Stonehenge spray-painted orange by protesters calling for climate action

[sl8]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/20/stonehenge-protest-just-stop-oil/
(video, audio, at link)

Stonehenge spray-painted orange by protesters calling for climate action

Activist group Just Stop Oil took responsibility for the incident, which occurred a day before the summer solstice is expected to draw thousands to the ancient site.

By Kelsey Ables
June 20, 2024 at 2:38 a.m. EDT

Protesters sprayed part of Stonehenge with orange paint Wednesday, calling on the British government to take action on climate change a day before thousands are expected to flock to the 5,000-year-old site in southern England to celebrate the summer solstice.

A video shared Wednesday by Just Stop Oil, the environmental activist group responsible, shows two people running toward the monument and unleashing the orange paint. People nearby shout “No” and “Stop him,” as others try to pull the protesters away.

The group said in a statement that it is “demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.” It added that the paint was made of corn flour that will wash off with the rain. It identified the protesters involved as Niamh Lynch, 21, and Rajan Naidu, 73. Local police said they had arrested two people following the incident.

English Heritage, the charity that manages Stonehenge, said the site remains open. “Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage,” it said on social media.

Link to tweet

[...]

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I admire their goals but shit like this loses friends quickly. Don't.

[CousinIT]

2. That bullshit accomplishes nothing and just pisses people off.

Stupid move.

[Think. Again.]

7. It accomplishes media coverage with no harm done.

Success!

[CousinIT]

9. I support their cause but they just look like assholes to most people

They should find better ways. That isn't it.

Media attention is on those environmentalists being assholes. Then all of us are painted with the same brush.

Hardly helpful.

[Think. Again.]

10. No, anyone giving any thought to the damage....

...we're doing to the planet can clearly see these actions are always harmless.

It's the people who aren't thinking about it all that these media performances are aimed at and keeping that discussion on the public's lips can only result in the truth taking center stage, and that truth is...

These activists aren't harming anything, but the fossil fuel industry is harming everything.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Harmless this time, but marginal - it depended on dry weather

English Heritage said the orange paint had been removed using a "specialist handheld blower".

It told the BBC that if rain had come into contact with the powder, damage could have been significant.

The stones are covered in more than fifty different lichens, some of them rare. This meant brushing or washing the paint off was not possible.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgg0683e7po

But I agree this gets far more publicity than actions that are more directly against fossil fuels - the Stansted private jet action today has gone unnoticed on DU:

Two people arrested after activists spray private jets with paint at Stansted

Just Stop Oil activists have sprayed orange paint over private jets at Stansted airport on the airfield where Taylor Swift’s plane is stationed, the environmental group has said.

Two activists, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, a former sustainability manager from Dumbarton, and Cole Macdonald, 22, from Brighton, broke into a private airfield in Stansted at 5am on Thursday before targeting the jet.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/20/activists-spray-planes-with-paint-at-uk-airfield-where-taylor-swift-jet-landed

[Think. Again.]

13. Yes, the harmless actions...

...involving "public" treasures are much more effective at getting media attention.

The irony is, if the public just shrugged off these actions as the harmless, silly stunts they are, the media could not profit off of covering them and then they would just stop.

But as long people's heads keep exploding over nothing, the nothings will continue.

[Emrys]

16. You said above

It's the people who aren't thinking about it all that these media performances are aimed at and keeping that discussion on the public's lips can only result in the truth taking center stage, and that truth is...

This is nonsense.

Many years ago, I was heavily involved in regular direct action. We chose to weigh the consequences of our actions and gauge the impact against public inconvenience, annoyance, any possible harm, and how the media would portray it.

Hoping to piggyback a positive message on actions that are generally perceived negatively is plain stupid.

People who aren't thinking about climate change at all are going to be hard nuts to crack given how much information we're all bombarded with every day, and are least likely to be persuaded by stunts such as this. The media attention is 99% focused on the damage and stunt, and not the issues it's supposedly promoting.

And as Muriel pointed out, this stunt was ill thought out as it could well not be harmless - unless you don't value the ecosystem at the micro level on the standing stones.

[Think. Again.]

18. I disagree...

I don't know what cause you were involved in trying get attention for (the sole purpose of any action) but I do know that the Stop Oil Now! people are trying to bring attention to the fact that CO2 emissions are putting everything we cherish about our society at major risk.

Basically they are saying...

"If corn flour on Stonehenge bothers you, you're going to hate climate change!".

There is no positive message being "piggybacked", because there is nothing positive about the mess we are continuing to allow.

If we were being bombarded with even a fractiin of the information that needs to be widely known, many, many more people would be out there causing actual damage to try to get something done about fossil fuels.

Also, if disturbing a small portion of the lichen is a problem, don't wash off the corn flour.

[Emrys]

19. "Also, if disturbing a small portion of the lichen is a problem, don't wash off the corn flour. "

You maybe couldn't resist something you thought was some sort of punchline or zinger, but this is asinine, and your dismissiveness does no one any favours, not least Just Stop Oil.

Cornflour is a starch. Our outdoor environment has no shortage of water in any given period. Add water to corn starch and you have a substrate that's going to be fertile for any yeasts and other microorganisms in the environment, and quite likely smother the existing fauna if it's thick enough. You may not give a damn about that, but the "message" of the stunt falls at the first hurdle.

Then how the hell is Stonehenge a symbol that says anything about the impact of oil extraction and use and its ramifications? It doesn't. It's old, archaeologically and culturally important, and famous. That's it.

People are indeed bombarded by information - pro and anti, reliable and bogus - every day. That's not the problem. It's getting them to pay attention to it, digest it and relate it to where they are, and if they're swayed, what if anything they can do about it, otherwise it's just more noise among the deafening, bewildering hubbub.

You kicked off by saying this segment of the population who don't think about these things despite all the wash of information out there would somehow, magically, be spurred to some sort of crucial step on the road to environmental epiphany by this stunt and its reporting, now you seem to have backtracked from that to god knows what sort of incoherent stance where there's no message to this action and the best you can hope for is that people go out there and cause some damage.

Try Googling stonehenge just stop oil and take a look at the headline results on the page. It's all about the "yellow paint" stunt, with Keir Starmer - who might in a few weeks be in a position to do something about oil extraction - and the likes of J.K. Rowling either condemning or ridiculing the action. There's a result from Just Stop Oil itself among it all. Click through, and it's hardly coherent or revelatory (I'll quote it in full as presumably they won't want to invoke copyright rules on their statement):

It’s time for megalithic action!- Just Stop Oil decorate Stonehenge

Two Just Stop Oil supporters have decorated Stonehenge in orange powder paint. They are demanding that the incoming UK government commit to working with other governments to agree an equitable plan to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. [1]

At around 12pm, the two supporters began spraying the iconic rocks at the ancient site near Salisbury. Tomorrow thousands are expected to descend on the site to celebrate the Summer Solstice.

Today’s action has come days after the Labour party’s manifesto has recommitted them to stopping all future licences for new oil and gas, should they form the next government.

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

“The UK’s government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil’s original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. However, we all know this is not enough. Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions. We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action. Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we’ve always cooperated across vast distances – we’re building on that legacy."

One of those taking action this morning is Niamh Lynch, 21, a Student from Oxford, who said:

“Stonehenge at solstice is all about celebrating the natural world – but look at the state it’s in! We all have a right to live a life free from suffering, but continued burning of oil, coal and gas is leading to death and suffering on an unparalleled scale.”

“It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?

Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.”

Also taking action is Rajan Naidu, 73, from Birmingham, who said:

“Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us. Just as fifty years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal.”

“The orange cornflour we used to create an eye-catching spectacle will soon wash away with the rain, but the urgent need for effective government action to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate and ecological crisis will not. Sign the treaty!”

Until world leaders act to protect us, Just Stop Oil supporters, working with other groups internationally, will take the proportional action necessary to generate much needed political pressure. This summer, areas of key importance to the fossil fuel economy will be declared sites of civil resistance around the world. Sign up to take action at juststopoil.org.

ENDS

https://juststopoil.org/2024/06/19/its-time-for-megalithic-action-just-stop-oil-decorate-stonehenge/

I've just done more justice to what these people aimed to convey than a vast proportion of the media will.

And even so, that's pretty thin gruel. The cursory mentions in passing of the monument and its heritage and the environment sound like some half-assed would-be ad executive or spin doctor shoehorned them in because "We've got this neat stunt worked out, now how do we try to make it relevant to our campaign and explain why the hell we're doing it?" They could maybe have tried to strengthen the tenuous theme of the action by mentioning the massive road bypass that's slated to cut through the neighbourhood of the site, but they even missed that opportunity.

I've taken part in many pre-action campaign discussions in my time when no one had a sensible idea about what to do next, but in the end, in desperation, the idea ended up being, "We've got to do something, so we might as well do anything, as long as it causes a splash."

That's how this comes across.

[Think. Again.]

20. This is excellent, Thank You!...

...and by "this" I mean the juststopoil.org statement, this one...

It’s time for megalithic action!- Just Stop Oil decorate Stonehenge

Two Just Stop Oil supporters have decorated Stonehenge in orange powder paint. They are demanding that the incoming UK government commit to working with other governments to agree an equitable plan to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. [1]

At around 12pm, the two supporters began spraying the iconic rocks at the ancient site near Salisbury. Tomorrow thousands are expected to descend on the site to celebrate the Summer Solstice.

Today’s action has come days after the Labour party’s manifesto has recommitted them to stopping all future licences for new oil and gas, should they form the next government.

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

“The UK’s government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil’s original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. However, we all know this is not enough. Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions. We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action. Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we’ve always cooperated across vast distances – we’re building on that legacy."

One of those taking action this morning is Niamh Lynch, 21, a Student from Oxford, who said:

“Stonehenge at solstice is all about celebrating the natural world – but look at the state it’s in! We all have a right to live a life free from suffering, but continued burning of oil, coal and gas is leading to death and suffering on an unparalleled scale.”

“It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?

Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.”

Also taking action is Rajan Naidu, 73, from Birmingham, who said:

“Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us. Just as fifty years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal.”

“The orange cornflour we used to create an eye-catching spectacle will soon wash away with the rain, but the urgent need for effective government action to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate and ecological crisis will not. Sign the treaty!”

Until world leaders act to protect us, Just Stop Oil supporters, working with other groups internationally, will take the proportional action necessary to generate much needed political pressure. This summer, areas of key importance to the fossil fuel economy will be declared sites of civil resistance around the world. Sign up to take action at juststopoil.org.

ENDS

https://juststopoil.org/2024/06/19/its-time-for-megalithic-action-just-stop-oil-decorate-stonehenge/

[LiberalFighter]

3. If it was me I would send them to prison for several years

[Think. Again.]

5. Me too, but selling fossil fuels is still legal...

...so they won't be going to prison soon.

[Think. Again.]

4. corn flour. shocking.

[bluedigger]

6. May they dig test pits in chigger infested fields with no DEET for eternity.

My British friends had a four letter word for these blokes that I can't use here.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Assholes

Feed them to the Druids.

[Deep State Witch]

15. The Druids Don't Want Them

Unless it's to burn in a Wicker Man.

[C_U_L8R]

17. Exactly what needs doing.

Just in time for the solstice. They’ll make good kindling.

[Ponietz]

11. It's 125 degrees, the world's largest wetlands are on fire and permafrost is melting

We’re beyond the tipping point. The price of food will rise 1000% and more within a decade.

The performative protests are essentially meaningless. I don’t think we can do anything about the climate without an authoritarian state, population reduction, strict rationing, a global financial meltdown, and mass starvation. The frog can’t get out of the pot.

A malefactor will unleash an AI designed virus I expect.

[Deep State Witch]

14. Here's A Thought

Don't spray CFLs into the environment by spray-painting ancient monuments!

[Think. Again.]

21. (pssst., they didn't.)