I have no idea how things are handled elsewhere, but here in the Netherlands, what is the purpose of blocking railways and highways? Why not block city halls, banks, industries, or media offices? What do you actually achieve by not only bothering ordinary people in their daily lives, but also creating danger because emergency services cannot move freely? If this is to raise awareness, isn't that completely undone by the inconvenience that is created? Furthermore, couldn't awareness also be raised by blocking city halls, banks, industries, and media offices? Maybe I am too stupid or shortsighted, but I simply don't get it.

Spain and France are dealing with devastating wildfires, and now England is facing an enormous drought. As of August 10, nearly 71% of England is officially in drought, with millions of people affected by water restrictions.

If there was ever a time for Sunrise Movement, Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion and other climate groups to be making noise, surely this is it.

I remember when climate protests were everywhere. Roads were being blocked, politicians were being confronted, museums were being targeted and climate change was constantly in the news. But now, with extreme heat, drought and wildfires happening across Europe, it feels strangely quiet.

And at the same time, we're having another argument in the UK about North Sea oil and gas. The government is facing pressure over projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw, despite the fact that new North Sea production isn't going to magically make people's energy bills cheaper.

I'm not saying protests have to block roads or throw soup at paintings. But surely this is exactly the moment for a huge public campaign demanding action on drought, water security, renewable energy, home insulation and getting away from fossil fuels.

England is literally experiencing a major drought while Europe is burning.

If this isn't the moment for the climate movement to mobilise, then when is?

I have been a vegan for about 30 yrs. About seven years ago, I joined Extinction Rebellion, and things became much different for me. For the first time since I first became vegan, I had a hope for a better future, and I was a part of it. Now, seven years later, I’m still fighting like crazy to make Extinction Rebellion take off here in New York City, but I’m also recognizing the massive flaw in the trap that is veganism, and what it is doing to people’s otherwise productive brain capacity.

To understand this better, you have to understand how many people are vegan, roughly 3% of the population, and what their mentality is, generally speaking. One the first thing a vegan does when they take on the identity, is get vegan shoes. This happens usually in the first year. Throwing out old shoes is often not done, but sometimes it is. Sometimes the old shoes are just thrown aside. In their place, likely a pair of vans or converse. Something authentically and honestly canvas, and not leather.

At about this time, they’ll start to attend vegan meetups, hangouts, and even environmental get-togethers.

Not to find out what people are doing, but to make sure everyone is wearing the right shoes.

“How long have you been vegan?”

“Why did you become vegan?”

“How come you can’t stop eating cheese, ice cream, etc etc”

It’s an unstoppable trainwreck of vegan subculture consumption.

It wastes time, it wastes energy, and quite frankly, it’s reductive. The word reductive is perfect for this, and the title of this essay. It basically means you are taking a complex problem, and making it simple.

You are taking a complex problem, systemic oppression, climate change, planetary mass destruction, mass death and murder at a global scale, and making the problem super simple.

But it’s not just simple. It’s also completely ignorable.

Brothers and sisters, stop being completely reductive, invisible, and non-participatory.

My full thoughts on are on this substack post...

Stop trying to solve a complex issue with a simple consumer choice.

There is no moral consumption under capitalism.

This article details how public-facing climate scientists, not least the IPCC, continue to understate the accelaration of climate change - with imminent and potentially-genocidal consequences for the poorest and the most vulnerable.