Sunday, 13 November 2022
The numerous and varied legion of dullards
Climate change rally in Nottingham to coincide with COP27
A rally calling for stronger action on climate change has been held in Nottingham.
About 100 people gathered in Trinity Square for the rally, which was organised by the Nottingham Coalition for Climate Justice.
Over 40 demonstrations were planned throughout the UK on Saturday, during the UN summit COP27 in Egypt.
He was one of the numerous and varied legion of dullards, of half-animate abortions, conceited, half-educated coxcombs, who attach themselves to the idea most in fashion only to vulgarise it and who caricature every cause they serve, however sincerely.
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment (1867)
There are things we could say about the environment, how to understand, improve, enjoy and integrate ourselves into it. How to tackle degradation. The tragedy of the climate narrative is the hordes of conceited, half-educated coxcombs who attach themselves to the idea, who do indeed vulgarise and caricature it.
It isn’t only the lies, distortions, crooked dealing and monumental stupidity, but the years and years of lost opportunities. The environment is something to be treasured, but these absurd clowns are not its guardians.
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3 comments:
One bugbear of mine is seeing photos in the paper of bloody fools planting trees for the good of the environment. (i) If the trees aren't properly looked after they die anyway. (ii) In all the parts of Britain where trees can thrive there's no need to plant any. Just fence the land to keep out grazing animals and it will spontaneously turn into woodland - as we can easily see all around us by looking at strips of abandoned land e.g. alongside railway lines.
The trees that grow spontaneously typically don't need looking after, apart from protection from browsing, because they establish good root systems as they grow.
Don't these people ever think?
dearieme - an upland area where we go walking has light, sandy soil where silver birches grow even more readily than usual, plus conifers. A few years ago, someone decided it was originally heath and should be reinstated as such. The trees were chopped down and for a few years, it was grazed by a hardy breed of cattle. The cattle have long gone so silver birch and conifers are back and soon it will be thriving woodland again.
Woodland is the natural vegetation of most go the British Isles below - what? - 1,000 feet, or a bit higher if the soil is good.
Exceptions include the Outer Isles, the far north of the mainland, and the Northern Isles.
(A hero, or rather heroine, has grown herself a shelter belt on Shetland by importing Alaskan trees. I don't know whether there's any sign that they might naturalise i.e. spread spontaneously. You'd have to suppress grazing to find out, I'd think.)
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