British judge finds Just Stop Oil protesters "admirable." Drivers are outraged.

Older British protesters are setting an example for the rest of us.

Activism and protest seem different in the UK. Two years ago, I was shocked to see people gluing themselves to roads demanding… insulation? They were generally an older crowd getting spat upon and covered in ink by drivers angry at being delayed. Drivers are always angry at being delayed.

The British government cared more about the drivers than it did about insulation and brought in new police powers to make it illegal for protesters to lock or glue themselves to buildings or “interfere with” roads or airports. The Insulate Britain activists were not allowed to tell the jury why they did what they did; when one said, “You’ve not been able to hear these truths because this court has not allowed me to say them. Our safety is at risk; our society is at risk,” he got eight weeks for contempt of court.

More recently a different protest got a very different judge. Activists from Just Stop Oil, “a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK” disrupted oil supplies last April by sitting in the road or locking on to oil tankers. Activists were charged with Aggravated Trespass and recently faced District Judge Wilkinson, with Alan Woods, 58, saying, “Esso knew about the climate crisis as long ago as 1979. They deceived the public, misled their shareholders, and robbed humanity of a generation’s worth of time to reverse the damage their product has caused.”

The judge found seven of the activists guilty, but made a remarkable statement:

"As a judge my overriding duty is always to uphold the law without fear or favour.

"This is not a court of morals, it is a court of law, if I allow my own moral compass or political beliefs to influence my decisions and ignore the law where it is convenient to me to do so then the court becomes one where the rule of law no longer applies.

"If judges across the criminal justice system did the same then there would be no consistency and no respect for the law, decisions based on the personal beliefs of members of the judiciary cannot be consistent with the rule of law and the ideal that each law will apply to all equally.

"Trust in the rule of law is an essential ingredient of society and it will erode swiftly if judges make politically or morally-motivated decisions that do not accord with established legal principles. Indeed I would become the self-appointed sheriff if I acted in such a way.

"It is abundantly clear that you are all good people, intelligent and articulate and you have been a pleasure throughout to deal with.

"It is unarguable that manmade global warming is real and that we are facing a climate crisis. That is accepted and recognised by the scientific community and most governments (including our own).

"Your aims are to slow or even stop the advance of global warming and therefore to preserve the planet not just for generations to come but for existing generations.

"No-one can therefore criticise your motivations and indeed each of you has spoken individually about your own personal experiences, motivations and actions. Many of your explanations for your actions were deeply emotive and I am sure all listening were moved by them, I know I was.

"In simple terms you are good people with admirable aims. However, if good people with the right motivation do the wrong thing it can never make that wrong thing right, it can only ever act as substantial mitigation."

Many in Britain want the judge fired. The Daily Mail was outraged:

“There was fury today after a judge told seven Just Stop Oil activists convicted for raiding an Esso oil terminal he was 'moved by their actions'. The eco zealots blocked the Esso Fuel Terminal in Birmingham for 12 hours as part of a swathe of coordinated protests last April, causing chaos for drivers as scores of petrol stations were forced to close due to supply issues. Among those affected were commuters dependent on cars for getting into work, who complained about not being able to fill up due to the selfish stunt.” 

Really. People couldn’t fill their cars because of eco zealots. The problem is, we need a lot more selfish stunts. A few years ago when Extinction Rebellion was holding protests, architect and Passivhaus expert Ken Levenson got arrested in New York City. He told me at the time:

“Coming across the Extinction Rebellion website this spring was a gut punch that immediately reminded me of the feeling I had first discovering Passive House about a decade ago. This was a group not afraid of confronting our dire climate reality and taking proportionate action - and I had to be a part of it.”

Later, when he took on a leadership role in a Passivhaus organization, he continued “If we are serious, we can't just assuage our consciences, as architects, we have to really bring something to the table in this climate emergency.”

You are not likely to find a lot of baby boomers gluing themselves to roads in the US. People shoot protesters there and then get invited on to talk shows. Some US states have passed laws making it legal to hit protesters with their cars.

Photo: Just Stop Oil

In the UK, even with the new laws, they march, and they sit, and they glue. The Daily Mail calls this a bunch of “eco-zealots” pulling a “selfish stunt.” I see a bunch of older, whiter people thinking about future generations, with one saying, “It is my job to protect my children, now and into the future, to weigh up the risks and to take action to prevent them from coming to harm.”

This is a job for every one of us.