Extinction Rebellion transport disruption from 17/04/2019

[JonathanH]

Also consider trying to become pescatarian

Almost certainly not a good idea - eating an increased amount of fish is unlikely to be sustainable. Already fish is being transported around the planet - it is not a green option.

 

[TRAX]

Petrol golfs have the badge, trim and accents in red. (link for image)
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/105734/new-volkswagen-golf-gti-tcr-2019-review

The Golf GTD models used to have black trims and badges, but along with the R are now silver or match the body colour or no markings at all to keep the fact that they are diesels more discreet.

no. The red accents and badges are only for the GTI models, which are sport-oriented. Classic petrol VW engines are TSI and TFSI, and these don’t have any badge and accent colours.

GTD is the diesel equivalent of GTI. No badge and accent colours, a diesel sport-oriented version of the range. The classic diesel VW engines are TDI.

Also, do keep in mind that when you order your car, you can ask for it to be badge-less.

 

[bb21]

I'm not sure the discussion about badges are really relevant to the central topic on this thread any more. Can we please remain on topic?

 

[Starmill]

In any case, global warming and talk of vegetarianism are themselves distractions from the real issue, which is over-population.

The facts don't support this view - the world isn't overpopulated or likely to become so. But please created a new thread to discuss that.

 

[Starmill]

Almost certainly not a good idea - eating an increased amount of fish is unlikely to be sustainable.

I agree completely. However, it might be a useful stepping stone for people who look at advice to become vegetarian and see it as an unachievably high bar.

 

[Bantamzen]

I would not stop eating meat, but have made changes. Venison has replaced beef for me. Its cheap locally, cheaper than beef and being wild is effectively low carbon. In most forms, fresh venison is very close to beef but much healthier for you.

I also dilute meat with pulses. beans, mushrooms and more veg.

I treat meat, especially a roast joint or steak as a treat as it always used to be and still is in most countries and not as a daily staple.

Back when I was growing up, mixing veg, beans etc with what meat we could afford was a common practice. For those born in Liverpool as I was, the word "Scouse" has more than one meaning, with one being a stew made up of all the bits not eaten on Sunday, topped up with more veg to make it go further. To this day, this kind of stew is a staple that we can chuck practically anything into, and stops an awful lot of waste, and with a little bit of herb & spice creativity can be blumming gorgeous!

We, as a nation, used to be far more able to make a little go a long way. I'm not suggesting we revert to 1970's or earlier styles of meals, but things like knowing when food is about to turn, & what you can use it for before it does seems to be something of a lost art, and why we as a nation throw an appalling third of the food we buy away, sometimes without even taking it out of the packaging. There's some pretty big footprint savings to be made here, and not just in carbon!

 

[yorksrob]

I've now transitioned back to having baked beans/tinned spaghettii on toast, without the little sausages.

 

[reddragon]

Back when I was growing up, mixing veg, beans etc with what meat we could afford was a common practice. For those born in Liverpool as I was, the word "Scouse" has more than one meaning, with one being a stew made up of all the bits not eaten on Sunday, topped up with more veg to make it go further. To this day, this kind of stew is a staple that we can chuck practically anything into, and stops an awful lot of waste, and with a little bit of herb & spice creativity can be blumming gorgeous!

We, as a nation, used to be far more able to make a little go a long way. I'm not suggesting we revert to 1970's or earlier styles of meals, but things like knowing when food is about to turn, & what you can use it for before it does seems to be something of a lost art, and why we as a nation throw an appalling third of the food we buy away, sometimes without even taking it out of the packaging. There's some pretty big footprint savings to be made here, and not just in carbon!

Ah but now those dull stews or use up meals have a whole range of spices that you can add nowadays. I replaced my mum's OXO cubes with Indian spices, so much better and in the slow cooker during the day can run off solar even on a dull wet day.

Funny but my wastage is minimal. Usually a fruit gone mouldy early. Bread goes in the freezer for toasting, veg in the use up pot. Leftovers go in a glass lunchbox for packed lunches!

 

[Bantamzen]

Ah but now those dull stews or use up meals have a whole range of spices that you can add nowadays. I replaced my mum's OXO cubes with Indian spices, so much better and in the slow cooker during the day can run off solar even on a dull wet day.

Oh believe me, there are no dull stews in Bantamzen Towers, we have a whole range of herbs and spices to make sure of that. But taking an old, but simple practice of using everything can be so easily applied today. Its just that we as a nation have forgotten how to.

Funny but my wastage is minimal. Usually a fruit gone mouldy early. Bread goes in the freezer for toasting, veg in the use up pot. Leftovers go in a glass lunchbox for packed lunches!

The same here, we throw practically nothing away & if anything looks like it is on the turn it will get used in something & frozen, usually for my work lunches. And I take bread one step further, my local Co-op has certain times of the day when they drastically reduce the price of fresh bread, and yours truly is on hand to snap some up to freeze! However in my defence, I am in Yorkshire....

 

[reddragon]

The same here, we throw practically nothing away & if anything looks like it is on the turn it will get used in something & frozen, usually for my work lunches. And I take bread one step further, my local Co-op has certain times of the day when they drastically reduce the price of fresh bread, and yours truly is on hand to snap some up to freeze! However in my defence, I am in Yorkshire....

My local coop ended that practice a while ago, so not an option. Apparently it now goes to food banks!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The thread title talks of Extinction Rebellion transport disruption.

Surely some of the recently posted off-topic threads seem far removed from this.

 

[reddragon]

As if I timely reminder based on fact was required to respond to a number of posters blaming China.

It seems (shock horror) that the UK is the worst G7 country when it comes to exporting its CO2 emissions and making the situation worse by importing the production displaced at a much higher gross CO2 creation rate!!

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...importer-of-co2-emissions-per-capita-says-ons

Britain has contributed to the global climate emergency by outsourcing its carbon emissions to developing nations, according to official figures, despite managing to weaken the domestic link between fossil fuels and economic growth.

The Office for National Statistics said the UK had become the biggest net importer of carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the G7 group of wealthy nations – outstripping the US and Japan – as a result of buying goods manufactured abroad.

The ONS warned that Britain had increased its net imports of CO2 emissions per capita from 1.7 tonnes in 1992 to 5.1 tonnes in 2007, offsetting domestic progress on shifting the UK economy away from fossil fuels.

XR have announced that their next transport disruption will be of Christmas shopping by targeting key shopping streets such as Oxford Street in the run up to Christmas (mostly selling imports from China & India of course!!)

 

[Temple Meads]

Looks like it might be easier for reddragon to work out which vehicles they can let out of side roads soon...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50122268

Drivers of electric cars across the UK may soon be using special green number plates under new plans.

The aim is to make it possible for local authorities to allow zero-emission vehicles to benefit from incentives such as cheaper parking.

The government hopes it will boost electric car sales, helping it achieve its 2050 target of net zero emissions.

But Friends of the Earth said without better financial incentives and more charging points, little would change.

The government is asking industry and the public for their views on how to implement the scheme.

"As the UK moves at pace towards net zero emissions, the initiative aims to raise awareness of the increasing number of zero tailpipe emission vehicles on UK roads," said the Department for Transport (DfT).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The mind boggles when trying to picture the physical look of imported or exported carbon dioxide emissions. What method of packaging is used and are there special containers in which to transport them on their journey. How are these emissions weighed prior to transportation? What colours of these carbon dioxide emissions are used, which would facilitate the packaging of them?

Perhaps Hogwarts has an offered course that I might attend where such matters can be explained.....

 

[AndrewE]

The mind boggles when trying to picture the physical look of imported or exported carbon dioxide emissions. What method of packaging is used and are there special containers in which to transport them on their journey. How are these emissions weighed prior to transportation? What colours of these carbon dioxide emissions are used, which would facilitate the packaging of them?

Perhaps Hogwarts has an offered course that I might attend where such matters can be explained.....

Would you have as much difficulty understanding the import of virtual water then?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_water explains

Virtual water trade (also known as trade in embedded or embodied water) refers to the hidden flow of water if food or other commodities are traded from one place to another.
[It] refers to the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, so is virtual water. When a country imports one tonne of wheat instead of producing it domestically, it is saving about 1,300 cubic meters of real indigenous water. If this country is water-scarce, the water that is 'saved' can be used towards other ends. If the exporting country is water-scarce, however, it has exported 1,300 cubic meters of virtual water since the real water used to grow the wheat will no longer be available for other purposes. This has obvious strategic implications for countries that are water-constrained such as those found in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) area.

 

[Esker-pades]

Looks like it might be easier for reddragon to work out which vehicles they can let out of side roads soon...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50122268

I find this sort of thing very good. As a rule, I prefer giving people incentives to do one thing, not ban them from doing the other. Obviously, this on its own will do sod all, but coupled with more radical action it should make things better.

 

[reddragon]

I find this sort of thing very good. As a rule, I prefer giving people incentives to do one thing, not ban them from doing the other. Obviously, this on its own will do sod all, but coupled with more radical action it should make things better.

I already get FREE parking, charging, car tax, ULEZ & Congestion charge plus can use some bus lanes

Looking forwards to more EV only roads & lanes

 

[edwin_m]

EVs lessen but don't solve the problems of road traffic. There are still the effects of congestion, environmental downsides of vehicle manufacture and particulates from tyres. And if the government keeps throwing incentives at them then they'll find their tax base disappears along with fossil-fuel vehicles, and it will be politically very difficult to reverse course and start taxing EVs to pay for the considerable remaining costs attributable to car use.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Looks like it might be easier for reddragon to work out which vehicles they can let out of side roads soon...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50122268

I thought that we're trying to make the electric car look more normal?

 

[reddragon]

EVs lessen but don't solve the problems of road traffic. There are still the effects of congestion, environmental downsides of vehicle manufacture and particulates from tyres. And if the government keeps throwing incentives at them then they'll find their tax base disappears along with fossil-fuel vehicles, and it will be politically very difficult to reverse course and start taxing EVs to pay for the considerable remaining costs attributable to car use.

They remove the cost related to air pollution caused by burning diesel or Petrol which is considerable, mostly eliminate brake dust but do not reduce tyre particles.

EVs already reducing car ownership as they are very suited to car clubs like zip-car where you rent a car as and when needed via an app. EVs make this possible with dedicated charging bays and minimal maintenance. It is estimated that you could remove 75% of private cars in cities, releasing a lot of road space and car parks for other uses.

Taxation for their use will require a whole set of new taxing options as you cannot tax sunlight as it stands!!

 

[Kite159]

EVs lessen but don't solve the problems of road traffic. There are still the effects of congestion, environmental downsides of vehicle manufacture and particulates from tyres. And if the government keeps throwing incentives at them then they'll find their tax base disappears along with fossil-fuel vehicles, and it will be politically very difficult to reverse course and start taxing EVs to pay for the considerable remaining costs attributable to car use.

Plus the environmental cost of mining for the metals used in the batteries, and the cost of recycling said batteries when they reach the end of their life

But don't worry everybody, green number plates will make everything better, it will allow the rich to show off that they have the money to buy big electric 4x4s to show off on the school run.

But agreed, as soon as tax revenue from fuel sales starts decreasing or vehicle tax revenues decrease, oh look EVs will start having to pay. Like the change made a couple years ago which got rid of the cheaper rates (i.e £0 a year for a small petrol producing less than 99g), or suddenly electric cars will have to pay for congestion tax, maybe at a reduced rate.

 

[bb21]

Following staff team discussion, this thread is locked as the core topic of the thread is no longer applicable.

If specific travel disruption information comes to light regarding specific future actions, please do so in a suitable thread of its own.