 'demo', and I was focusing on her and whether she was OK. It was only when she overcame her shyness and held up the banner she'd made that I realised that this was my first demo too!

What's the point? Is it virtue signalling?

The strike I attended was one of the largest to date. I thought many people would be getting grumpy because they could not get about, but this was absolutely not the case. Bus drivers, their engines switched off, were high-fiving the kids as they walked past. Cafe owners were coming out onto the street to give them free drinks.

Being there gave me something that is in pitifully short supply at the moment: hope.

And for what it's worth: Greta Thunberg says she's coming by train. My daughter (whose name is not Jemima) and I will walk there.

 

Have a good day Tarquin 

What route is she following to get to Bristol from Sweden by train? Is split ticketing available?

 
China has a lower carbon footprint per capita by consumption than the UK. We just choose to outsource the production of most of our stuff to China which produces it using energy produced by carbon heavy means and then incurring more carbon consumption to ship it half way around the world.  All so we can get things cheaper and kid ourselves that a few offshore windmills is helping us become carbon neutral. Not that the UK is alone in doing that mind you.

 

Little Greta will be a double benefit; not only will she draw attention to climate change but also she will soften the schools' present financial crisis when head teachers fine the many parents for their high minded offsprings' absences.

OTC

 

Yes. Split at Didcøt.

 
I'm waiting to hear the call for the rejection of constantly, or at least frequently, upgraded new hand held mobile electronic devices by those who make up it's key market.
These are largely produced in countries using carbon heavy means and are made of rare and precious minerals and metals which themselves are mined in an ecologically destructive manner.

 

If you can fit all that onto a placard, come and join us on Friday!

 

#MeToo. My wife hasn't told me what I'm doing that far ahead, and I could get the train up. If Emma Thompson's flying over to lend her support, I will definitely come, but I'll bet Wetherspoons will be rammed.

 


Oh drat and double drat..... I've already booked Friday to trawl Curry's and Carphone Warehouse for my new widescreen home cinema and 5G compatible toaster. 

 

Agree, the materials contained in each device are fairly small, as are the carbon emissions from manufacture of each device. However the vast number of such items sold adds up to very considerable environmental harm.
I have only one mobile phone which I have no intention of replacing unless it ceases to function.
I have two laptop computers, both purchased second hand. No intention of replacing them unless no longer functional.

 

I have two laptops, one needing a new fan and the replacement being just slow, so I use the 12 year old desktop, rejuvenated by the addition of a solid state drive. I have a drawer full of defunct phones, waiting for them to get better.

 

It'll never happen. It'd mean millenials would have to develop enough social skills to make conversation & develop relationships rather than living via social media and having access to it 24/7.

 
...as well as many people born prior to the 'Millenial' tag.

 
They say that!!!! Like it's something! SURPRISING!!!!!

(I'll be busy all morning but I might wander down about 2 and see if she's/anyone's still there.)

 
Do explanation marks have an impact on climate change?

 
I wish there  really were such things as explanation marks to make things clearer......as a rash of exclamation marks often only adds hype and confuses the issues!!

 
Let's hope Greta isn't planning to travel by train through or from Norway, which contrary to the received wisdom on global warming is currently experiencing their highest snowfall totals for over 15 years.

 

It's not contrary to the received wisdom on global warming. Global warming science predicts extreme weather events, be they storms, rain, droughts of heavy snow.

 

She isn't.  She was in Germany at the end of last week and over the weekend posted "Heading for the UK!".

Reducing carbon footprint is not only about travelling by more sustainable means - it's also about travelling less, joining journeys together where possible and taking careful decisions about "is my journey necessary"; I know we have some members here who will argue about the necessity of Greta's journey.  Paradoxcially, too much success in reducing travelling might reduce the need for rail enhancement, and a call for an extra carriage (or 10 carriages rather than 5) could be answered by "it's better for the environment for us to pack you in ..."

 

In that case, I offer my humble apologies. I mistakenly considered it to be "Climate Change" that is the undeniable science which explains and predicts the extreme weather conditions currently being experienced, which is why I specifically avoided using the term in this instance. It's painfully obvious that the climate is changing, and not for the better. I thought "Global Warming" was more of a perception than a science. However, I'm happy to stand corrected and can only apologise. Either way, the snowfall in Norway is causing huge disruption to the railways there, which is hopefully an observation worth making in itself on a transport forum.

 
Following her recent adventures on an ICE, no doubt she will enjoy a short-formed class 800. On the plus side, it's likely that there will be no environmentally polluting trolley. Has anyone told her that it might run on dirty diesel for some of the way?

 

Indeed, a generally warming climate results in greater evaporation of water from both land and sea. This increased evaporation must eventually fall back to earth as precipitation, mainly rain or snow.(and lesser amounts of hail, freezing rain, sleet and other precipitation)
In places too mild for snow, such as most of the southern UK, increased rainfall results.
In places that were formerly only just cold enough for snow, rain tends to replace snow as the temperature is now to high for snow.
In places that are well below zero, increased snow results. The temperature in such as place might have increased from say minus 10 degrees, to minus 8 degrees. Minus 8 is still plenty cold enough for snow, of which heavier falls are likely due the increased evaporation.

 

In the West of the country, it will be mild, bringing rain with occasional drizzle, becoming wet later.

 

According to NASA, global warming is the driver and climate change is the effect. Global warming certainly isn't just a perception; it is the measurable yearly increase in mean temperatures.

I note that some prefer the term 'climate breakdown', which does perhaps convey the urgency of action a little more assertively.

 
updated from Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol Council

 

 
Between this and the possibility of someone foreign -looking sneezing, it should be quite a day. I can help the police with advice on one aspect:


From a restaurant on Exmoor, no doubt elsewhere too.

 

I first saw it at Harper's Ferry.

 
Sounds like it's going to present a risk to the wellbeing of those present & anyone who gets caught up in it.....

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-02-26/police-in-bristol-can-t-guarantee-adequate-safety-measures-at-greta-thunberg-youth-climate-protest/

 

...a bit like climate change then!

 

Nah - just a disclaimer for when someone falls in the docks and tries to blame the police for not stopping them.

 

Perhaps the floor in the courtrooms shouldn't be so slippy…. oh not those docks.

 
I've just put my £10 in the crowdfunder to #TurnCollegeGreenGreenAgain

https://www.gofundme.com/f/repair-college-green-after-the-youth-strike

...and we didn't even walk on the grass!

 

Very public spirited of you.

Always upsetting to see harm caused to the environment, I'm sure Greta will scold all concerned.

Fortunately the smaller than expected turnout mitigated the risks the Police highlighted - these kids may care passionately about the environment, but their commitment is much greater when the sun is shining! 

 
Work commitments meant I didn't see Gretal but I did get to stroll around the centre (including the Centre) without traffic, which was a really nice experience.

 

You will see better on TV than I saw there in person - but very, VERY glad I was there.   Full writeup overnight.  I probably walked further today, and got wetter today, than I have in years.   Now dry, but sleeping soon.


Greta is the one in yellow behind the flagpole!


I'm not sure what the expectation was ... but the crowd struck me as very large indeed, polite, caring to the cause, committed and law abiding.  Hard to tell under all the that rain gear, of course.  Perhaps the rain had thinned it down to the committed - but make no mistake, there were a lot of people. And a lot of caring.

I question whether the myths were mitigated by the crowd size, or by the crowd being composed of human beings who really care for the future - perhaps not full in line with all our members, but caring.

 
Had the sun been shining, the crowd would probably been bigger but the ground a little less churned up. The standard moan is "Ooos gonna pay to sort out the mess?" which draws the standard riposte of "If you think that's a mess, wait until it's under ten foot of water with dead polar bears floating past". My own lawn recovered in a couple of years after my daughter's 15th birthday party, and I heard from a formerly leading councillor that it would grow again, no problem. I have my doubts, and am grateful to Red Squirrel for his principled action, and hope it was also followed by many others.

I loved the token solar panel, placed more in hope than earnest expectation.

 
The single large solar panel may have been serving a useful purpose.
I would estimate that it had an nominal output of about 250 watts under ideal conditions.
In todays very non optimum conditions I would expect an output of at least 25 watts, may be a bit more.

That would power a reasonably efficient public address system in conjunction with a very small battery, or even a bank of supercapacitors.
Each moment without speech to amplify, even just gaps between words, would allow the battery/supercap to charge, so as to supply extra power when needed.
50 watts peak/25 watts average is enough to amplify speech for a very large crowd.

 
I must get one.

 
It's far from the first time the Green has looked like that, though it normally happens toward the end of summer.

 
 

 
A local radio news article has said that the appeal to repair the damage to College Green had now nearly reached £7,000 (very good indeed) out of a £100,000 target. 

What?  A £100k to repair College Green? 

I thought they were going to reseed it, not build a landscape garden.

 
Are network rail doing the repairs ?

 
Where are they on the GRIP? That's the Grass Replanting Investment Process.

 

The target is £20,000. As I type the running total is just over £8,300.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/TurnCollegeGreenGreenAgain

 
It cost £20,000 in turf alone and over 2 months to repair after the 2011 "Occupy Bristol" thing, according to a contemporary BBC report. It looked nice afterwards, and I am sure the council will see that it looks fine by summer, whatever the cost. I am sure the voluntary donations will be gratefully received towards it.

 

I've heard that figure now as well but an early news bulletin quoted the 100k ( at least I'm pretty darned sure that's what I heard).
8.5K is doing pretty well but 20K still seems a lot for reseeding, unless it is going to be returfed (would that be really necessary?).

 
A green area is pleasant, but I see no need for a well manicured lawn.
Shallow plough/cultivate the surface, placing grass seed and fertiliser in the shallow furrows. Then lightly roll to bury the seeds and stop vermin eating them all.
Fence it of until the grass is established. Prepare to water it well if the weather turns very dry.

After 6 months or a year, sprinkle about 10mm to 20mm of topsoil over the new grass. The grass will then end up with deeper roots and better survive drought or future rough use.

 

Maybe the new grass specification allows for an increasing frequency and scale of climate action events, as the world warms.

Humour aside, I found some of the BTL comments in the local e-news appalling, although they reflect a certain standard that has become common in high places.

 
£2500 would buy enough grass seed to resow 16000 sq metres liberally and you'd have plenty of volunteers to scatter the good seed on College Green. Don't believe me, try Boston Seeds website.

 

I thought it cost zilch cos the firm, Craig West Turf from Avonmouth provided and laid the turf FOC for the publicity it gave them on the temporary fencing around College Green during that events sequel.

 
Here's an idea.....how about all the local schools from where the protesters who caused the damage came select 2 children who attended to provide the labour for the repairs, free of charge at weekends? (Wouldn't want to interrupt their education).

I'm sure as they're passionately committed to the environment there will be no shortage of volunteers, and it'll provide them with some useful real world experience?

Who knows, maybe Greta herself may pop along to help out?

 

Or, better still, use all of the money gathered in fines for unauthorised absence from school to effect the repairs necessary.

 
Would the schools themselves have to pay fines for being closed?

 

No - parents can be fined for not ensuring their little darlings attend school - mainly to discourage them taking term time holidays.

 
I passed through College Green yesterday evening... A complete overreaction to the mud by those online and the press, the grass is already regrowing!

There's a picture on this tweet: https://twitter.com/GeorgeFergusonx/status/1233770076609949696

 

I doubt there will be very much of that.

Many schools were closed for the day. My daughter's wasn't, so she asked for and was given authorised absence.

At that noted hotbed of socialism, Clifton College:


Avon and Somerset Police, after the event, said:


The fundraiser to repair the Green is halfway to its target of £20,000. I suspect they'll get more than they need; they've already said they'll spend any surplus in other parks.

This was, apparently, the largest protest ever held in Bristol. To suggest that it would have been better for schookids to read about history in books, rather than make it, is eccentric. And if the only other criticism is that a crowd of perhaps 15,000, perhaps 30,000 people standing for hours in a rain sodden park made it muddy... for once, words fail me.

Edit: Typo

 
...oh and look, here's a photo taken by George Ferguson today. Seems to be recovering, like nature does if you just let it! And d'you notice how the flowers weren't trampled on?



Edit: Sorry, this is a repeat of dhassell's info!

 
It's great how resilient nature can be. Good timing too as the grass is starting to get more vigorous at this time of the year. Which happily reminds me.  It's the first day of spring, unless of course, you're one of those vernal equinox types rather than going by the UK Meteorological definition.

 

If I ruled the world, every day would be..!

 
They came in tens, hundreds and thousands to what has been described as the largest protest ever in Bristol. And that's truely remarkable on a wet February weekday. They (or shoud I say "we" because I was one of them) want to make known our concern at climate change induced by human behaviour, and the need for all the human race together to take steps to stabilise (at the least) the damage we have been causing before it's too late. 

I thought long and hard about going along on Friday - attending the event in itself isn't going to stabalise or reverse anything but I feel at the moment that there is a need to drive this subject up the agenda, from ideas to thorough talk to plans and to action. There is a need for all those steps and they are not mutually exclusive. So I celebrate the highlighting of the issue by the organisers and the help in that highlighting from keynote speaker Greta Thunberg, just as I celebrate steps we all take in our daily lives to consider our footprint, and I celebrate the hard work that is being put in by some individuals to bring corporate / government action to bear.

They came in their thousands



and they filled College Green.



And if you zoom in, a sea of people



made up of many individuals just like you and me.



Well - not all exactly alike.  Whether you are female



or male,



young



young(ish)



or old,



brightly dresses to show your green credentials



wearing your badge proudly on your forehead



or hidden in a drab outfit and wearing camoflage paint



you came along.  Whatever your ethic background











and whether you're happy to be there



or worried that the air may not be clean, but along never the less.



Whether you maintain a sense of humour in spite of the seriousness of the issue



or not



whether you were self-propelled



or not





and whether you watched the march after the speeches



or walked with them in extended protest - in the crowd



in small groups



or larger ones.



Whichever of those you identify with - you were there. Thank you. You have added your voice and I hope (and I know for the most part) that you will continue to add your voice and act too. You didn't come out for a "jolly" - you came out because you care. The "jolly" crowd were put off by the rain (it wasn't sunny); the "jolly" crowd were put off by the cold (it was not June) and the jolly crowd were put off by the logistics and cautions.  Those who came did so in spite of rain, cold, and warnings.

I'm proud to have been there



and I'm proud to have met good friends there


 
and seen many people I don't know all supporting the same cause



Overall impression?  What a fantastic display by ordinary people from all walks of life, backgrounds and ages saying "we care".  We don't necessarily all subsrcibe to every single idea that was there on a poster or even tannoyed out by all the various speakers. But we do know this is something that needs to be highlighted and taken forward, and with urgency. 

What was missing from the day?  There was no trouble. There was no litter.  There were no bad tempers - just good humour.  A restoration of faith in the ordinary human being.

Bringing up the rear of the procession - four horsemen of the apocalypse Avon and Somerset Police ...



.. who wrote


A "thank you" from me too - to the police for being there (with little to do), the ambulace services, the organisers, and all the individual too.

 
It is depressing how much hostility is directed at a 17 year old who is trying to do something for a better future. If the criticism came from those who were actually doing something meaningful themselves then it might carry some weight,  but it seems to be mostly those defending the status quo and expecting others to do something first.

 

I agree, and yes I AM doing something.
I do not drive nor fly, I very seldom replace anything unless it is worn out or no longer functional.
I minimise my use of fossil fuels.

 

I agree re: the hostility, there's no justification for that, however I think that there is genuine concern from a lot of people that a vulnerable, partly educated child is being transported around the World and presented as some sort of Messiah - she is raising awareness, and that's great, but that's all, and I wonder what the long term effect on her may be?

Boyan Slat is probably someone you've never heard of - I hadn't until recently - he's not a media star, and has virtually no profile - but at 16, younger that Greta is now, he'd designed an ocean clean up system and now, just a few years later, heads up a worldwide business using advanced technology to rid the world's oceans of plastic, without causing any economic destruction. Give him a Google, he deserves it.

Two admirable young people - one a worldwide media star, one completely under the radar - one talking, the other providing solutions and doing - I wonder which is having a more tangible and meaningful effect?

 

A good question.

In among that crowd in Bristol on that wet Friday, who knows how many new Boyan Slats or Anders Holch Povlsens were inspired to act? There's more than enough to do! And we can all play our part: some to inspire, some to innovate, some to spend their vast fortunes and others to drop their widow's mite into a tin.

 

Brilliant photos, grahame!

 
I've most certainly heard of Boyan Slat, and would agree that the work he is doing is terrific.  I'd suggest that more impressive than the ocean clean up work being trialled is the development and roll out of interceptors to stop the wretched stuff getting into the oceans in the first place.  Have a look at his videos on twitter if you're interested in finding out more.

So I've also made the comparison in my own mind between the two, along the lines you're thinking. But do I think Greta's intervention is misguided or irrelevant? No I don't. Anyone that can mobilise world opinion and have the wit to get one over Trump in the process has to be a good thing, regardless of whether a muddy green is damaged in the process.  I only hope she is more successful than her mother's Eurovision entry, which I think deserved better than its placing back in 2009. In fact, I think she already has been.

I also noted the difference between Harry "I'll take the train but book out a full first class carriage when travelling to a sustainable travel event" and Greta "no thanks, I'm quite happy in standard" when offered an upgrade.

 
As noted elsewhere, many schools – including my son's – were closed on Friday. In fact, my son said he and his friends saw several of their teachers there! Should parents be fined for not sending their children to another school that day, or maybe taking the day off and home educating them?

 

I suspect an element of common sense comes into the equation, in that it's unlikely a parent would be fined for failing to ensure that their child attends a school which is closed?

 
That was kind of the point...

 
Greta has announced she has succumbed to the virus.

 

I wish her a speedy recovery. As a side issue, I reckon that the Bristol appearance was long ago for there to be no need to trace everyone who was there.

 
She has fully recovered it seems:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52024753

 

Blimey, that was quick! I think I'll eat rollmop herrings and meatballs with lingonberry sauce until this thing has passed.

 
She is a Vegan..

 

I somehow doubt that such an enormous operation would in any case have taken place based on one child who hadn't been tested having "announced" that she had some corona virus symptoms. The authorities are rather busy at the moment.

Given the tens of thousands who attended, they are far more likely to have infected each other given their behaviour and close proximity. It's to be hoped that not too many have done so.

 
Just the herrings then, or have I got this wrong?

 

You have got it wrong. Vegan - no fish either - or - for that matter dairy. 

 

For a vegan, erring on the side of caution when choosing one's food at all times is probably wise.

 
For a vegan, herring on the side is always wrong!

These last few posts are making me want to read Astrid Lindgren books...

 

I had in mind a Swedish movie, if my wife will let me.

 

And now a massage from the Swedish Prime Minister

 
Meanwhile down the way at the chemist shop !..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6IBiR9m3vY

 

  …….how DARE you!

 
Hard to believe it was only a year ago that Greta Thunberg visited Bristol. A combination of large crowds and persistent rain led to the Green turning into a brown quagmire, and that in turn led to a crowdfunder to repair the damage.

Here is an update:

 
Is this what she got here gold Blue Peter badge for!

 
A year ago today - Bristol to show my support for the need to be aware of climate change, and make changes ourselves to put out the fire of our planet burning over the next decades. Support was 'overwhelming' - you can see Greta Thunberg (or part of her) - she's the one with her left arm to the right of the Council flagpole, and her right arm to the left, in yellow. More obvious, from all the photos being taken, is just how much others wanted this event to be unforgettable too.



We may have had a torrid year and Coronavirus may have pushed Climate Change a little down the agenda but we need to get back to it and rebuild with climate in mind.  Not just for ourselves but for the next generations too





So good to see such a wide cross-section of society out in peace that day, and unified in our desire - each perhaps in our own little part - to drive the agenda forward.   And that inspire of the pouring rain which would have turned a less significant day into a washout.

 

So "family choice" bargain meat flavour balls should be OK then.

(Have just purchased some bargain meat balls, as they were very cheap and I thought that my cat would enjoy them. He refused to touch them)

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254831220274?hash=item3b551fd632:g:cYMAAOSwF65f-2sY
Here is one, only £90-00 for 240 watts.
Well under 50 pence a watt !
At that sort of price, a single solar panel can compare very favourably with a large battery or a petrol generator for outdoor events.
In bright but obscured daylight I would expect about 50 watts.
In dull daylight about 25 watts.

And looking further afield, ONE such module will light a rural school and community building in Ghana. Two such modules will power a couple of laptop PCs and a vaccine refrigerator in addition to lighting.
Four will provide many modern conveniences including lighting, a large fridge freezer, several computers, power tools, and a deep well pump.