Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Extinction Rebellion has finally responded to repeated accusations of climate hypocrisy – by blaming “the system” for their personal carbon excesses.
Dear journalists who have called us hypocrites,
You’re right.
We live high carbon lives and the industries that we are part of have huge carbon footprints. Like you – and everyone else – we are stuck in this fossil-fuel economy and without systemic change, our lifestyles will keep on causing climate and ecological harm.
There is, however, a more urgent story that our profiles and platforms can draw attention to.
Life on earth is dying. We are living in the midst of the 6th mass extinction. For those who still doubt the severity of our situation, here is the International Monetary Fund on 10th October 2019 :
“Global warming causes major damage to the global economy and the natural world and engenders risks of catastrophic and irreversible outcomes”
And here is Sir David Attenborough on 3rd December 2018 :
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change. If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”
Climate change is happening faster and more furiously than was predicted; millions of people are suffering, leaving their homes and arriving on our borders as refugees.
Alongside these people who are already paying the price for our fossil fuelled economy, there are millions of children – called to action by Greta Thunberg – who are begging us, the people with power and influence, to stand up and fight for their already devastated future.
We cannot ignore their call. Even if by answering them we put ourselves in your firing line.
The stories that you write calling us climate hypocrites will not silence us.
The media exists to tell the public the truth. Right now there has never been a more urgent need for you to educate yourselves on the CEE (Climate and Ecological Emergency) and to use your voices to reach new audiences with the truth.
We invite all people with platforms and profiles to join us and move beyond fear, to use your voices fearlessly to amplify the real story.
Thousands of ordinary people are risking their freedom by taking part in non-violent civil disobedience. We’ve been inspired by their courage to speak out and join them. We beg you to do the same.With love,
Riz Ahmed (actor), Simon Amstell (comedien), Mel B – Spice Girls (musician), Matt Berry (actor), Melanie Blatt – All Saints (musician), Baroness Rosie Boycott, Rory Bremner (comedien), Tom Burke (actor), David Byrne – Talking Heads (musician), Peter Capaldi (actor), Jake Chapman (artist), Mary Charteris (model / musician/ DJ), Grace Chatto – Clean Bandit (musician), Adam Clayton – U2 (musician), Jarvis Cocker (musician), Lily Cole (actor & model), Steve Coogan (actor), Laura Crane (pro surfer & model), Alfonso Cuaron (director), Benedict Cumberbatch (actor), Stephen Daldry (director), Poppy Delevingne (actor / model), Jeremy Deller (artist), Emily Eavis (Glastonbury Festival), Katy England (fashion stylist), Brian Eno (musician), Paapa Essiedu (actor), Livia Firth (Eco Age – founder), Jerome Flynn (actor), Stephen Frears (director), Bella Freud (designer), Sonia Friedman OBE (producer), Neil Gaiman (writer), Bob Geldof (musician and campaigner), Aileen Getty (activist and philanthropist), Simon Green – Bonobo (musician), Natalie Imbruglia (singer), Helena Kennedy QC, Idris Khan OBE (artist), Vanessa Kirby (actor), Nan Goldin (artist), Antony Gormley (artist), Jack and Finn Harries (film-makers and influencers), MJ Harper (dancer), Paul and Phil Hartnoll – Orbital (musicians), Lena Headly (actor), Imogen Heap (musician), Dr. Pam Hogg (fashion designer), Jon Hopkins (musician), Nick Hornby (writer), Julietthe Larthe (producer), Jude Law (actor), Howard and Guy Lawrence – Disclosure (musicians), Daisy Lowe (model), Phil Manzanera – Roxy Music (musician), Simon McBurney OBE (theatre maker), Ian McEwan (writer), Fernando Meirelles (director), Sienna Miller (actor), George Monbiot (journalist), David Morrissey (actor), Sir Michael and Lady Clare Morpurgo (writer), Sophie Muller (director), Robert Del Naja – Massive Attack (musician), Andrea (Andi) Oliver (TV chef), Chris Packham (conservationist), Amanda Palmer (musician), Cornelia Ann Parker OBE (artist), Bill Paterson (actor), Caius Pawson (Young Turks – Founder and XL Recordings – A&R Director), Grayson Perry (artist & broadcaster), Gilles Peterson (DJ & broadcaster), Yannis Philippakis and Edwin Congreave – Foals (musicians), Jason Pierce – Spiritualized (musician), Heydon Prowse (writer and director), Jonathan Pryce (actor), Gareth Pugh (designer), Sir Mark Rylance (actor), Nitin Sawney (musician), Tracey Seaward (film producer), Wilf Scolding (actor), Alison Steadman (actor), Juliet Stevenson (actor), Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi (Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, designers), Geoff Travis (Rough Trade, founder), Gavin Turk (artist), Mark Wallinger (artist), Ruby Wax (writer, performer and comedian), Rowan Williams (theologian), Jaime Winstone (actor), Ray Winstone (actor), Jeanette Winterstone (writer), Thom Yorke (musician), Dan Haggis, Matthew Murphy & Tord Øverland Knudsen – The Wombats (musicians), Deborah Curtis (artist), and Lady Clare Morpurgo, Geoff Jukes (music manager), Joe Murphy (playwright), David Lan (theatre writer and producer), Alice Aedy (photographer), Kate Fahy (actor), Fay Milton – Savages (musician), Johnny Flynn (actor and musician), William Rees – Mystery Jets (musician), Flora Starkey (floral artist), MJ Delaney (director), Brian Ogle (architect),James Suckling (fashion consultant), Miquita Oliver (presenter), A Fletcher Cowan (presenter), Eliza Caird (musician), Lee Sharrock (PR and curator), Joe Robertson (playwright), Olivia Calverley (TV producer), Tia Grazette (creative director), Sam Conniff (author and pirate), Stefan Bartlett (designer), Matt Lambert (artist), J. Doyne Farmer (Baillie Gifford Professor, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford), Carolyn Benson (Benson Studios Interior Design), Georgina Goodwin (broadcaster), Jon McClure – Reverend and the Makers (musician), Ruth Daniel (cultural producer), David Graeber (anthropologist and writer), George Hencken (film maker), Ebe Oke (musician), Evgeny Morozov (writer), Anthony Barnett, (Co-Founder, openDemocracy), Henry Porter (novelist), Warren Ellis – Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (musician), Jonathan Reekie (Somerset House, director), Theresa Boden (actor/writer), Nick Welsh (designer/producer), Louis Savage (A&R rep), Guy Standing (economist), Pippa Small MBE (designer), Peter Marston (designer), Richard Sennett OBE FBA, Clare Kenny (musician), Ginevra Elkann (director), John Reynolds (music producer), Laurence Bell (Domino Records, founder), Margy Fenwick (landscape gardener), Seb Rochford (musician), Nick Laird-Clowes (musician), Roman Krznaric (philosopher), Will McEwan (scientist), Beth Orton (musician), Dawn Starin (anthropologist), Charlotte Trench (actor and director), Jonathan Glazer (director), Iain Forsyth (artist), Jane Pollard (artist), Ian Rickson (director),Sam Lee (musician), David Lan – DL (producer and writer), Liz Jensen (author), Michael Pawlyn (architect), Simon Stephens (playwrite), Kobi Prempeh (curator), Steve Tompkins (architect), Annie Morris (artist), Conrad Shawcross (artist), Mira Calix (artist), Andy Holden (artist), Andrew O’Hagan (writer), David Lan – DL (producer and writer), Alison Brooks (architect), Prof Sadie Morgan (architect), Ackroyd & Harvey (Artists), Eva Wiseman (editor), Mark Wallinger (artist), Carson McCol (artist), Ivan Harbour (architect), Angharad Cooper (producer), Jem Finer (musician and artist), Rauol Martinez (writer and filmmaker), Francesca Martinez (comedien and writer), Glen Hansard (musician), Frances Stoner Saunders (writer), Geeta Dayal (writer), Amanda Levete (architect) Jack Penate (singer) and Ted Cullinan MBE RDI RA (architect)
What a beautiful piece of sophistry – climate activists including jetset celebrities are not responsible for their gigantic personal carbon footprints, its not their fault their private jets guzzle so much kerosene, because they’re trapped in the system.
Bunch of wankers.
The 1%, as usual need the 99% to bail them out.
After 9/11 was turned into a world terrorist crisis who were spied upon? Were the security authorities ever questioned or sacked?
Remember the economic crisis of 2008; who paid? Where the financial authorities ever questioned or sacked?
Next is the CO2 ‘crisis’, let the plebs live on fire wood with horse carts. The IPCC & co will keep on truck’n nor will they be questioned, as there will be crisis (which they created themselves).
Overwhelmingly, they are B-list celebs who have to include their claims to fame to be identified – and even then they are not much chop.
Besides, why should I listen to an artist or writer on any subject?
Blaming the system is what I would expect from opportunist anarchists. Anyone else?
The old ‘you made me do it’ line, ‘you bought my records!!!’. Anarchists? MOre like desperately ignorant.
Anyway, at least there are now, officially, more celebs who support CAGW than scientists.
Right now there has never been a more urgent need for you to educate yourselves on the CEE (Climate and Ecological Emergency)
So says: an artist, singer, play-write, film director, musician, designer, author, curator , TV producer …….
So 100% bunch of liberal artistic types who probably do not know the difference between an atom and a molecule are out to lecture us about “the truth”.
They would do well to follow their own advice:
there has never been a more urgent need for you to educate yourselves
Not to mention: Sam Conniff (author and pirate)
My bold.
Well, shiver me timbers.
I was going to ask what the Spice Girls thought, but then I see Mel B signed. All these climate scientists, like Jane Fonda, are like 97% sure.
Look, these are very important people. Some of them I have even heard of. I am sure everyone on this board would gladly give up their own carbon heavy lifestyle so our beloved celebs can carry on doing what they are doing, whatever that may be.
tonyb
Did you meet any of them on the Tube?
OK , so far we are in perfect agreement, let’s stop while we’re ahead.
No, please go ahead:
Give the list of the names to the airlines of the world. Declare those people as members of the “No-Tickets-Please”-Initiative, who strictly dont want to fly anymore. Because they are addicts, someone else has to keep them away from buying tickets.
Or they should wear a “Send-Me-Away” Sticker (with a crossed out airplane), so they could easily be identified as non-flyers at an airline counter.
At least they didn’t blame LBJ.
Reminiscent of the man who when viewing a series of ink blots reported seeing one vile image after another.
The psychologist had to stop and tell him he had never before treated someone with such a filthy mind.
“Me!?” exclaimed the patient, “Those are YOUR dirty pictures!”
Blaming others is the modus operandi of the left because indicting others is political power (according to their playbook). Accusation is the sine qua non of identity politics: 1) make social division by framing fake oppressor and victim classes, 2) identify with the victim, 2) accuse and condemn the oppressor (anyone who opposes their framing). Stupid, gullible people fall for it and vote the demons into office.
Devil would probably be a more accurate term. Devil derives from the Greek διάβολος (diabolos), which means to slander, accuse, defame. In most (all?) bibles the noun form is translated devil.
In the old Testament, the Devil is often referred to as the accuser.
While it is true that we live in a fossil fuel powered economy, it is also true that everyone has choices.
You can take the train instead of flying.
You can fly commercial instead of private jet.
You can drive around in a small car instead of a limo.
You can live in a small house rather than a mansion.
And that’s just off the top of my head.
They are hypocrites, not because someone forced them to be, but because they made the choice to not cut down where they could.
I don’t care if they live in a mansion…
Just turn off the f***ng lights in the rooms that you’re not using !
They could live like the Amish, but noooo…
I wonder how many of these artists had to pay to get on this list?
Cripes who are some of these people….
George Orwell: „All animals are equal , but some animals are more equal than the others“ (Animal Farm). The pigs were those „more equal“. Any questions?
Total hypocrites. But all those writers listed there and they still misspell comedian as comedien (Simon Amstell and Rory Bremner).
No, that’s the right spelling. It means ‘person [m.] similar to a comedian except more ROFL than LOL funny; failed comedian; substance, esp. unguent, tending to cause blackheads.’
No problem, as long as they don’t cause the heartbreak of psoriasis I can deal with a blackhead or two.
👌
Of course they don’t cause heartbreak, Pop. They’re comedogenic, not tragedogenic.
“Pop Piasa October 17, 2019 at 10:48 pm
…heartbreak of psoriasis…”
It truly is.
Look up The Singing Detective.
A very long list of morons! We need to bookmark this so we can heap prodigious amounts of ridicule on them when the time comes. There will be nowhere to hide.
Exactly what I was thinking!
Their statement is so full of BS propaganda, where to even begin? How can you even debate people who are so clueless?
Well, the Arts are certainly well represented in the list of people who ‘signed’ this bit of entertainment. I saw one person who claimed they were from Oxford and an architect. The rest are entertainers. So much credibility here… Not.
I saw one who claims to be a scientist but no specialisation, just generic.
Must have got his Jack of All Trades then gone on to do a Masters in None.
Or maybe a M.S in BS and a PhD in WTF?
Possibly, Dr Will McEwan — a neuroscientist at Cambridge.
https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?wmcewan
David Chappell
October 17, 2019 at 10:43 pm
Yes, it’s interesting isn’t it. How dare they lecture us on scientific matters!
Meh. It’s an emotional plea. Nothing to back it up. Nobody with even a shred of credentials to back up their claims. It’s an entertainment piece written by entertainers. But they seem to have forgotten on thing; opinions are like arseholes, everybody’s got one and they all stink. They need to stick to the entertainment business.
I like the fashion designer with a PhD.
Depends on your definition of ‘entertainer’ I suppose. Funny to see a former Spice Girl listed as a musician.
I don’t have a TV anymore so, I can’t comment much on what passes for entertainment and the performing entertainers. But, they list their occupations as singers, actors, producers, models, etc. so, I think it is a safe assumption they consider themselves entertainers.
Yet the same people will declare to those who disagree with them, that unless you have a degree in climate science you have no right to an opinion.
MarkW
My son tried that one on me the other day. He regretted it.
Where is the proof of observation behind the plea for monetary contribution?
I call BS here!
Your comment and others make this letter sound high-larious.
I wish I could enjoy it for myself but it’s outside the peer-reviewed scientific canon, making it physically unintelligible to me. Literature like this comes out as a solid field of grey on my monitor.
I’ve been there, ol’ boy
Every single one of them have very very high carbon foot prints, but I object to this;
Mel B – Spice Girls (musician)
Mel B a musician? Baby by Eddie Murphy now doing commercials for Jenny Craig (Dieting program).
Sir Mark Rylance, no surprise. U2, of course. But even Warren Ellis?
”Life on earth is dying. We are living in the midst of the 6th mass extinction.”
Where? Can anyone name one solitary organism which is dying or has become extinct due to the 1 degree rise over the last century? Is it a total waste of time asking these people such questions?
Solitary organisms tend to die unmourned and unnamed, so you’re asking the impossible. Ask for a social organism that’s died. Better yet, ask them for a show of hands who’s personally died at XR. Ten bucks says you could count on one hand the hands raised by rebels who’ve ever died, even once. They wouldn’t know death if He punched them in the face, dragged them to an abandoned lot and forced them to watch the one-death play he’s been shopping around off Broadway to no avail and give brutally honest notes.
I suppose the logic must be that since the diurnal temperature change is often into double figures, species must be going extinct on a daily basis.
What are the other “mass extinctions”?
The participants in the Jones Town cult went extinct….. which is where the Extinction Rebellion cult is headed.
I asked the same question here in Australia and someone pointed me to a few thousand fish that died in a choked river here in Australia.
Extinctions are bad m’kay!
A couple of years ago some German eco-chamber was atwitter with rumors that the corpses of “a few thousand pigs” had been spotted floating down an Aussie river. Turns out it was just a few sows and pigs. Gotta love accents.
They were a particular breed of pigs. They like rooting in a particular type of sand called “Thow”.
So it was a half dozen “thow sand” pigs & sows. I reckon…
“Zig Zag Wanderer October 18, 2019 at 12:10 am
They were a particular breed of pigs.”
Yeah, all located in the ACT, in Canberra, Australia.
“Yes, we climate activists, jet-set celebrities and fellow travellers are giant hypocrites but we don’t care at all and we are not responsible for our gigantic personal carbon footprints. So there! It’s not our fault, it’s the system. It’s your system, so it’s really YOUR fault! We will continue to harangue you unmercifully from our giant podium and make your life miserable so we all look better than we really are.”
Déjà puke. It’s Stephan “life has become an endless series of airline tickets” Lewandowsky all over again, rearing his ugly head around the S-bend.
Oh, but it’s not the Unflushable Lew’s fault. No. Never blame the Unflushable Lew!
Blame the cistern.
Maybe it is our fault. After all those ‘entertainers’ must have made their money from us plebs at some point. Still at least we know who they are now and can avoid their ‘work’ in future. Hit em where it hurts and they’ll just have to reduce their carbon footprint to something like the most of us have to do with.
I think that the iteration “extinction rebellion CELEBRITIES” sort of puts things into perspective for me.
These days celebrity is where you mine it.
Quit flying, quit driving, turn off their furnace, they actually have the power to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions…their bogeymen, the oil companies, won’t do that for them…government rationing in some form or other will…. but any sane government sees an unhappy end in for themselves in rationing…unless democracy is ditched for totalitarianism, and even then, who gets to set the CO2 thermostat and what should it be set at ?
They want US to do those things, not them.
This makes perfect sense!
All the signatories are from the Fine and Performing Arts. We have it all. Actors, musicians, producers, writers, and artists.
Sir David Attenborough spells out the plot for us:
The whole thing is one great big, huge theatrical production.
Of course they need actors, singers, artists, writers, and producers.
AKA professional liars.
As Clinton is reported to have said, Once you learn how to fake sincerity, the rest is easy.
They seem to be taking a bit of “artistic license” with the truth.
Unbelievable! Let’s just ignore the 500 scientists who are screaming ‘this is all BS’!
Unlike the signers of this petition, those scientists don’t have degrees in climate science. /sarc
There is a very simple way to free this bunch of clowntards from “the system” :
– just sweep them in the middle of the Amazon rainforest and bye-bye.
I’m ready to contribute – thanks to the money I earned within the system – to their last flying journey.
Ciao !
PS : they should not worry about the amazonian head hunters since they shrink only heads with something inside.
David Byrne – Talking Heads (musician)
Really, David. Did you not understand the lyrics you penned?
Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
And you may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?”
And you may tell yourself, “My God! What have I done?”
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was and look where my hand was
Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Letting the days go by, same as it ever was
Here a twister comes, here comes the twister
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by
Don’t know his worldviews, but I love his lyrics for sure. Very influential band.
Artists are more gulible than the population at large. Discuss.
This is one for Lewendowsky to apply his research to.
More relevant look at the lyrics for Nothing But Flowers
“Global warming causes major damage to the global economy and the natural world”
Not as much as global cooling, Bubba, just look at the dark ages.
Show me some hard evidence that a warming planet has been a detriment to humanity or the environment.
I dare you!
You and your facts.
Entertainers are about promoting fantasy-they’re actors. In some ways, it is no surprise that these purveyors of fantasy would continue their purveying of fantasy. Besides, if they do not tow the line of promoting the apocalyptic fantasy, they will be out of Hollywood in a flash- no more private jets for them. No more of the fruits of our energy based civilization. Back to being plebs.
Maybe it is time we hit them with a dose of reality. The first estates to be liquidated and redistributed to the masses should be those of the people on this list.
Watch how fast they change their “tunes”.
Millions of people suffering and leaving their homes because of climate change? How do they get away with pushing this utter nonsense? It’s demonstrably untrue, yet they peddle it time and again and nobody calls them on it.
Saint Greta showed us what to do. These celebrities have to start crossing the ocean on sail boats. If she can do it, they can. How dare they.
Someone propped-open the Asylum door and let these XR folks out.
I thought U2 and Bonehead wanted to feed the world? Shouldn’t they be championing GMOs and nuclear power to achieve this? How would XR’s plans feed anybody? Or maybe this is just to be seen to be all cool and woke and all that……
Well, mostly Ethiopia, and they did. Some of the money they raised is still working in Ethiopia. It’s a shame to see such great humanitarian effort be wasted on the climate change scam.
Worked well in Ethiopia, population’s quadrupled since Live Aid.
And they are building the biggest hydro dam in Africa controlling water down-flows in to both Nile rivers. My first wife was from Ethiopia and she lived through that time.
“With love”, quick get a bucket!
Umm. I suppose these nobodies are somebody in there own minds. Perhaps their publicists have been letting them down and they need a free pug. But I suppose it is “our” fault they have to fly hither and yon. After all someone (but not me in a fit) buys their artistry
PS that’s plug
Not many scientists and engineers in that list
And when they have the plebs back in huts again, they know they can game the system put in place to keep living like gods….
They claim there’s a “Climate and Ecological Emergency,” but don’t supply even a single shred of evidence to support their claim.
Go on celebs, name 10 species which humans have caused to become extinct inside the last 10 years, and provide hard evidence that it was humans that did it in each case.
For your encore, show hard evidence that proves beyond reasonable doubt that human use of fossil fuels is causing catastrophic climate change as you claim.
They’re suffering from an emergency all right, but it’s a mental health emergency.
Idiots believe whatever they want to believe, same as it ever was.
Seriously, this ‘movement’ (think bowel) has so many name changes, it’s actually changing faster than the climate itself.
I can’t keep up any longer!
What always turns my stomach is the idea that we should respect ‘celebrity’ opinion just as we should give money to charities because a ‘celebrity’ tells us to. WHY!!! – Sometimes capitals and multiple exclamation marks seem justified.
David Attenborough, the man who made millions traveling the world, then when he got old and tired decided its finally time to blame humans for the weather. Plastic is a massive cancerous problem, industrial pollution is very bad, clearing forests for meat is bad, but the weather is weather! Humans can not control the weather. All of those actors, singers, drive and fly, Mel B for example is all over the world doing adverts or other tv related work. Bono flys to africa to feed african children.
Benedict Cumberbatch Won’t be filming Doctor strange 2 then 😢 The amount of flying, driving, making flim sets and the thousands of crew members will use more co2 then I can ever use within a life time, yet for the millions of pounds he will be paid he will say, “its my duty to entertain” 😐
Cumberbatch could always try doing the medieval thing as a wandering troubadour. I doubt however that he would earn enough to pay to replace his shoes.
Oddly they are ‘trapped ‘ only in the sense that can chose to leave the system anytime they like , but do not want to do so because ?
Well often the because the reality of that they wish to impose on others is not something they want for themselves.
I think the tube commuters (aka The Silent Majority) made their feelings pretty clear yesterday, about how they viewed the interference into their lives by Extinction Rebellion…
(View on YouTube)
These hippies could use some education.
A passenger in economy class would have an individual fuel efficiency of about 80 mpg. Hard to beat even with a golf-cart.
Less densely seated elevated class passengers are have significantly worse figures due to the volume they’re entitled in the cabin.
However $ maths are different. Business & first class ticket prices sponsor cheaper economy seats. The more “they” fly, the more ordinary people can afford to fly.
The ‘Personalities’ signing say much about who they are pitching their acts at, for example, were he still with us its hard to imagine the late Bernard Manning signing ? 🙂
Well you asked for it.
https://youtu.be/ctnBotHv08w
Ooops! you wrote signing. Too apt a song for the bunch of clowns pockets that signed this so couldn’t resist 🙂
P.S. You will need ear bleach.
🙂 its worth remembering how popular Mr Manning was with the people who today would be on the rung below the XR idiots ? Looking back on it all one might be tempted to paraphrase Niemoeller by saying First they came for the Comedians.
Clearly, for those who do not share gods gift of being British, a youtube search on Bernard Manning will reveal the true blueness, and also source of his popularity back in the day. 🙂
He came to our local Working Men’s Club I frequented so ended up being dragged into it. I’d heard every one of his tired jokes and don’t remember even smiling let alone laughing.
They’ve all got to fly off to where they can fly…
https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/ayahuasca-addiction/#gref
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernanthe_iboga
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323689.php…..
just like Gail did [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Bradbrook]
Did they just say that they could feel superior to the plebs with a smaller carbon footprint if only our lives were more miserable except for the joy that they bring us?
Well, that makes it OK, then.
I notice a Mr Cumberbatch as a signatory. He has some credit in the UK for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.
I have a message for him: Dear Benedict. That you have been playing Sherlock does not mean you are Sherlock. Your appearance in that list of gullibles suggests rather the opposite. If I were you I’d get out of its faster than you could fall down the Reichenbach.
Who takes any notice of this bunch of scientifically-illiterate bunch of hypocrites? Nobody with an commonsense.
It’s great to see that they’re citing the world’s foremost climate expertise: The IMF, Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunber. 😉
Very astute observation there Dagfinn.
Cheers
Mike
Two things here first:
“Life on earth is dying. We are living in the midst of the 6th mass extinction. For those who still doubt the severity of our situation, here is the International Monetary Fund on 10th October 2019 ”
Since when has the IMF been a scientific organisation? It’s a financial organisation and therefore entirely unqualified to comment.
Second:
We may well be heading to the 6th mass extinction, but it’s not from a warming planet.
According to the UK Office for National Statistics, Excess winter deaths in the UK during 2017/2018 were 50,100. The lowest on record was in 2013/14 at 17,310.
However, the terrifying prospect of people dying during heat waves is quite staggering:
“According to the NDMA (India’s National Disaster Management Authority) heat waves in India have accounted for over 22,000 deaths since 1992. In 2015, 2,040 Indians died in shocking heatwaves. Recent years have seen declines, to 1,111 in 2016 and 222 in 2017.”
Yes, that’s two hundred and twenty two!
That’s strange, we are told a warming planet (which, the IPCC assures us, will occur predominantly in the Northern & Southern hemispheres, in winter, and at night) is a bad planet. Yet in 2017 the UK suffered 50,000 fatalities from cold (nor was it a particularly cold winter) and India, a country with immense poverty, ill equipped to deal with weather extremes, suffers 222 deaths from heat. Eliminate the poverty stricken from the 222 and we are probably left with a handful of people with access to decent housing and healthcare dying from heat, if that.
In 27 years India’s total fatalities from heat is only ~5,000 more than the lowest ever recorded UK deaths from cold in a single year.
A cold planet will kill far more people than a warm planet. Judging by these figures, around 250 times more!
You are of course welcome to verify these figures.
https://www.ons.gov.uk
https://ndma.gov.in/en/
And it’s even worse than that when you consider the fact that the UK population (approx. 66 Million) is much, much smaller than that of India (approx 1.3 Billion)
John
Good point.
It’s even worse for Australia with only 25 million. But you will hear Australia’s emissions per capita are the second highest in the world behind the USA and that makes us bad.
Notice how they’ve stopped quoting the IPCC, the “gold standard” of climate science. Quotations I’ve seen cite whispery voiced David Attenborough, the IMF and Figueres from the UN. Oh yeah, and now the luvvies from stage and screen. Disappointed to see Capaldi’s name there though.
And in response to my earlier comment which is awaiting moderation.
extinction rebellion are not interested in climate change, they believe they can enforce a new world order as expressed by one of it’s leaders Roger Hallam who has claimed that some will die in the effort (paraphrasing).
Well, Roger, you can take this to the bank, if my family is threatened by your insane activities, it won’t be them that’s dying.
Mod.
What happened to my earlier post? Nothing offensive in it as far as I’m aware.
Imagine the gall. They dump on everything they say they cre about and then their own conceitedness is still the fault of the rest of the world.
Sorry to see Ray Winstone’s name in this list of the benighted and fuddled, but fully expected Sir Mark “entitled Prat in the hat” Rylance.
If anybody finds a use for it, I converted the signers to a LibreOffice Calc file, which can be downloaded here:
https://owncloud.carl-fh.com/index.php/s/SSgvwnREfQZkmK9
It was a scripted process, so no guarantee that it is 10% correct.
Many thanks!
Auto
What an amazing list. 193 names by my count and only one scientist and one mathematician.
The role of Science is to establish that which is false.
Science has given Art a worldwide voice and the means to become very influential.
It is a pity that Art has not yet learnt how to be humble or to understand that belief is no substitute for knowledge.
The groups in order of size are: –
Musician/Singer 44
Actor 27
Artist 24
Author/Playwright/Writer 19
Director 11
Designer 9
Architect 8
Media/Broadcaster 8
Producer 8
Founder/Entrepreneur 6
Film/Photographer 5
Comedian 4
Fashion 3
Model 3
Activist 2
Anthropologist 2
Curator 2
Theatre 2
Conservationist 1
Economist 1
Mathematician 1
Philosopher 1
Scientist 1
Theologian 1
Is there a single name on that list that knows what it is talking about?
Scientifically they are most likely all below first graders, but this is about feel-good, fight for something socially popular and get into the limelight.
you forgot to mention:
Pirate 1
Nope. Sam Conniff is an author and pirate.
Shiver me timbers!
Yes. You only listed author you didn’t list pirate at all.
Argh, matey!
Was that listed on the star board side?
They lecture you and me, and they really believe they’ll be sitting on top when the fit hits the shan???? They truly are dumber than squid ink o a hot dog.
I’ll just leave this apt advice from Hiram Mann:
No man survives when freedom fails
The best men rot in filthy jails
And those who cried “Appease! Appease!”
Are hanged by those they sought to please.
Thanks, and have a nice peaceful weekend.
There are no sure things but death, taxes and the shackles that bind those who march willingly into submission to totalitarian rule. Snowflakes beware. Uncle Sugar turns to Auntie Acid once absolute rule is instituted.
It’s all about the struggle and there’s always ‘the system’ to struggle against in order to make the one true system. You deplorables just don’t know what it is yet but you’ll see when the one true Fearless Leader with the next Great Leap Forward emerges. With that lot there’s a certain inevitability about it and the one is definitely not among them yet. The smart money would be on Greta.
Oh well, then. That letter by all those scientific heavyweights convinced me.
(unnecessary /sarc)
Meanwhile at the protest camp..
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1188102/Extinction-Rebellion-protest-diesel-generator-London-camp-climate-change-environment
Ahh but it’s battery start so they’ve got us snookered
Try as as i might i couldn’t find Emma Thompson on the list – probably too expensive for XR.
Correct she is not on the list.
A Pointless Answer!
I’m disappointed (though not that surprised) that former Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, is on the list and greatly surprised that current Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker, isn’t.
All these actors/presenters/entertainers (luvvies) have a job to do.
Someone gives them a script, they read it.
If they like it enough, they then have to consider if their ego will be massaged by (in no particular order):
Praise from joe public?
Praise from luvvie pals ?
What they’ll get paid?
If it passes the test, they internalise the script, and present it.
Their craft is to make fiction believable, to make us the audience suspend our disbelief, for a while anyway.
Science, done properly, is the opposite as it involves NEVER suspending one’s disbelief.
No wonder these twits are so clueless.
We’re not in the midst of a 6th mass extinction…Because if we were, all of these climate measures would be pointless. Once it starts, nothing can stop it or even reverse it. It is a house of cards. It just collapses!
They can find all of this information in many places. Even the slightly climate hysterical Smithsonian is more rational on this subject.
So let’s bring that “logic” of the self-admitted hypocrites into the lab and dissect and analyze it, shall we? We find 1) That they do indeed have huge “carbon footprints”. 2) That “carbon footprints” have for years been a, if not the primary method of determining the level of guilt, both on a personal as well as national basis. Even their heroine, St. Greta recognizes this, and at least attempts to keep her footprint low by refusing to fly, for example. The fact that she mostly fails in her attempts is besides the point. 3) That if it’s “the system” that’s at fault for them, then the same is true for all individuals, and countries. 4) That this means that the entire concept of “carbon footprints” doesn’t matter one bit, after years of haranguing about it from their side, and is now dead.
Whew! What a relief! “Carbon footprints” are dead. Long live “carbon footprints”! Alas, poor carbon footprint, we knew ye well. But wait, isn’t there something called the ipeeseesee or something all hot and bothered by “carbon emissions”. Isn’t that what their next climate shebang in Chile this December is all about? Deciding who is emitting way more than their share and needs to reduce it immediately, as well as pay carbon reparations to “developing” countries, who can emit as much as they want (go figure)?
I am so pleased Ive never bought their cds or watched their films or gone their plays festivals or shows.
and I will continue not to do so to help them go broke and have to find real world employment.
They are stuck in a fossil fuel economy?
Haven’t these idiots ever heard of the Amish?
The sheer size and number of people employed by the entertainment industry is just another sign of our immense affluence. But Is there any industry on the planet that is less necessary and a bigger waste of carbon emissions than the entertainment industry?
They should be the first to be eliminated under a serious Green New Deal.
Dear gullible idiots,
We need your help. Some people are calling us a nasty name because we demonstrate contempt for you. We cannot tolerate the idea that people like you aspire to the same freedoms and privileges that we enjoy, so we fly around the world making our views known. But we are doing it so we can save the world from you. So please, we need to elevate the word “hypocrite” to a heroic badge of honor. So whenever you hear someone call us hypocrites, applaud and cheer loudly! Remember, we do it for your benefit, we are saving you from yourselves.
Yours Truly,
A bunch of self indulgent numpties.
Maybe the Catholic church should give this a try.
Dear journalists who have called us hypocrites,
You’re right.
We may live morally decadent lives and the faith communities that we are part of abuse children. Like you – and everyone else – we are stuck in this morally decadent world and without systemic change, our lifestyles will keep on causing moral and psychological harm.
There is, however, a more urgent story that our profiles and platforms can draw attention to.
Morality on earth is dying.
PS I’m not accusing the church of these activities, only pointing out how hilarious it would sound if they responded this way.
“The media exists to tell the public the truth. Right now there has never been a more urgent need for you to educate yourselves on the CEE (Climate and Ecological Emergency) and to use your voices to reach new audiences with the truth. ”
They ought to go sell their load of crap to big emitters like China and India. Oh, and what will all of this mean for the future of Botox?
Go back to California! Signed Joe Schmoe (plumber), Mary Worth (waitress), Johnny Manzel (unemployed) and a long list of others.
Dear journalists who have called us hypocrites,
You’re right.
No need to read any further, anything after that would simply be excuses.
that said, let’s take a look at some of their poorly thought out excuses.
Like you – and everyone else – we are stuck in this fossil-fuel economy and without systemic change, our lifestyles will keep on causing climate and ecological harm.
No you are not “stuck”, you can choose to live in a manner consistent with your expressed convictions or you can choose not to. You’ve chosen not to because if you did live in a manner consistent with your expressed convictions it would mean giving up (sacrificing) you fame, money, and comforts and actually work hard just to eke out a bare-sustenance living (exactly the lifestyle you want to impose on everyone else).
Life on earth is dying.
On the whole, no it’s not. While it can be said that every living creature is dying from the minute it’s born, on the whole there is more life on this earth right this moment than ever before. The world’s biomass has been steadily *increasing* over the past century and from all indications will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.
Ironically, the only thing that threatens to collapse our civilization is the actions you propose (IE the elimination of fossil fuels – you know, the cheap, reliable energy that our civilization was built upon and depends upon to thrive)
Many commenters have picked up on this but I will say it another way. The people on this list are not trapped by the system, they are trapped by their narcissistic exhibitionism. The truth; its all about them. If they hadn’t been handed the world-is-dying script, they would harp on something else. The problem really is THEM!
I’m trying to work out why this makes me so angry. I think it’s because of the sheer self importance of these worthless shallow people and their assumptions that to appear on telly or on the stage gives them the authority to ‘make a difference ‘ outside their specialism, the applause they receive as ‘performers’ having so inflated their egos that they can posture off-theatre on the world stage. In the wartime company of Richard Todd, David Niven, Audi Murphy even Douglas Fairbanks junior, etc etc this crowd of bedwetters would turn and run. Shameful.
Well, as in any form of therapy, admitting that you have a problem is the first step.
Now an intervention is necessary, where they all stop using cars, planes, trains, any transportation powered by fossil fuels, … stop using fossil-fuel-generated electricity and all products made using such electricity, stop all eating of meat, stop having children, and go live in boxes made of recycled garbage that they build themselves by hand.
There simply is no other cure for their hypocrisy. If this course of action does not cure them, then maybe it will wake them up to the reality that they are in the system, because the system is what got them where they are, and then maybe they might be inspired to research the reasons behind why the system, as they know it, is not as bad as they first thought.
Their hypocrisy is just a secondary symptom of their major illness, which is naive, psedo-science-reinforced idealism.
When people present bullshit, they should at least try to hide the smell.
This is a quote used to justify their extreme behaviour. They take it from a authoritative source even…..
“Global warming causes major damage to the global economy and the natural world and engenders risks of catastrophic and irreversible outcomes”
Bullshit. The global economy has never been stronger.
If your first justification is bullshit, why would I ever listen to a second?
In plain terms, you whine that it is ‘not your fault’ because you are “stuck in this fossil-fuel economy’.
Nothing simpler.
have your chauffeur drive you, or you can drive yourself, to the nearest large forest.
Get out of the vehicle and walk into the forest, divest yourself of everything made by fossil fuels; hint, that is everything, including all of your clothes.
Make a fire and burn them. Now you are living outside of the “fossil-fuel economy”.
Just like primitives before fossil fuels, you can expect a harsh short life.
Or, you can buy a farm; move to the farm then follow the directions starting with “divest yourself of everything made by fossil fuels”.
If you first purchase a mule, you might have a chance of planting an acre or two. Plant enough so you can eat the crop as it grows.
Expect to suffer ricketts and scurvy.
Utter twaddle and specious fluff.
A) A false appeal to an illegitimate authority.
B) Utterly specious alarmism.
XR:
Grow up!
Stop harming people then telling them it’s their fault.
From the website where the letter appears:
Yes, total bullshit. Calling people “hypocrites” is NOT a distraction from the bigger, more confronting conversation — it is a critically embedded FACT in this conversation that negates any claims that the hypocrites make. Being a hypocrite does NOT excuse a person from using this hypocrisy to maintain a level of affluence and comfort that establishes the foundation to espouse it.
If they are the hypocrites that they claim to be, then they are outright lying to suggest that they are willing to put their liberty on the line. What they are willing to do is merely TALK about doing this, without doing it, which is the very basis of their hypocrisy.
What total, unmitigated, arrogant, unrealistic, clueless bullshit!
An intelligent response to such a letter is almost impossible. There is no intelligence here to which to appeal.
The electricity burned in just one U2 concert would power my home for probably five or ten years.
I’ll believe the climate is in crisis when those who claim it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis by making any personal sacrifices at all, like not flying private jets, etc.
I take it XR has never heard of the concept of leading by example?
They certainly live by “do as I say not as I do”
Since they are naming themselves, it is simple: they should stop today all their activities, right now and lead the way… No using natural gas for heating their mansions, no petroleum products, no gasoline powered cars, trucks, planes, boats, trains, buses… And let’s have it verified by auditors.
Don’t hold your breath…
I’m so disappointed to see David Byrne’s name on this list of self-identified brainwashing victims. He seemed a little more optimistic and philosophical about evolutionary and even brutal, deadly societal changes when he wrote this song. I especially like the line about driving on a highway of fire. Internal combustion, baby. It’s not there by chance.
City of Dreams
Near where you are standing, the dinosaurs did a dance
The Indians told a story how it has come to pass
The Indians had a legend, the Spaniards lived for gold
White men came and killed them, but they haven’t really gone
chorus:
We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake to find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town
From Germany and Europe and southern U.S.A.
They made this little town here that we live in to this day
The children of the white man saw Indians on TV
And heard about the legend, how their city was a dream
[chorus]
The Civil War is over, and World War I and II
If we can live together, the dream, it might come true
Underneath the concrete, the dream is still alive
A hundred million lifetimes, a world that never dies
[chorus]
[chorus]
Nice of them to provide a list of people to BOYCOTT.
I see that pretty well everyone on the list do nothing that actually adds to the economy, just a bunch of money suckers.
Sorry, but musicians, writers, actors, comedians, curators, etc., etc., etc., are not real jobs.
If they all went extinct, no one would notice.
No engineers, no chemists, no meteorologists, no physicists. Most of their job descriptions could all be replaced by ‘clown’.
The Extinction Rebellion and their celebrities rebuttal for living a high carbon lifestyle is to cite the International Monetary Fund and Sir David Attenborough.
The IMF claims the best solution to avoid a carbon induced climate crisis is to levy a $75/ton carbon tax on the top 20 countries’ economies. Using the IMFs list of those countries and comparing each to BP’s 2018 carbon report, shows a total of 26,600 million tons of carbon. Thus, $75/ton tax on carbon results in nearly $2 trillion of new global taxes per year. For context, that’s more than the entire GDP of Canada.
Apparently, the Extinction Rebellion and their elitist celebrities believe increasing taxes is our wat out of the climate crisis.
Hopefully, Sir David Attenborough can publish how much of his $35 million net worth he will forfeit to carbon taxation. Better yet, how about all these celebrities be transparent about how much of their fortunes they’ll pay in carbon taxes?
Probably a $75/ton carbon tax = zero tax increase for these elitists who can all afford tax lawyers and accountants. Good luck to those less fortunate.
The more money they make, the more desperately they signal their virtue.
It didn’t go down well in some quarters. Saturday’s The Times newspaper, of London, not NY, has a scathing comment on this piece of obnoxious hypocrisy by Giles Coren. ‘We’d love you painted nerks to shut up for jusr one bl00dy minute’. Behind a paywall, unfortunately.
97% of those guys I’ve never hear of.
And they cite the IMF bureaucrats on a scientific issue. Go figure!
I’ll compare “carbon footprints” with anyone on the planet.
1) We drive no more than 102 Km (60 miles) a week and would go into town less than once a week if we were able. That’s 5400 Km (3100 miles) per year in a 30 year old Nissan, so Its manufacturing footprint was cleared long ago.
2) We warm ourselves in the winter with 9kg of LP/week for about 3 months.
3) We use about 63 Kilowatt hours/week. Week in and week out, and pay about ten times more for it than people in Ohio who have come unhinged that their power is almost $0.04/kwh! Why? “Renewable energy of course.”
We live on a “better than organic” farmstead with three cats (two that are actually ours), 39 Rescued chickens, 15 ducks and 5 geese.
In five years, I’ve never driven more than two and a half hours from home, and that is the longest trip I’ve taken in that time.
It’s time XR activists glued themselves to sacks of concrete at the end of a long pier.