'Extinction Rebellion' - Day 3 Bristol (Pic Heavy)

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Day three of the 'Extinction rebellion' in Bristol turned a corner according to the city's Mayor, Marlon Adams ... he explained that the demonstrators had broken the 'Memorandum of Understanding' in leaving the assigned area for demonstartion and blocking the main artery into the city, the M32 motorway.
From around 7am to 4pm, protesters fixed themselves to a pink bath in the centre of the junction allowing traffic to enter into the city, they used superglue to glue themselves to the road and the bath and some protesters used metal tubes to lock themselves together, through the bath.

Police eventually turned up in force and began the slow process of arresting demonstrators, some of whom were de-arrested once moved out of the centre of the road, eventally allowing police to cut and de-glue the final group of demonstrators from the bath and road. Estimates from the Police and Crime Commissioner of the cost to the city of the protest so far was given at around £300,000.

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

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Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr
 
So they cost tax payers 300K and achieved nothing. Nice one.

Good pics, really quality I think.

Thanks, though I really missed my D850.
I guess the protesters would argue that they did achieve something ... after bringing chaos to Bristol for most of the day, stopping people getting to work & appointments at the main city hospital and having one man ring in to the radio station to say that he had been unable to be with his father dying in hospital, due to the traffic chaos.

Interestingly the first arrest wasn't of a protester but rather was of an irate cyclist who broke through their 'eco-banner' shouting abuse at the demonstrators!


Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr
 
Good pictures of these anarchist brutes.
Anarchists? Probably. Brutes? Mostly not. Misguided and for the most part gullible? Oh yes.

The pictures tell it all. Good work Gramps! :plus1:
 
Great pictures there. It seems that this is creating work for lots of people, really good to see 'Legal observers' and ' arrest watchers' hard at it.
 
Great pictures there. It seems that this is creating work for lots of people, really good to see 'Legal observers' and ' arrest watchers' hard at it.
Certainly taking up a lot of people’s time!
Thanks for commenting, it was an interesting alternative to my wildlife photography.
 
Don't sit on the fence Steve! :D
:LOL:

Interesting set Roger (y) As you say, its a long way from your "Usual" Wildlife"

A couple or so things spring to mind though, It make you wonder What is the copper in #5 expecting? carrying a riot shield and ear defenders?
Did the cars /trucks that were caught up in the blockade leave their engines running?
( in the form of their own protest at people all over the road :D )
And are they all local lads and lasses, or did they travel to get there ;)
 
:LOL:

Interesting set Roger (y) As you say, its a long way from your "Usual" Wildlife"

A couple or so things spring to mind though, It make you wonder What is the copper in #5 expecting? carrying a riot shield and ear defenders?
Did the cars /trucks that were caught up in the blockade leave their engines running?
( in the form of their own protest at people all over the road :D )
And are they all local lads and lasses, or did they travel to get there ;)
Hahaha, now you are talking sense there, it'll never catch on!
 
:LOL:

Interesting set Roger (y) As you say, its a long way from your "Usual" Wildlife"

A couple or so things spring to mind though, It make you wonder What is the copper in #5 expecting? carrying a riot shield and ear defenders?
Did the cars /trucks that were caught up in the blockade leave their engines running?
( in the form of their own protest at people all over the road :D )
And are they all local lads and lasses, or did they travel to get there ;)

Good points Chris ...
I didn't stay until the end point, when the protesters were removed from the bath but I suspect that the ear defenders were to be used by police & protesters when the grinder was used to cut through the metal pipes and maybe the riot shield for protection from sparks??

Engines were mainly left running and many commuters etc were quick to point out the negative pollution effect of the protest in this regard.
The protesters allowed limited progress through one through road, they made cardboard signs numbered 1-7 and held them up in front of the traffic, as a countdown. signalling how many minutes they had to wait before being allowed to proceed ... the road was blocked for 7 minutes and re-opened for 2 minutes, repeatedly.


Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

There were a few 'locals' but many were from further afield, I spoke to several from nearby Stroud in Gloucestershire and others from Totnes in Devon and parts of Cornwall ... interestingly not one that I spoke to had any confidence that their actions would stop their envisaged global extinction.

Just heard on the news that none of the 16 people who were arrested and appeared before the magistrates this morning were local people.
 
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Just heard on the news that none of the 16 people who were arrested and appeared before the magistrates this morning were local people.
Thanks for the additional background info Roger (y)
Don't get me wrong I have no problem with protests, especially when they are peaceful, and people truly have the "courage of their convictions" (y)
But I sometimes wonder if they (any) are thought through quite as well as they could / should be.
 
Great set of shots here :)

I wonder how different the air pollution level has been to average here in Bristol during this past week??

Thanks for commenting. :)
I wondered about the pollution levels too ... certainly they would have been higher on the M32 on Wednesday.
Many folk seemed to appreciate the traffic-free environment around the top of Baldwin Street (bit like the old Mayor's traffic-free Saturday once a month) but the congestion must have created more pollution than normal I would think.
 
Thanks for commenting. :)
I wondered about the pollution levels too ... certainly they would have been higher on the M32 on Wednesday.
Many folk seemed to appreciate the traffic-free environment around the top of Baldwin Street (bit like the old Mayor's traffic-free Saturday once a month) but the congestion must have created more pollution than normal I would think.
I’m sure people do appreciate traffic free environments. The problem is our alternative commuting / transport arrangements in this country are rubbish. I doubt many people drive around just for fun. I admit I do, but I could live without that if it was for the greater good and not just a political statement. Thee are loads of things to consider in the environmental issue. And vehicles are a very small art of it.
 
I’m sure people do appreciate traffic free environments. The problem is our alternative commuting / transport arrangements in this country are rubbish. I doubt many people drive around just for fun. I admit I do, but I could live without that if it was for the greater good and not just a political statement. Thee are loads of things to consider in the environmental issue. And vehicles are a very small art of it.

It's only since I retired that I have used the bus, it is convenient to me now as I am more flexible with time and locations, however I still mainly use my car as it will take me more directly to where I want to go.
In a city like Bristol, traffic pollution is a serious problem, in the warm weather it gets worse as the pollution seems to stay low and makes the problem even worse.
Things that pollute the planet need to become socially unacceptable ... a bit like smoking now is but it's hard to see how that will work with something like traffic pollution, anyone for electric vehicles?
 
It's only since I retired that I have used the bus, it is convenient to me now as I am more flexible with time and locations, however I still mainly use my car as it will take me more directly to where I want to go.
In a city like Bristol, traffic pollution is a serious problem, in the warm weather it gets worse as the pollution seems to stay low and makes the problem even worse.
Things that pollute the planet need to become socially unacceptable ... a bit like smoking now is but it's hard to see how that will work with something like traffic pollution, anyone for electric vehicles?
Hmmm electric vehicles... now then, how do we get the lithium for the batteries? How do we charge the said batteries? (electricity isn't free) How environmentally friendly is it to continue to produce new vehicles compared to running the existing vehicles? What do we do with he batteries once they are depleted?

I could go on, but i won't. :)
 
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Hmmm electric vehicles... now then, how do we get the lithium for the batteries? How do we charge the said batteries? (electricity isn't free) How environmentally friendly is it to continue to produce new vehicles compared to running the existing vehicles? What do we do with he batteries once they are depleted?

I could go on, but i won't. :)

Exactly true, for every solution there is a problem!
 
Good pictures, I took a few myself at the London one but didn't post them online. Didn't feel like it tbh. I have mixed feelings about this group, I appreciate their cause but not sure they are achieving anything other than annoying people and using up valuable policing resources.
 
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Thanks for the additional background info Roger (y)
Don't get me wrong I have no problem with protests, especially when they are peaceful, and people truly have the "courage of their convictions" (y)
But I sometimes wonder if they (any) are thought through quite as well as they could / should be.

Is this thread the place for me to mention my unique and well known solution to deal with this situation ;)
 
Isn't that called rioting? ;)

I prefer the phrase "robust response".

Off topic but look at the protesters - lots of man made fibers in the clothing they wear (and the synthetic materials in the backpacks they have) - and presumably clothing etc that's come in by air. It's the double standards that gets me.
 
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I prefer the phrase "robust response".

Off topic but look at the protesters - lots of man made fibers in the clothing they wear - and presumably clothing etc that's come in by air. It's the double standards that gets me.
In any such cause where the issue spans across many areas and walks of life it's not possible to be perfect yourself. Who was the celeb that flew in to support it in London? Lol :D

That doesn't really take anything away from the cause and we should be doing what's possible to reduce our carbon footprint but that doesn't mean going all Tarzan ;)

But I don't think getting violent or making a mess will help it either. Not really sure how to approach this but it's an issue that needs to be seriously considered. Unless of course you think climate change isn't real.
 
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In any such cause where the issue spans across many areas and walks of life it's not possible to be perfect yourself. Who was the celeb that flew in to support it in London? Lol :D

That doesn't really take anything away from the cause and we should be doing what's possible to reduce our carbon footprint but that doesn't mean going all Tarzan ;)

But I don't think getting violent or making a mess will help it either. Not really sure how to approach this but it's an issue that needs to be seriously considered. Unless of course you think climate change isn't real.

I’m pretty sure the climate would be pretty much the same whether we were here or not. Nature’s a powerful force in itself.

What I do acknowledge is the pollution we cause - but it won’t change the weather.

If these ER people really cared about CO2 - they’d be blockading the rain forest in Brazil which is being cut back at a rapid rate not causing a traffic jam in Bristol.
 
Have a browse if you are interested in electric vehicles there's only 95 pages debating the good the bad and anything else remotely connected :D
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...uld-have-long-hard-think-about-diesel.648283/
I opted out of OOF a while back but I'm guessing that somewhere in there somebody must have mentioned the Governments prior encouragement to switch to diesel?
Good pictures, I took a few myself at the London one but didn't post them online. Didn't feel like it tbh. I have mixed feelings about this group, I appreciate their cause but not sure they are achieving anything other than annoying people and using up valuable policing resources.
Thanks, I do like photographing such events but rarely get the opportunity living so far from London!
I too have mixed feelings about them ... I am sure some are just there for the fun of it and not one I spoke to thought they would achieve their goal. Personally I think that we should do all we can to clean up and preserve the environment but in my heart I see this as just another cause for people of certain age groups/social strata.
Nothing like that at all. A much more robust approach to these anarchists. A level of policing and law enforcement that this country has never seen is a clue ;)
A good many Bristolians had the same view ... it appeared that the protesters were being protected whilst the citizens were being targeted.
I saw a number of motorists getting berated by the police for e.g. getting too close to the protester's banners when they were forced to stop.
When some were arrested (almost 3/4 of the 40 total) they were carried a short distance, carefully settled down and de-arrested, some returning to the protest location again, like this woman, who went back to where she was removed from and was allowed to sit in front of the police cordon around the protesters who had fixed themselves to the bath ...


Extinction Rebellion - Day 3
by Roger, on Flickr

The police seemed to fall into two camps, those who sympathised with the protesters cause and were quite light-hearted about it, "I just think of the overtime" said one, whilst others were clearly seething at the situation they were in and their apparent impotence to act, (just look at the face of the officer 2nd from left in the above ... I spoke to him and he was not happy!).
 
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I opted out of OOF a while back but I'm guessing that somewhere in there somebody must have mentioned the Governments prior encouragement to switch to diesel?
Yep that's what started the tirade Roger :D
 
I’ve always thought that if you want to persuade others to agree with you it is better not to start by annoying them.

:tumbleweed:
 
I’ve always thought that if you want to persuade others to agree with you it is better not to start by annoying them.

:tumbleweed:

Not annoying people would not get any media coverage!

We've got about 20 years left, what with plastic and CO2 poisoning the world. Get ready for it...

Anyway, this is probably for Hot Topics, rather than a photographic thread.
 
Great pictures of the protest (y)

There was a good documentary about Extinction Rebellion on the BBC - basically a modern day 'Cult' of misguided youngsters run by a hippy eco warrior. The Organisation should be made illegal and all assets/funding seized from them by the Courts.

Whether you believe in climate change or not this is a group who are costing the Country a small fortune.
 
Not annoying people would not get any media coverage!

We've got about 20 years left, what with plastic and CO2 poisoning the world. Get ready for it...

Anyway, this is probably for Hot Topics, rather than a photographic thread.

This is a small group of people 'hell bent' on their five minutes of fame and breaking the law/upsetting the establishment.

If they really cared about pollution, rather than protesting in the UK who are the developed world's leaders on emissions they would protest in China - see what reception and human rights they would get there!
 
Anyway, this is probably for Hot Topics, rather than a photographic thread.
Quite possibly but with apologies to Gramps 2 shots to illustrate what I think is an important point...

At five to nine this morning:

Sony A65 8GB UnNumbered DSC02897.JPG

...then twenty minutes later and less than 4 miles away:

Sony A65 8GB UnNumbered DSC02909.JPG

The weather is always changing and the overall climate of the planet is also always changing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_periods_and_events_in_climate_history Neither the theory that we have caused major change in either nor the theory that we can cause major change in either seems convincing as yet.
 
Neither the theory that we have caused major change in either nor the theory that we can cause major change in either seems convincing as yet.

Because it isn't -it is a load of complete and utter balls.

It's been debunked several times with lunatics like Al Gore telling us London and NYC would be under water in 20yrs time - well that time has passed - and they're not - at all.

It's been banded around since the 1970's this CO2 global warming horse s*** and only "the Donald" has had the courage of convictions and forethought to withdraw from the farce that is the Paris accord. The funniest ones are these Di Caprio, Markle and Clunie types who fly about in Private jets yet harp on about us not doing our bit for the environment. Surely they wouldn't use fossil fuels if they were so bad for the environment - they'd back up what they say with their actions which as far as I can see is to release copious amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere by flying a private plane at any frivolous opportunity to do so.

Pollution exists - air quality matters - depletion of natural resources matter - and these do matter very much so - but not driving petrol cars won't make one jot of difference to the climate. We should make energy sustainable, including using bio fuels - because gas and oil will run out - but not because a 16yr old kid from Sweden thinks it's going to help the weather.
 
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