Climate protests in Bristol

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Prejudice.

An honest answer, and not one that's easy to argue with.

The other day I stopped on my bicycle as close as I could get to one of the wind turbines of the Avonmouth Wind Farm. I was interested to see and hear for myself, because I too am prejudiced: wind turbines, particularly onshore ones, have always struck me as a good idea.

These turbines are largish at 126m to the tip, and between the four of them have a forecast annual output of just over 20GWh - peanuts compared with Hinkley C (which incidentally I will be visiting next week) but enough to power a few thousand homes.

So they're hard to miss, though in the context of Avonmouth you'd have to have an eccentric aesthetic sense to object to them. As to the noise: there was an intermittent stream of traffic on the road I was stopped by, and it was windy(!). The turbines were turning at a fair old clip, with the wind coming towards me and... there were times when I was almost confident that I could hear them; sort of like the sound of an airliner at cruise height maybe 10km away.

So there you are. I've tried to understand the objections, but I've failed.

In Avonmouth, carry on by all means. The constant drone from the M5 traffic has probably removed all sensitivity in the area. I must ask someone I know if it is ever quiet.

Being less glib than my earlier answer suggests, wind farms are the least green of the green kit, but with the most noise made to support them. It's partly this greenwashing that makes me less endeared to them, but mainly the the effect they have on other more pleasant places, to the detriment of the residents whose views are ultimately ignored. That, and the degree of self-interest by those who decide policy. I have found over the years that diesel isn't as clean as it was once thought to be, and that nothing is ever as good as it seems from a distance.

[Red Squirrel]

...wind farms are the least green of the green kit...

I am really, genuinely interested to understand this assertion - I am not beyond having my mind changed, despite my self-confessed prejudice.

[eightonedee]

I've messed with Co-operative Retail Services before, and come to regret it.

Never mind dealing with them from outside, the internal wrangles and problems of the cooperative movement have been byzantine - see -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Co-operative_Group for a summary, which does not go into the details of such chapters as the failure of the South Suburban Co-op. 

[broadgage]

XR^▸ (Crossrail) have blockaded road access to the Valero oil refinery, Pembroke dock.
It remains to be seen what effect this will have.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil

[Bmblbzzz]

Effect on oil price would be negligible compared to the bombing of the Saudi refinery and shipment port, surely.

[GBM]

Wondering if the thread title ought to be changed, as we're entering autumn, and the protests look like going on for a few years (or more).
School and people protests today around the world as well as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

[Red Squirrel]

Wondering if the thread title ought to be changed, as we're entering autumn, and the protests look like going on for a few years (or more).
School and people protests today around the world as well as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

I've changed the title of this thread to 'Climate protests in Bristol' - today's (20/9/19) protest, for example, is primarily linked with the school strike movement rather than XR^▸ (Crossrail). I have also changed the title of the London thread to Climate protests in London, for consistency.

[Red Squirrel]

I've moved the debate about the rights and wrongs of storing petrol here: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=22213.0

[broadgage]

HMG have recently released a statement advising people to stock up on candles, battery torches and radios etc.
The risks of supply disruptions are noted.
Does not specifically mention climate protestors or any other group.

We now have two wars in or near oil and gas producing regions.
Extreme weather events are increasingly severe and more frequent.
Foreign powers are reportedly increasing cyber attacks on energy and other infrastructure.

Society is becoming more vulnerable to blackouts.

Lack of telephone and internet service could have serious consequences.


https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/05/britons-should-stock-up-on-torches-and-candles-in-case-of-power-cuts-says-oliver-dowden#:~:text=People%20should%20stock%20up%20on,deputy%20prime%20minister%20reportedly%20said.

[IndustryInsider]

HMG have recently released a statement advising people to stock up on candles, battery torches and radios etc.
The risks of supply disruptions are noted.
Does not specifically mention climate protestors or any other group.

Yes, very sensible to have modest supplies of all of them.  As it is to minimise alcohol consumption, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, look after mental health etc.

Not sure why you chose to post it in a Bristol climate protest thread though?

[TaplowGreen]

HMG have recently released a statement advising people to stock up on candles, battery torches and radios etc.
The risks of supply disruptions are noted.
Does not specifically mention climate protestors or any other group.

Yes, very sensible to have modest supplies of all of them.  As it is to minimise alcohol consumption, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, look after mental health etc.

Not sure why you chose to post it in a Bristol climate protest thread though?

Any "Port" in a storm? 

[TonyK]

I've charged the car up, just in case. We should be OK today, because it's windy. When it gets like last week, where we had practically no wind for 3 days, things could be a bit trickier, especially as we'll be burning a lot more gas to keep homes warm. Thankfully, we still have a bit of coal left for the few remaining power stations.

The perils of our energy policy over the past three decades are apparent. Let's hope we don't make more of the same mistakes, and especially don't build in reliance on other countries to the same extent.

If push comes to shove, I'll go back to bed until it's all over.

[broadgage]

Yes, very sensible to have modest supplies of all of them.  As it is to minimise alcohol consumption, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, look after mental health etc.

Not sure why you chose to post it in a Bristol climate protest thread though?

Despite the thread title, we had diverged somewhat onto more general climate protests. Any future large scale protests could result in fuel shortage, or other dislocation.
Therefore this thread seemed a proper place to quote the government advice.
 

[IndustryInsider]

Perhaps the three title can be changed then?