Of Trees and Activism

FarceBook

I recently deactivated my FarceBook account. It may stay that way although I'll probably re-activate it to publicise this, which is sort a replacement FarceBook. FarceBook had become too toxic, especially in the face of local issues about which I feel strongly. I have been called a 'tosser', a 'first world climate trasher' and worse because of my feelings on Climate Activism, Just Stop Oil et al. Local issues, the proposed felling of a tree, kind of brought all this to a head, so here I am. FarceBook demands quick responses. It's easy to get quickly angered by peoples responses. Arguments rarely get seen through to their conclusion and points are rarely answered. Here are all my points. In one long diatribe.

The Tree

The town I live in is divided by a river. Most of the shops, pubs and restaurants are south of the river. I live north of the river. There's also a hospital north of the river. We have one very old bridge and next to no functioning public transport. If you want to get south of the river you either walk or, if you need to move anything, drive. Most people drive. Whether or not they should is not my beef. I walk when I can.

The problems started because the bridge, or rather the walkway which was added to the bridge in the 1950s, is in serious need of repair. In order to facilitate that repair and maintain pedestrian access, the council proposed installing a temporary footbridge next to the main one. Now, whatever the rights and wrongs of that proposal, nobody took much notice when it was published nearly 6 months ago. I had a look and thought 'Well, not great, but OK'. What is certain is the nobody raised any serious concerns. It is entirely possible there are major issues - there are certainly questions around choice of contractors and some of the advice the council took - but that's not my gripe as of now. It is too late for complaints. The walkway is now in urgent need of repair. The council proposal is the only one we've got. The problem, the thing that's causing all the trouble, is that the proposal involves chopping down a rather lovely old oak tree. 

Protests and Anger

The is where it all gets messy. Suddenly realising (months too late) that an old tree was in danger, environmental activists swung into action. They started firing off petitions left right and centre, flooding FarceBook, feeding misleading stories to the media and generally causing trouble. We had the Red Rebels, whatever they are called, dancing round the tree, we have activists shipping in from all over. We have petitions calling for temporary lights to maintain pedestrian access. Anyone who's lived here any length of time knows that temporary lights on the bridge cause chaos. My quiet residential street becomes a rat-run. I fear for my cats and my wife's asthma gets much much worse. If the protestors get their way, we have temporary lights for 3 to 6 months. Those protesting mostly don't live here or live south of the river so will be largely unaffected. That's not on. Now, as part of the proposal the council intend planting a large number of trees to offset the loss of the oak. Every argument ends with the protestors throwing lots of figures around about why an old tree is better. That was never in dispute. As it stands losing the tree is the least worst option. I am ignoring the proposal made by one of the protestors way after all this started. It may be good, it probably isn't, but it's simply too late. In any case, why should the council invest time and energy assessing something proposed by someone who isn't a civil engineer, an architect, a project manager or a town planner? The likelihood of said proposal being anything but garbage is low. Architecture is (or was, my sister is a highly respected architect) a 7 year degree. So is Civil Engineering. Of course, the self-assessed expert is demanding an explanation as to why their proposal was rejected. Errrr. Where do I start? Actually, I'm not ignoring it completely. It annoys me intently. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

So, where are we now? We have activists camped under the tree. The tree must go before the bird nesting season or the footbridge cannot be installed. If the footbridge isn't installed we get temporary lights. I haven't done the maths, but I'm pretty sure the pollution from stationary traffic far outweighs the benefit of leaving the old oak, especially when the mitigating actions are considered. The council are refusing to remove the protestors and won't cut the tree down until they go. I don't believe they'll go voluntarily. The majority of the town want the tree gone and the protestors gone, but that doesn't matter to the protestors. Friendships are being destroyed. The town is at war.

Activism and Arrogance

All this leads to more general issues around the climate crisis and the actions of the likes of XR and Just Stop Oil, 2 organisations for which I have nothing but contempt, 2 organisations I believe do more harm when it comes to addressing climate change than a Tory in a private jet! You see, I believe you should never negatively affect anyone else any more than absolutely necessary. They believe their cause is so important it entitles them to do whatever they want. They believe, at least it seems, that it is ok to disrupt peoples lives in the name of their cause. It isn't. Attacking commuter trains or hanging yourselves off motorway bridges is moronic at best. They forget a good number of the population remain climate change sceptics. All they do is turn people against their cause. It's an environmental disaster. They don't see that they do not have the right to preach. They have become, or soon will become, the fascists. Change, good lasting change, requires consent. Consent cannot be forced. It must be gained through intelligent reasonable discussion. Simply calling people 'First World Climate Trashers' only serves to antagonise people. Intelligent debate has proven impossible with every single climate activist I've crossed. 

I am not a climate change denier, quite the opposite, but issues must be tackled sensibly without destroying peoples way of life. I for one will not be plunged back into the dark ages. Just Stop Oil isn't going to happen. Use less oil, certainly, but none? Do one! I love my car and my motorcycle. I will not give them up. EVs are not a solution and come with a host of other environmental issues, but that's for a different rant. Asides from anything else, scrapping an ICE vehicle and buying an EV benefits capitalism, and extreme unregulated capitalism is the root of the problem. Maybe if we stopped having questionable wars for a start? Wholesale veganism isn't going to happen. Stop banging on about it. We are meant to eat meat. Can you imagine the English countryside without cows and sheep? I believe, and I've done considerable research, wholesale veganism would be an ecological disaster. Absolutely, significantly reduced meat consumption, stop raising cattle on grain, but no meat?! Demonising flying isn't a good idea either. Certainly, we should fly less, a lot less, but demonising ordinary people for wanting to escape their shitty day to day existence by getting on a plane to the sun is yet another example of self-righteous arrogance displayed by often relatively wealthy XR activists. I have family in Australia. I have a job and limited holiday. I cannot and will not go by boat, as one entitled moron suggested I should.

Anyway, over and out. Better than ranting on FarceBook I hope

The Tree is Away

It seems at last, that our beloved council have finally decided to push on. This, of course, has brought the self-appointed guardians of the tree out in force, or should that be farce? Posters have appeared proclaiming that traffic lights are immortal or some such nonsense. The tent count has increased from half to three or four. We now have activists from Sheffield organising runs up. Unbelievable. I supported the Sheffield tree campaign - the actions of Sheffield City Council were disgusting - but this is an entirely different issue. Why can they not differentiate? Can they not see they lose all respect?

So, as of today, 7th February, the tree is gone, or going, I could hear chainsaws and a friend told me it was going. The protestors excelled themselves, one taking a swipe at a security guard. He was extremely restrained. I hope she is arrested and at least cautioned. 

A Lesson for All?

I find myself asking "what has this all been for?" I'm certainly not gloating, but I am massively relieved. The protestors have achieved nothing. Nada. Zilch. They are now victim blaming, playing the poor defenceless innocent, claiming the woman who carried out the assault was attacked first. Nothing could be further from the truth. They have whipped up anger and resentment. They have held the whole town to ransom. But they still don't get it. These are the people who view themselves as peace-loving, probably left wing. Can't they see the staggering hypocrisy? No wonder the right call us the fascists! I simply cannot understand the mentality that says it's OK to threaten peoples daily lives, to inflict your view, your refusal to accept a reasonable compromise, on the rest of the population, less still when you are utterly unaffected by the consequences of your aims. They were on the receiving end of some heated verbal exchanges. And too bloody right! They still carried on! I cannot believe they didn't know the town was almost entirely against them. Their environmental arguments for saving the tree simply didn't stand up to reasonable scrutiny. The inability to adopt a sense of proportionality is staggering. I can only rationalise it as an almost insane emotional attachment to a tree, an attachment that allows them to inflict misery on all and sundry. If this had been Sheffield, I'd have been right with them. If we were talking about deforestation ditto. It wasn't and they've done nothing but tarnish the already soiled image of environmental activism. 

Pragmatism is a good word. I have used it many times in this debate. The Guardians of the Tree should look it up. Consent is another good word. Democracy, flawed as it is, remains important and should be taken note of. Brexit has ruined my retirement plans but I haven't chained myself to the entrance of the Channel Tunnel and stopped everyone else using it....

I'm all for free speech and the right to protest - something severely curtailed thanks in no small part to the bonkers actions of Just Stop Oil et al - but pick your targets and your time wisely. Do Not, as I learnt as a Junior CND Activist, attack those you need to support you. And when a proposal is published, have a bloody look eh? Don't wait until it starts happening to get uppity!