Essay by Eric Worrall
Plummeting left wing concern about Covid has sadly brought the climate protestors back onto the streets of Australian cities.
‘Get a real job’: NSW deputy premier lashes out at Blockade Australia protesters
Ten arrested as direct action group starts week of ‘disruption’ to ‘resist climate destruction’ as NSW police pledge crackdown
Australian Associated Press
Mon 27 Jun 2022 18.49 AESTThe New South Wales deputy premier has told climate change protesters to “go and get a real job” after police made 10 arrests across Sydney.
Blockade Australia protesters were among a group of 50 to 60 activists who converged on Hyde Park about 8am on Monday, before marching towards the harbour, chanting, playing drums, with some pulling down signs, dragging wheelie bins onto the road and blocking intersections.
One of those arrested was a 22-year-old woman who allegedly locked herself to the steering wheel of her car and blocked the harbour tunnel.
Blockade Australia live-streamed a video of the car as it blocked all citybound lanes of traffic for about an hour.
Deputy premier Paul Toole said the protesters had no concern for the public and had spent the morning throwing milk crates, garbage bins and other rubbish throughout the city centre.
“I would say this to the protesters: Go and get a real job,” he said.
“Go and talk to somebody who’s actually been delayed in getting to work today.”
…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/27/blockade-australia-protest-activists-march-through-sydney-after-closing-harbour-tunnel
This would all be a lot more satisfying if Paul Toole, who told protestors to “get a real job”, was not himself an outspoken net zero supporter.
Paul Toole has frequently spoken about the need for ambitious emissions reduction.
The question is, does Toole mean what he says, when he claims to support net zero?
If climate activists were satisfied with the pace of progress, and the sincerity of political assurances they were receiving, they wouldn’t be protesting.
The bipartisan embrace of net zero in my opinion deprived Aussie politicians of any authority to push back against climate fanatics. It is unreasonable to go around telling people you agree there is a climate emergency, then jeer at them when they complain about the lack of progress.
It is genuinely within the power of Aussie politicians to act on global CO2 emissions. Australia’s domestic CO2 emissions are trivial, but Australia is a major exporter of coal and natural gas – around 200 million tons of coal every year, equivalent to 700+ million tons of CO2 emissions.
Given annual global anthropogenic CO2 emissions of around 36 billion tons, a simple suspension of Aussie coal exports would lead to an immediate 2% drop in global emissions, at least until coal consumers found new suppliers – easier said than done in today’s insanely tight coal market.
If Deputy Premier Paul Toole wanted to make a substantial and immediate impact on global CO2 emissions, he could do it overnight, by banning the export of coal from New South Wales, or through introducing impossibly expensive environmental rules. Similarly, Australian federal politicians could do likewise for the whole of Australia.
Obviously banning fossil fuel exports would be catastrophic for Australia’s public finances, and would cause major disruption to the economies of our South East Asian neighbours. But if politicians truly believe we are in the midst of a climate emergency, they should not be worried about trivialities like economic ruin and infuriated trade partners.
Our climate hypocrite politicians have chosen not to do the one thing which is in their power to do, which would have a noticeable impact on global anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
I understand the anger of the climate protestors, even though I think their cause is a joke. I would be angry too, if I thought there was a serious problem, and politicians agreed there is a serious problem, then displayed their apparent contempt and insincerity by jerking me around, dragging their feet addressing the problem which they publicly state they agree is serious.
The one thing I detest more than a climate activist politician, is a fake climate activist politician, who displays their contempt for voters by pretending to support climate action for short term political gain.
Political dishonesty is a fundamental debauchment of democracy. Our votes, the entire process of voting, only has value if politicians mostly keep faith with their supporters, and try to keep their promises.
I want to make it clear; I’m not accusing Paul Toole of dishonesty. But I can certainly understand why the climate activists he jeers at might arrive at that point of view, and why they appear to be losing faith in the democratic process.
via Watts Up With That?
June 29, 2022
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