Just Stop Oil refuse to rule out driving to Stonehenge - but I, for one, don't blame them

Whether I personally agree with the group’s decision to target Stonehenge is neither here nor there - I’m actually keen to talk about how the protesters got there. There aren’t any railway stations particularly near to the site, with the closest probably being in Salisbury - about half an hour’s drive away. That’s not to say you can’t get there using public(ish) transport. Tour buses depart from most of the nearby cities, an option I’ve used myself to visit the monument.

You’d be well within reason, however, to assume the protesters drove there - quite possibly in a fossil fuel-burning private vehicle. And when I asked Just Stop Oil how they got to Stonehenge, a spokesperson told me they “don't discuss details like that”, although clarified they were very happy to talk about “what really matters” - climate breakdown and how we have to stop burning all new oil and gas by 2030.

While some might call this a “gotcha” moment and rush to accuse the group of hypocrisy, I can’t say I really blame them - even if they did drive there. Unfortunately, no matter how much some of us may want to change the world, we’re all too often bound by the systems we live in.

It’s impossible to live without eating, but even if you forego meat or palm oil to protect the planet, other crops may be farmed, stored, or transported unsustainably, or even shipped in from overseas, stacking up an enormous carbon footprint. You probably have little say over whether your food comes wrapped in plastic, and you might not be able to afford organic, locally-grown produce - or much food at all if you don’t work. And if there isn’t a well-funded public transport network or EV-friendly infrastructure where you live, you’re pretty much forced to drive a petrol or diesel car to get there.

That’s why even if we’re doing our best, it’s so important to fight for systemic change. Our political leaders and big businesses are the ones who really have the power to right the environmental wrongs driving the climate, biodiversity, plastics and various other environmental crises we’ve all found ourselves in - and it needs to happen sooner rather than later, or we’re all pretty screwed.

As a climate action group, should Just Stop Oil perhaps be more transparent and strive to live up to the standards they champion? Definitely. Last year, I asked them what kind of powder paint they used for their demonstrations, and they sent me a link (it’s this one, in case you’re curious). It’s eco-friendly and very safe, as you might expect.

But just like the rest of us, Just Stop Oil and its activists also live in a broken system, and they’re fighting for something that ultimately needs to happen if we and the world are to have much of a future at all.