The previous week has been crammed with headlines from the UK, not simply of political turmoil but additionally of work being defaced and luxurious institutions being vandalised by a local weather activist group calling for a halt to all new oil and gasoline consents and licences. The high-profile nature of the protests has triggered debates on local weather change, activism and the place for civil disobedience in trendy society.
As we write, the Just Stop Oil activist group has shared a video of activists spray portray a luxurious watch showroom in London. “At 8.30 am today, two Just Stop Oil supporters sprayed orange paint from a fire extinguisher over the premises of Rolex in Knightsbridge,” mentioned the group on Twitter. In an accompanying video, a person and a lady are seen vandalising the glass entrance of the showroom.
🚨 BREAKING: ROLEX STORE SPRAY-PAINTED ORANGE 🚨
⌚️ At 8:30am right this moment, two Just Stop Oil supporters sprayed orange paint from a hearth extinguisher over the premises of @ROLEX in Knightsbridge, demanding that the federal government halts all new oil and gasoline consents and licences. #FreeLouis pic.twitter.com/iBoNlQwTmc — Just Stop Oil ⚖️💀🛢 (@JustStop_Oil) October 28, 2022
The activist group shot into public view on October 14 when two activists threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers within the National Gallery in London. Since then, the motion has moved past London.
On Monday, German police arrested two folks for throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet portray in Germany’s Barberini Museum museum. A couple of days later, on Thursday, three folks had been arrested within the Netherlands for vandalising a portray. A video on social media confirmed two males standing near artist Johannes Vermeer’s golden age masterpiece Girl with a Pearl Earring, housed in Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. One man is seen attempting to superglue his bald head to the portray whereas one other empties a can of tomato soup over the primary man’s head.
BREEK – Meisje met de parel van Johannes Vermeer besmeurd in #Mauritshuis. pic.twitter.com/XzAZTOoBv9
— Steven Bakker (@Kolpen) October 27, 2022
Other prime tales from this week are as follows:
Oil corporations report document earnings
Top vitality corporations Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp have posted big quarterly earnings, a growth that has introduced up requires greater taxation of the sector. Besides Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, TotalEnergies and Shell additionally posted quarterly earnings of almost $10 billion every this week.
Globally, oil corporations have benefitted massively from the Russia-Ukraine battle and the next ban on Russian oil, which induced gasoline costs to hit an all-time excessive. A Reuters report mentioned that 4 of the 5 largest world oil corporations have now reported outcomes, combining almost $50 billion in web earnings.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemns the U.S. oil trade, and Exxon Mobil specifically, of capitalizing on a provide scarcity to fatten earnings as gasoline costs rise for Americans throughout the nation https://t.co/kgdyOFN2fU pic.twitter.com/YksaYtzURH
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 16, 2022
The earnings have been criticised by world leaders, together with US President Joe Biden, who mentioned earlier this yr that Exxon was making “more money than God”. He additionally accused Shell of misusing its earnings.
Grim information on COP26 pledges
Three key UN company experiences launched prior to now two days discovered that there’s “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place” and the present measures to chop carbon emissions are “woefully inadequate,” mentioned a report in The Guardian. The UN local weather company, meteorological company and the International Energy Agency all launched experiences that pointed at a critical lack of motivation from many international locations to stick to the COP26 agreements.
Poland to get its first nuclear energy plant
In preserving with its pledge to cut back carbon emissions, Poland has picked the proposal of a US agency to construct its first nuclear energy plant. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki mentioned on Twitter that the choice was taken after talks with US Vice-President Kamala Harris and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
📣BIG NEWS: Poland’s PM Mateusz Morawiecki simply introduced Poland will choose the U.S. authorities & Westinghouse for the primary a part of their $40B nuclear mission, creating or sustaining 100,000+ jobs for American employees. Thank you to your exhausting work with @ENERGY, @USAmbPoland! 1/ pic.twitter.com/uuovszCuGy
— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) October 28, 2022
The transfer signifies a rising partnership between Poland and the US at a time when neighbouring Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a long-term battle, which has introduced forth questions on the dependence of European international locations on Russia for his or her vitality wants.
Floods, droughts and extra
Swirling by way of the Philippines, Tropical Storm Nalgae triggered flash floods and landslides, ensuing within the demise of 72 folks, as per company experiences. Photos and movies on social media confirmed residents of low-lying villages climbing on prime of their roofs because the unusually heavy rains flooded a number of cities in Maguindanao and outlying provinces. Police and armed forces troops had been deployed to rescue the affected.
On the opposite hand, the Mississippi River that flows by way of midwestern America continued to be drought-stricken after experiencing below-average rainfall for the previous two months, reported The Associated Press. The falling water ranges have posed a brand new problem to the motion of ships and barges that transport newly-harvested meals grains like soybeans and corn for export.
