Emma Thompson did more damage to their cause than anything else by appearing at the Climate Change demonstrations
I totally understand why, as humans, we need to take responsibility for the environment around us. It's commendable that so many young people care, and commendable that they feel so empowered to do something about it. But, and it's a big but, they are going about it the wrong way. Right now all that is happening is that they are alienating people. A cause is better fought with most people on your side, and this hasn't happened here. Demonstrating wont work.
What they need to do is start at the top, with David Attenborough of course. He is already doing a fabulous job of educating us, and quite frankly shocking us. What he hasn't been able to do is change the attitude of most people fast enough. Everyone nods and nods and nods. 'Yes we need to change but actually I do my bit. It's the big companies that need to change. It's the supermarkets that need to change. We are already doing our bit.' Okay maybe you are, but that doesn't mean it's enough. There needs to be a radical overhaul in attitude and education, right from the start, right in the schools. We cannot undo the past, but we can make the future. I've always said that future generations will look back at the past fifty years or so and wonder how none of us saw it coming? Actually I don't think anyone did see the damage that would be done to the climate when they invented fridges, for example, that used CFC gases. Progress is always happening, and no one can turn round and say that they didn't like the advantage of having a fridge when they became available. It radically changed the way people lived. The storage of food in fridges meant we could keep degradable items for longer and stop them decaying. Bacteria became containable and yes, science progressed. Think of all those laboratories using fridges and freezers.
So what we need now is inventors, educators and inspirational young people. Not demonstrators. You need to strike at the source, and the only way to make people listen is to find something that you can change for the better. Right now there are scientists and inventors looking at the way we live, and the way we can change to protect our environment. But we are not all suddenly going to stop using diesel cars, or aeroplanes. Which brings me back to Emma Thompson. She flew, using a plane, from America to England to join the demonstration. Yes, she used an aeroplane! Her excuse was that she had to do so to get back fast to support the demonstrators. Apparently she doesn't use aeroplanes as much as she used to do, but does now and again. Sorry Emma, but if you felt that passionate about something like that you could have used a boat! It's like saying you're a vegan because you do not support the use of animals for food, but sometimes you just have to have a bacon sandwich.
Be committed to the cause, do not make people laugh at your cause! Your cause will falter and fail when they do so.
Back to the protestors. By disrupting people's lives they hope to make a statement that we need to change our lives before we destroy the climate that enables us to survive. Please, please, can I ask someone sensible, somewhere, to look at another way to make this more positive. Get your education instead, and change the world. Demonstrating may change it for a short time, but to make a real impact there needs to be longevity to that change. I'm afraid it may be too late for my generation, and maybe the one following, but the future can be really positive if you tread carefully. I get frustrated with the fact any change isn't happening fast enough, and it all comes down to viable means and money, sadly. I work in a supermarket, and while most of them stopped selling plastic straws most of them still sell plastic cutlery, plates and cups. Think about your barbecue items? Paper plates? They are not all recyclable. Simple things like that, and yet we all happily buy them as the sun comes out. The mindset needs to change.
So I still think it comes down to education, starting in schools. Start at an early age too. Build the coming generations, and inspire them. We may not be able to change society fast enough, but we can still change the future mindset. We can inspire and rebuild our environment. The earth is a very forgiving planet. It is able to repair itself, and so I feel quite positive about the future. So, to anyone thinking about joining those demonstrations, don't bother. Get yourself the means to reach people in an educated way. Get clever. Invent something that will change the world. Become a teacher. Teach people. There are better ways than alienating people.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs10grc.html
http://www.technologystudent.com/despro_flsh/ozone1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181102-what-can-i-do-about-climate-change
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