Real climate advocates should protest the protesters

AFTER a period in which their antics had faded from public attention, the idiotic subset of those who are concerned about climate change and who believe that being dramatically and pointlessly disruptive is the best way to encourage more efforts to fight it are back in the news. Anyone trying to do sincere work in climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainability, and public awareness should find a common cause with the frustrated public and governments to put a stop to these clowns, peacefully if possible but with prejudice if necessary.

Over the past several months, climate hooligans have been active across Europe, most notably in the UK, in the US and Canada, and in Australia and New Zealand. Their actions are the same predictable menu of misbehavior they've always been: defacing artworks and other petty vandalism, disrupting sporting and other public events, and blocking streets and roads. Some highlights include blocking the access road to this summer's Burning Man Festival in Nevada, stranding hundreds of motorists in the desert heat for several hours until police intervened, protesters gluing themselves to the track at the British Grand Prix, crashing numerous awards shows and football matches; and waging several weeks-long campaigns in various countries to block major roads.