Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Dr. Willie Soon; how should Universities respond to demands they divest from fossil fuel? By rubbing the protestors’ noses in reality, of course.
A Heated Oxford Education
Protesting students get a personal lesson about fossil fuels.
By The Editorial BoardFeb. 2, 2020 4:49 pm ET
… The students want the college to sell the more than $10 million of its endowment now invested in Shell and BP, and they want it now.
The Times of London reports that bursar Andrew Parker made them a counteroffer. “I am not able to arrange any divestment at short notice,” he wrote. “But I can arrange for the gas central heating in college to be switched off with immediate effect. Please let me know if you support this proposal.”
The idea that the students themselves make a fossil-fuel sacrifice did not go over well. …
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-heated-oxford-education-11580680180
If only Greta had been there to encourage the students to stand their ground, this pathetic double standards attempt by students to cling to the fossil fuel comforts they would deny to others might have ended with a little less embarrassment for the students.
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I see that the Government and Whitehall have a combined heat and power supply run on natural gas.
How will they cope when natural gas is banned? Hydrogen? How will the hydrogen be produced?
https://www.pfmonthenet.net/article/13426/Cofathec-wins–25m-Whitehall-energy-contract.aspx
Thought our friends across the Atlantic might like this little gem from the UK’s ‘eternal summer’ of 1976….
When water levels got to crisis point the water authorities erected ‘standpipes’ in the street – and we had to collect water from these for all purposes – washing; cooking; flushing toilets etc – because by law our mains supplies were turned off at street level.
HOWEVER – if you were a pensioner (Senior Citizen over 65) LIVING ALONE – you were excused – and so the water authorities thoughtfully painted the cover for the stopcock in the street with red gloss paint….
Cue inventive ‘antiques dealers’ – travelling the country looking for red-painted stopcocks….
‘Knock, knock…’ ‘Allo, luv – (foot in door) – got any old furniture and stuff you don’t want..? Let’s see – I’ll give you a fiver (five pounds sterling) for that old (Chippendale) sideboard….’
You can’t beat good ol’ British inventiveness….!
Surely all committed climate change believers refuse to use any electricity that is generated by coal or fossil fuels as a matter of principle.
*crickets*
Unfortunately not. I appraised Parker of the futility of believing in Co2 mitigating thinking it might one way or the other influence the way in which our climate might change accompanied by a few UAH graphs featuring topical issues like Australia and forest fires showing decline not rise and this is what he sent me in reply before blocking any further emails from me: Dear Mr Wells
Thank you for your email. Contrary to any impression you may have gained from today’s article in The Times, I do actually believe in the reality of global warming, as do many of my Oxford colleagues who are much more accomplished in this area of research.
The present discussion is about how to reach the goal of carbon reduction and the St John’s students, I and others will be able to discuss this without adopting alarmist views from either side.
Yours sincerely
Prof Andrew Parker, Principal Bursar
St John’s College Oxford
principal.bursar@sjc.ox.ac.uk
Last night Channel 4 featured a program titled Australia is burning Climate Emergency and a few weeks ago a similar piece of hysterical nonsense. I took the same approach as I did to Parker I emailed Alex Mahon included temperature graphs and data about cows and Monbiot’s strange delusional relationship with methane and the end of the world. Pointed out that there was no climate emergency and that methane at 0.00017% was unlikely to cause one and she reacted in the same way as Parker Mahon blocked further emails.
For whatever reason those people that promote climate hysteria have an intense dislike of any information reason logic data and evidence which substantially dismisses their consensus beliefs with which they adorn themselves with like garish costume jewellery they need to be seen as saviours of the planet fighting for its survival and that is more important to them and their social standing than anything whatsoever to do with reality. My Son pointed out recently that 28 years ago his essay related to this issue was rejected and marked E for his A level course work because it dared to contradict what the syllabus wanted him to obey. He questioned the mark with his tutor who was perplexed that Steven should even dare to question the authenticity of the syllabus demands and became distraught and petulant.
Steven persisted and it was eventually remarked by another tutor who make it abundantly clear to Steven that government demanded children were brainwashed to believe Co2 was the anti christ and one way or the other the syllabus was just the thin end of the wedge he remarked the essay at B+ which he said was the best he could do because the female tutor who had downgraded Steven’s essay was already in campaigning mode and objecting to her control being questioned.
Alex Mahon and Parker like his students have been educated to believe and to become eco warriors determined to be controlled by environmentalist rhetoric. I listened to a show on BBC Radio 4 decades about an American woman who had felt lost for most of her life but found Islam and became much happier because she no longer had to think for her self and make decisions which might be right or wrong with Islam your decisions are made for you so she felt free. Climate religion I suppose is much the same worship your carbon footprint and your life will be golden and one step further towards paradise before you fall into the huge hole in the ground fill with the toxic waste from mining and refining neodymium
College bursars can be notoriously “based”. I still recall the name of one from my undergraduate days. The students used to refer to her as the Soup Dragon.
Kudos to Andrew Parker, giving his students an introduction to cold hard truth!
That might work will with Greta–Sweden is not known for its balmy climate in February!
Let me guess, a professor put them up to it and maybe offered extra credit in protest participation. Which proves an education does not necessarily give good judgement.
I’m at a loss to understand why there is a problem at all here. Issue: Students demands divesting from petro investments. Management doesn’t want to for some reason or another. The fix: Invite students in for discussion. Explain problem. Invite them to respond with solution. Caveat: It must make sense. It must not lose too much investment capital. This IS an education institution, after all. Isn’t it?! A confrontational response leaves students with two choices. #1 Let it slide, get on with life. #2 Respond with opposite and equal force. With choice 1, it’s over. With choice 2 the institution has more to lose than the students. I’d be careful if I were on the board of directors of Oxford. The first step would be for the students to elect a leader and/or mouthpiece. The student’s next step would to invite power to be cut. It’s the campus buildings that will take a hit. Students can move. Buildings can’t. Leave ‘some’ students in dorms on a revolving basis to ensure power or heat is not put back on. Attend classes. Make sure punitive measures are followed through with. Call non-hostile press for international bad optics. If Oxford elevates the fight, students simply strike. The year will pass. In this case, students can find education elsewhere. Fight over. OR…you could just be non-confrontational right off the bat! More and more this is happening. Learning institutions are losing public money from gov’t. The middle class is contracting and so is the tax base that goes along with it. Nowadays, many institutions find it necessary to take money from corporations (who underpay in taxes, by the way) I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case with Oxford. If this is the case, Oxford is stuck with their backs to the walls – the same intransigence as the pass onto their students
My response to these kids would be: “You first. Lead by example.” Then I’ll include an exhaustive list of everything they’ll have to give up that is even remotely touched by fossil fuels if they truly believe in the crap they spew.
The administrator’s response illustrates exactly why individual (consumer) choice will not be enough to decarbonize the global economy. Obviously the largest levels of infrastructure and investment must make the change. Oxford University’s large endowment and high visibility could influence investors and business leaders and policy makers to move more quickly to mitigate climate change.
The most rational response to the irrational demands of students I’ve ever seen!
Therefore, I only take people seriously who live what they preach. You can do a lot with smarter consumption, but if you have a look at these students, you know they are just a bunch of losers, fakes and hypocrites.
As soon as they have impoverished their parents due to the climate hoax taxes which then won’t be able to pay the smartphone contract for their useless NEET kiddies, the climate jumpers are going to suffer from withdrawal syndrome.
I started at Boarding School in 1947 a bitterly cold Winter, The Housemaster told we New boys that the Bathroom hand basins have two taps, one is cold the other is colder. The water in the glass by the side of your bed was solid ice in the morning. Food was rationed and in short supply and coal and petrol were rationed. The cold was followed by an extremely very hot summer.
For the uninitiated it was called Weather not Climate!
Go Oxford.