Do you have sympathy with the Just Stop Oil protesters?

So should we Just Stop Oil? Well being realistic it’s just not possible right now. If we did the world would lose over 80% of its energy supply. Fossil fuels are responsible for many of the products we use each day, from toothpaste to mobiles, to credit cards. As of now, there are few viable alternatives for these products. We absolutely should be investing in clean, alternative energy, but we’re simply not at a place to just stop using fossil fuels at this moment in time.

Electric cars are becoming more common place and I imagine their popularity will increase when prices start to come down further. But you could ask are electric cars saving the planet? Most manufacturers like Tesla for instance will tell you yes and they say ‘None of our scrapped lithium-ion batteries go to landfilling, and 100% are recycled.’ That may well be true but you know that somewhere, somehow this won’t be true. Lithium-ion batteries contain metals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese, which are toxic and can contaminate water supplies and ecosystems if they leak out of landfills.

The problem for Just Stop Oil is how to protest and not turn public opinion against them. They would see it that the more disruption they cause the more people are talking about it. Like I am right now. But whilst these protests are deemed peaceful, I am starting to see the public turning against them. The slow road marches in particular aren’t very popular stopping people getting to work, school or even medical emergencies. Also the sporting events protests are becoming tiring.

How do I get tickets?

What I want to know is where they get their tickets from? The Ashes, Wimbledon, The Derby and even the World Snooker Championships aren’t easy tickets to get hold of. I am currently trying to get 3 tickets for the Community Shield if they could send me their source, I would be grateful. By getting those tickets they have also denied a genuine customer or supporter from buying them.

Going orange

Any DIY store that has someone coming in and asking for orange powdered paint should immediately alert the authorities. No one in their right mind is going to be painting anything orange. Except of course if you’re in charge of paintwork at Easyjet, Tango, Orange the phone network or you’re the man from Del Monte.

The one I thought was particularly bad was the lady who threw orange confetti at George Osborne and his bride Thea Rogers. Why try to ruin somebody’s wedding day? Imagine if that was your son or daughters wedding, i for one would be furious. The lady in question was called Shirley Crabtree apparently. Now the more mature ones amongst us remember Shirley Crabtree was also known as Big Daddy who used to wrestle people such as Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki. That used to be a staple watch on Saturday afternoons on World of Sport. She is no relation I’m told.

No more 80km speed limit

One of the first acts of the new Government here in Mallorca is to get rid of the 80kmh speed limit on the Via de Cintura. The previous incumbents said it was brought in to reduce noise and pollution. Which was utter rubbish on both fronts as the amount of time spent stuck in traffic and not moving created more pollution. And anyone who rents or buys a property near a motorway will surely realise they’ll be noise?

Now let’s face it most of us are all hypocrites in this. We drive petrol or diesel cars and fly off around the World on aeroplanes. I have to be honest and say I am more aware of pollution now than I was previously and I will try and do my bit. If ever you want to find out more about saving our island in particular then I recommend you talk to Brad Robertson from Save the Med Foundation here in Mallorca. You’ll not find a man more passionate about marine conservation and plastic pollution than him.

There are of course some more high profile hypocrites. A leading member of the Just Stop Oil eco-protest group is sitting on an estimated £1 million pension pot from Shell. Yes you couldn’t make it up, retired Dr Grahame Buss, 68, worked as a Principal Scientist for the gas and energy giant for 33 years but now appears as a spokesman for the climate campaign. I’ve tried but failed to find any record of him saying he’d be willing to give up his pension for the cause.

Someone who is no stranger to hypocrisy is Prince Harry who flew via private jet from London to Palmero and was then taken in a helicopter to Verdura for a Google climate change conference, where he gave a speech on environmentalism.

The record temperatures around the world are a stark reminder of what we face. I’ll leave you with a quote from Lee Evans the comedian who said. ‘The Chinese are bellowing out crap from coal fired power stations, the Americans are all driving around in 4x4’s and Las Vegas is lit up like a Christmas tree every night but the authorities are asking me to turn off the stand by button on my TV!

Take care everybody and enjoy your weekend!