Just Stop Oil will be remembered by history as the heroes

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The fact is many of us take our lives for granted, unwilling to make big sacrifices – and push the consequences to the back of our minds (PA)

The prison sentences recently handed down to the Just Stop Oil protesters, whose actions created significant disruption to people’s lives, were condemned by Chris Packham as “judicial thuggery”. Packham also described climate change as the most serious existential threat ever faced by the human species, with no shortage of scientific evidence to support this claim.

Disruption to our lives may be the least of our concerns unless the man-made causes of climate change are addressed far more vigorously. The protesters were driven by a sense of urgent desperation, believing that only direct action would impel decision makers to act with the speed and conviction necessary to save this planet from an unprecedented disaster.

The majority of us must accept some responsibility for this situation because of our own failure to take the threat seriously and believe that it will if left unchecked, endanger future generations. How many of us have changed our lives to reduce significantly our environmental footprint? The truth is that some have, but most have not.

We are reluctant to alter the lives we take for granted, unwilling to make big sacrifices and push to the back of our minds the consequences of failing to act. We take comfort from the herd, continuing largely as we always have. Governments must be far tougher. We must be helped, but also compelled, to change our lives and to understand why.

While many condemn the protesters’ actions, those now residing at His Majesty’s pleasure may ultimately go down in history as heroes. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to wake up.

David Platts

Newark

A new slogan

The UK is currently responsible for about 1 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions, whereas China emits about 29 per cent. If Just Stop Oil is serious about reducing the causes of global warming, it could, for example, organise a boycott in the UK of Chinese manufactured goods, until China stops using coal for energy production.

“Just Stop Chinese Coal” is not such a snappy slogan, but it would prove far more effective.

Paul Griew

Sidmouth

For all his mistakes, the West still owes Biden greatly

America and the West owe a great debt to president Joe Biden. Without his victory in 2020 and defiance in facing down an effective right-wing coup, to both cancel the election result and overthrow the nation’s democratic institutions with violence, the United States would have been plunged into its greatest constitutional crisis since the US civil war.

No other single-term president since LBJ achieved more legislative reform, including the landmark Inflation Reduction Act that effectively kickstarted the American economy – and by virtue other Western economies – after the Covid downturn.

Preventing a second-term Donald Trump presidency almost certainly prevented Nato from disintegrating, Ukraine being overwhelmed by Russia and keeping America as a key partner in the fight against global climate change.

Not all of Biden’s policies went to plan. America’s evacuation from Afghanistan was ill judged and chaotic in operation, while his initial failure to stand up more forcefully to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s disastrous assault on Gaza will undoubtedly stain an otherwise commendable presidency.

Paul Dolan

Northwich

Trump could learn something from Biden’s departure

President Biden has decided, for the sake of his party and his country, to stand aside from the US presidential election.

After his narrow escape from assassination, Trump tried to claim that he would unite his country, and for a short while, he did appear to be a more reasonable, more grown-up version of himself. But that hasn’t lasted long.

If only he had the insight and maturity to make a similar decision to his erstwhile opponent, for the sake of his country and the world.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

The answer to a shortage of train drivers? No train drivers at all

Are not the train drivers’ unions in danger of pricing their members out of the job? With an earning potential of up to £100k, the disruption caused by working issues may mean that sooner rather than later those running the railways might look for alternative and cheaper solutions.

After all, we have planes that can fly themselves, in theory – and some 30 million driverless cars are already in operation.

Many of the nation’s trains, however, are restricted in their freedom of movement, and even more so by unsophisticated signalling that is still in use.

There are already many light railways running successfully without a driver around the world. If the same amount of research going into driverless cars was devoted to trains, then the shortage of drivers would soon not be a problem.

Geoff Forward

Stirling