Today George Monbiot was Arrested - But Not (officially) for Nuclear Crimes Against Humanity

The Guardian reports "George Monbiot arrested for defying climate protest ban"

George's aim was to get arrested "it's the only real power climate protestors have". No George, you have power and influence and you are using it without mercy.

DEEP ADAPTATION

The 'bible' for Extinction Rebellion is the paper by Professor Jem Bendell called "Deep Adaptation". In this paper Professor Bendell says: "a rapid collapse of societies that will trigger multiple meltdowns of some of the world’s 400 nuclear power-stations, leading to the extinction of the human race." Strange then that Extinction Rebellion "has no policy on nuclear." The statement about societal collapse and nuclear is dramatic but even this lets the nuclear industry massively off the hook.

There has NEVER been any nuclear accident/meltdown that has involved societal collapse. All the nuclear accidents in the history of the world (and there are a lot - not just the ones most in the public consciousness like Chernobyl) have happened in ordered and structured societies. Sometimes like at Fukushima even the most technologically advanced countries on earth cannot design out nuclear catastrophe.

George's pronuclear stance has influenced a whole generation of green minded folk. Extinction Rebellion has "no policy on nuclear." But it goes deeper that this for many groups who have taken George's pronuclear stance unquestioningly to heart. A good friend who shared information on Liverpool XR's facebook page about our vigil outside Springfields Nuclear Fuels at the end of Preston New Road got short shrift. This was the response: "I just want to let you know that a few people have complained of your continued posts on nuclear energy. I’ve deleted one of them, sorry to do this but I think it’s important to keep the discussion in line with XR’s aims and demands. XR is concerned with climate change caused by burning of fossil fuels (and by destruction of forests etc) and the consequent harm (maybe even extinction) to life on earth (people, animals, fish, insects, birds, plant life). You’v been attacking the nuclear industry, which creates electricity from nuclear fission of uranium) and so should in no way be opposed by XR. If were are ever to achieve a carbon-neutral economy, we will need to almost stop burning fossil fuels, have a great increase in electricity production (from wind, sea, solar and nuclear), greatly reduce farming of animals and plant plenty more trees. Making electricity only from wind and solar power alone will not give continuity of supply. Sorry again to do this but it might be worth taking the nuclear conversation elsewhere away from XR."

(I have highlighted for clarity)

This goes further than the official XR "no position on nuclear" but the trajectory is pretty obvious. Although of course there are XR folk who are rightly anti nuclear - their views are not supported by the leadership.

Another good friend has pointed out under the subversive hashtag #XRNo2Nukes (because they aint saying NO!) that : "everyone wants to talk about extinction as if it’s something we can avoid if we stop extracting fossil fuels whilst ignoring the fact that nuclear extinction has possibly already been unleashed on this planet. Whatever we can/should do on response ain’t gonna happen while XR avoid the elephant in the room"

Meanwhile Springfields Nuclear Fuels continues to make all the UKs and much of the world's nuclear fuel hidden under a clock of invisibility. Our vigil (unreported in the press ) was to remember the 62nd anniversary of Windscale (renamed Sellafield). Windscale was the site of the UKs first nuclear disaster the fallout included the most expensive poison polonium and the damage continues today. George Monbiot is keen for Springfields to keep making ever hotter ever more dangerous nuclear fuel from uranium usually found in the areas where poorer indigenous people live around the world, Niger, Australia, India, Kazakstan, Canada - the uranium is ripped out of the earth or leached out using masses of sulphuric acid and other chemicals - always hidden - always under the radar.

When I stood outside Gail Bradbrook's (XR Leader) talk in Kendal leafletting with my nuclear waste barrel costume on, Professor Bendell walked past with his head down clearly not wanting to engage with a person in a nuclear waste barrel. When I did a bit of research I found that Professor Bendell is known is some circles as "Professor Bitcoin." The University of Cumbria where he lectures is the first in the world to accept student's tuition fees in bitcoin. Whats wrong with that?

Bitcoin uses masses of energy.

The Independent reported in July 2019 that : "The computing power required to support the Bitcoin cryptocurrency consumes as much energy as the entire country of Switzerland, according to a new study.  It uses around 0.25 per cent of global energy consumption, researchers from the University of Cambridge found after they developed an online tool to estimate the network's real-time consumption.  The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) put the cryptocurrency's annual consumption at around 60.45 TWh at the time of publication.  This would make it the 41st most energy-demanding country when ranked against other nations. The electricity demands of bitcoin come from the computing power required to mine the cryptocurrency – the process of generating new bitcoins by verifying transactions on the network by solving complex mathematical puzzles."

Thats just Bitcoin not the other cryptocurrencies or the whole expanding Blockchain apparatus. The nuclear industry has for decades been squashing renewables (remember Salters Duck') in order to leave room in the grid for nuclear electricity. Now the nuclear industry is aggressively promoting itself as a "low carbon." "part of the mix" as the world is gearing up for the fourth industrial revolution which will be the most power hungry industrial revolution of them all - but all done in the best possible 'green' taste.

This video "Grieve, Play, Love" features Jem Bendell coming to an awaking about the climate and at the end of the video speaking in front of an audience of world business leaders, about the coming catastrophe and how love should be the response (full talk - World Economic Forum below). This video was made around the same time we were fighting the first deep coal mine in 30 years in the UK - not far from Sellafield (!!) We tried so hard for a few years to get the climate big name hitters to take leadership or help us fight this. We thought wrongly that we (unpaid volunteers stretched to breaking with fighting an unloved and largely unreported battle against nuclear madness) would not have to take the lead in fighting the coal mine just a few miles away from Sellafield as climate campaigners would be right on the case. We were wrong. We had to fight so hard to get any climate activists interested. Not a word from Jem.

Many of us in Radiation Free Lakeland are on a personal journey way beyond grief when it comes to nukiller (as a good friend calls it) the most dangerous and planet annihilating industry on earth. We all love nature, we respect each other - but - and here is the raw wound, many good friends that I love are completely, madly deeply, emotionally involved with Extinction Rebellion.

I will just leave you with this video which has the full World Economic Forum talk on "blockchain" (Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies) and the "opportunities" for businesses that will literally change our world. Guess who else likes the look of the "blockchain" future - the nuclear industry, the military and Yep Good old George gives it a bit of spin.

Im not "feeling the love" for Extinction Rebellion or for George Monbiot.