Just Stop Oil (To End Humanity)

I’m sure you’ve heard of Just Stop Oil, the environmental activist group who intends on doing away with oil at breakneck speed. In April 2022, they blocked UK oil refineries and terminals by gluing themselves to roads and climbing on to tankers, with the intention of cutting off the supply of automotive fuel to South East England. Many were arrested, but that didn’t stop them. They vowed to continue blockading oil terminals until they were all jailed, despite almost a thousand of them being arrested. Their message was very clear – it’s in their name – Just Stop Oil.

Later that month, the protesters sabotaged petrol pumps at two M25 motorway service stations surrounding London, smashing the display glass with hammers and defacing them with spray paint in what they described as a “significant escalation” in their campaign against fossil fuel distribution in England.

According to their website, Just Stop Oil are a nonviolent civil resistance group. I don’t know, would you consider smashing up petrol pumps nonviolent behaviour? Perhaps it isn’t technically, but it certainly isn’t very peaceful – quite the opposite.

So what do you think about their message, a rapid transition away from oil to save the planet? Well, I know what I think, and it’s not very pretty. I’ll explain why soon. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for protecting the environment and all that, but will the immediate halt of oil usage save us? Well, I can answer that for you right now. No, it would be a disaster. It would be catastrophic to humanity as we know it.

According to S&P Global, world oil demand is growing in 2023 as China factory economic output rebounds. The world demand for oil is still going up. To say that we can just turn off oil and everything will be hunky-dory, well it’s simply not realistic. It’s probably even delusional. And this is not me saying that I love oil, but I’m not stupid enough to say that we should just get rid of it, which is bordering on the ramblings of a mad person. Our modern society exists because of oil and it will take many decades before we can transition fully to a low, or no-oil economy. It can’t be done quickly without destroying society in the process.

So based on all of this, what’s my conclusions regarding Just Stop Oil?

Well, 1. They’re annoying. In general, their tactics are annoying people. People don’t like to be interrupted going about their lives, and quite frankly, you don’t win any supporters by upsetting people.

2. Their goal is not realistic. You can’t Just Stop Oil like their name implies. The modern world currently requires oil. It can’t be turned off, well, not quickly at least.

And number 3. If Just Stop Oil got their way, humanity as we know it would end. If you stop oil, you stop hospitals from getting medical supplies. If you stop oil, you stop international travel and shipping. We can’t just stop delivering food. We can’t just stop making electronic devices from plastic. If we did, the world economy would collapse as would the livelihoods of billions of people. This is not my opinion. This is what would happen if we just stopped oil.

The only benefit of Just Stop Oil that I can think of, is that the world would have much less pollution, but at what cost to humanity?

JUST STOP OIL PROTESTERS VOW TO CONTINUE UNTIL ‘ALL ARE JAILED’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/12/just-stop-oil-protesters-vow-to-continue-until-all-are-jailed

JUST STOP OIL PROTESTERS SABOTAGE PETROL PUMPS ON M25 MOTORWAY
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/28/just-stop-oil-protesters-sabotage-petrol-pumps-on-m25-motorway

JUST STOP OIL WEBSITE
https://juststopoil.org/

JUST STOP OIL PROTESTERS SPARED JAIL FOR SILVERSTONE TRACK INVASION DURING BRITISH GRAND PRIX
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-03-31/defiant-just-stop-oil-protesters-avoid-jail-over-british-gp-track-invasion

LEWIS HAMILTON BACKS PEACEFUL JUST STOP OIL PROTEST AT BRITISH GRAND PRIX
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jul/06/lewis-hamilton-backs-peaceful-just-stop-oil-protest-at-british-grand-prix

TWO WOMEN CHARGED AFTER JUST STOP OIL ACTIVISTS THROW SOUP AT VINCENT VAN GOGH PAINTING
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-15/two-women-charged-for-throwing-soup-at-van-gogh-painting/101540344

COURT INVASION FROM JUST STOP OIL PROTEST GROUP AT WIMBLEDON
https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/court-invasion-from-just-stop-oil-protest-group-at-wimbledon/news-story/6c1236d62550b7d5af3547f3317be41c

JUST STOP OIL PROTEST DISRUPTS ASHES TEST AT LORD’S AS ENGLAND CRICKETER JONNY BAIRSTOW CARRIES ACTIVIST TO THE BOUNDARY
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/28/sport/just-stop-oil-ashes-test-spt-intl/index.html

JUST STOP OIL PROTESTERS DISRUPT LONDON PRIDE OVER ‘POLLUTING’ SPONSORS
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/01/just-stop-oil-protesters-disrupt-london-pride-over-polluting-sponsors

LITHIUM AUSTRALIA RECYCLING
https://www.lithium-au.com/recycling/

MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn