"Insulate Britain" try to close down the M25

[JP1]

M25 traffic: 78 arrested and drivers delayed after climate activists block parts of motorway in rush hour

Protestors blocked at least five junctions, causing miles of queues along the motorway. Footage shared on social media showed angry drivers attempting to drag the protestors from the road.

news.sky.com

 

[JeepJeep]

Sat there breathing in the sh!t all the idling vehicles are pumping out.... Darwin award contenders.

 

[betweenthelines]

I think the protesters have a point.

50 years ago, having central heating was the exception. Now far too many houses are so warm that people are in shirt sleeves all year round, and if you work in an open plan office, no one expects to have to wear a jumper in winter.

 

[delilah]

Good on them. We should be working with them to promote wool as the sustainable solution.

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

I was only thinking the other day about how simple it would be to hire a couple of dozen cars/vans and convene on the M25 in 5 groups, then do some sort of rolling roadblock like the police do.

It would be very simple to slow the traffic to a stop, lock the vehicles, throw the keys in the hedge and just walk away, causing total gridlock of the entire M25.

All these eco warriors have done is inconvenience working people trying to commute. They would achieve more positive PR if their actions directly impacted on the politicians who are capable of changing policy.

 

[JD 6610]

They want ‘commitments’. How are these ‘commitments’ going to be paid for? From the proceeds from an active and prosperous economy resulting from everyone going about their business. Oops.

 

[HatsOff]

I don't think anyone sensible disagrees with insulating homes and as a nation we could save masses of gas and electricity. It's just a matter of how much public money should be directed towards it. The government's last badly planned intervention (Green Home Grant) was scrapped as it was so bad but still no replacement. What's taking them so long?

 

[robs1]

If homes and offices need insulating then the owners should do it, they benefit, or is that a bit too close to the bone for all these middle class idiots, they might actually have to do something themselves instead of blaming others

 

[Muck Spreader]

Weirdly sensible protest. When I first heard the M25 was blocked by protesters I just assumed it was the great unwashed with some half-ars*d save the planet demands.

 

[wanton dwarf]

I don't think anyone sensible disagrees with insulating homes and as a nation we could save masses of gas and electricity. It's just a matter of how much public money should be directed towards it. The government's last badly planned intervention (Green Home Grant) was scrapped as it was so bad but still no replacement. What's taking them so long?

Yes. The initiative ended up as being more expensive and targetted at those on benefits again.

I don't think there are the materials or installers to even do that amount of work. I replaced a roof with insulated materials which cost £15K - the labour costs were £55K. Since then I've had emails about continuous increases in costs of supply and extended delivery times. No government grants BTW.

After seeing recent tax hikes do we really want to see £Billions being spent in such an expensive exercise ? Far better this happened through natural improvements over a much longer period of time.

As regards your last comment - why repeat failure ?

 

[kiwi pom]

I wonder how many of them own their own home?
If they do is it properly insulated?

 

[robs1]

I wonder how many of them own their own home?
If they do is it properly insulated?

Would be great to go round their homes with an infrared camera and see all the heat escaping and expose the twits

 

[wanton dwarf]

It is quite an eye opener to look into modern insulation materials and practices.

Not only does the material have to be a good insulator in any particular spot but also calculations are made based on the mass of air movement within the structure.

Modern insulation is practically a semi air tight box - even the bonding materials do not harden they are designed to remain unset for decades.

Or in other words it's not good enough to just apply insulation. You also need to ensure all windows, doors, walls and floors do not allow air to move out of the structure - otherwise you don't get the benefits of the insulated materials. Also very important these materials do not get wet or damp - otherwise they actually hinder insulation.

A lot of UK houses and roofs are built to "Breath", may not even have a damp course and in winter roofs can create internal ice unless the space is ventilated.

Or in other words a lot of UK housing stock is just not suited to insulation - doing so requires a lot of other work which may or may not be viable.

 

[Werzle]

Police should of removed them by force straight away on arriving, madness to allow it

 

[Ncap]

It is quite an eye opener to look into modern insulation materials and practices.

Not only does the material have to be a good insulator in any particular spot but also calculations are made based on the mass of air movement within the structure.

Modern insulation is practically a semi air tight box - even the bonding materials do not harden they are designed to remain unset for decades.

Or in other words it's not good enough to just apply insulation. You also need to ensure all windows, doors, walls and floors do not allow air to move out of the structure - otherwise you don't get the benefits of the insulated materials. Also very important these materials do not get wet or damp - otherwise they actually hinder insulation.

A lot of UK houses and roofs are built to "Breath", may not even have a damp course and in winter roofs can create internal ice unless the space is ventilated.

Or in other words a lot of UK housing stock is just not suited to insulation - doing so requires a lot of other work which may or may not be viable.

I love that! Thanks, you've really made my morning (well, afternoon) with 'UK houses built to breathe'. I guess you mean the curtains flapping when the windows are closed, using sheep's fleece to temporarily kill draughts through the winter, not to mention the spectacular lack of architectural imagination used by designers of the bulk of the UK's housing stock. My wife will love that when I share it with her.

 

[neilo]

Police should of removed them by force straight away on arriving, madness to allow it

When I saw it on the News yesterday, I thought it might actually do some good in terms of police being given more powers to remove them more quickly. These actions certainly aren’t going to make the majority of the general public hold them in high regard.

‘Insulate Britain’ is a single issue splinter group from Extinction Rebellion, those people that @delilah urges us to work with.

 

[delilah]

Insulate Britain’ is a single issue splinter group from Extinction Rebellion, those people that @delilah urges us to work with.

Close, but no cigar. There are two separate things that I have consistently said on here:.
1) UK ag and the environment movement are each others greatest allies, neither can achieve its objectives without the support of the other.
2) XR are not the environment movement, and they wont be around for long. Rather, they are this generations uprising, out of which some will join the environmental organisation of their choice once XR peters out.

For sure if there is a specific protest on, in this instance, insulation then we should take the opportunity to educate them on sustainable materials. Would be churlish not to. But XR as allies, no, as said they aren't the environment movement.

edit: for anyone wondering who 'the environment movement' is vis a vis food and farming:

https://www.sustainweb.org/membership/

 

[caveman]

Police should of removed them by force straight away on arriving, madness to allow it

Police should turn their backs and let the public sort it.

 

[robs1]

Police should turn their backs and let the public sort it.

Heard onthe radio that a driver tried to move some of the protestors and he was the one arrested, just about sums up the state of the world

 

[wanton dwarf]

So many people stopped from making their journey.

In the news a lady had her cancer treatment affected, bound to be other emergency journeys involved.

The Police should have moved these people immediately.