Tangled Metal wrote:The media does seem to show more ordinary types than the typical environment activist. Makes a change and perhaps that's a sign of a positive change to the environmental protest. Climate change has become more accepted and a higher priority issue for the wider population. That's positive IMHO, if it's left to the traditional types you see then it's not a good way to get this change.
BTW I remember the old days of road building protests in Lancashire, not too far from where I lived at the time. The infamous Swampy character seemed to be the look of such protests.
Not very wise to judge an issue and associated protests by what some of the protestors look like, especially when their "look" is portrayed by the newspap organs of fear & loathing. What are the merits and demerits of the issue-perspectives; and of the protestors and their opponents? Often the opponents can become far more thuggish and nasty than any dressed-as-an-anarchist protestor-lad. Often the issue is one that's going to seriously affect us too, even if we can't be bothered to notice or do anything about it ourselves because it's "uncomfortable"
My own response to climate change is an attempt to do a bit about it as far as I can whilst also serving my own and entirely selfish economic interests. I managed to find and buy a house with ground source heating and solar panels, so the on-going carbon footprint is zero. DItto a different car, mostly run on electric rather than diesel so far less polluting and CO2-emitting than the previous diesel car. The running costs are far less than the traditional modes of house and car.
So it's possible to do this albeit not easy by any means. What are you willing to spend your money on? How long-term (and how widely) do you think about your spending and it's costs/benefits?
Many these days can't seem to get out of the mindset that everything must be judged by it's short term cash value. "The protest delays me getting to work and I've lost 3 hours pay". Such thinking is, I feel, a reflection of the shallow nature of our modern lives, with the snap-snap-snap of a cartoon scene change every few seconds. Few think beyond the next few days - at best.
Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
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