However all "planning" is limited to unenforceable targets which, to be met, will require action by someone else in the next half century or so. No one in power now intends to make any major changes, which will cause short term pain to industry or (in democracies) to voters.

On the other hand the protesters seem to be equally non-serious. It is utterly unrealistic to expect our civilisation to stop using large amounts of electric power unless we either come up with something better, or we cease to have the capacity to generate electric power. This may be crazy but that is the sort of creatures we are.

In the UK, at least, whatever type of power generation is proposed produces opposition. There is no general agreement on the use of coal fired or nuclear power stations, wind power or the Severn Barrage. However we need power from somewhere.

Somebody, sometime is going to face a crisis bad enough that drastic action will have to be taken. Hopefully by that time something will still be possible. However we are nowhere near the required level of desperation yet. So naturally the UK government addresses energy problems now with more of the same, whatever impact that may have on the climate change targets.  

In the UK, at least, whatever type of power generation is proposed produces opposition. There is no general agreement on the use of coal fired or nuclear power stations, wind power or the Severn Barrage. However we need power from somewhere.

It's worth noting that the greener the power source, the more the opposition comes from within the "Establishment". Wind power is often frustrated within whitehall by lobby groups.

I do not know the answer to Britains energy needs because I am not an expert, but what is certain that our politicians have made no effort to encourage the sensible use of energy by demanding buildings that use energy efficiently or by promoting the retro-fitting of exisitng buildings with such systems as can reduce their wastefulness. How can we build huge glass towers that require megawatts to heat their surroundings in winter and the same to cool in summer as sunlight pours through and not factor in huge penalties for such profligacy ?

Equally, in a island as windy as this, with substantial mountainous regions in very wet areas for year-round hydro power and having a substantial western coast facing the Atlantic ocean for wave current energy, we ought to have developed a considerable infrastructure to exploit these resources by now. The fact that we haven't done any of this shows the extent to which the establishment has deliberately starved the development of such initiatives. We are faced with a nuclear and coal powered future because our politicans have become dependent on a lobby system that favours nuclear and coal.

To say the protesters aren't serious is unfair, they do not have the resurces to develop the alternatives that exist, but they are very well aware that the preferred solutions of the lobbyists and the politicans they finance will lead to very poor outcomes for the country. Most nuclear power stations will be flooded by the more minor predicted rises in sea level brought about by global warming, I fail to see how this might help.

keep to the Fen Causeway

The police are definitely helping get the issue out there! As for the comments above - I think this is the key strength of a protest like this - it can move or even set the agenda. These protesters can create a real and urgent debate about the impending development of a large number of coal fired  power stations in the UK. If the UK and similar developed countries are to have any influence on this global issue then setting some kind of positive example of rapid transition is URGENT. Here is their rationale as stated on the Camp website.

Unless there's a big fight over Kingsnorth these companies, with the backing of Government, want to build six more atmosphere-crunching coal fired power stations in the next few years. Collectively these power stations would emit around 50 million tons of CO2 a year. It's hard to understand such a callous disregard for your fellow humans but if you want to, start by following the money. Power stations make lots of it and, given the amount of coal around, they're a `safe' long term investment. It's an age-old story but the ending isn't written yet.

What happens at Kingsnorth is vitally important. When people get together determined to make the world a better place there is history-making potential. Look at the Suffragettes, the struggle for workers rights, the anti-roads movement. Kingsnorth can and will be stopped if enough of us get together to make it happen.

Source: Why Kingsnorth?

Then we'd get a clear picture showing us what the public thinks and feels about energy issues. ;)

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

A "stash of knives and weapons" has been found near the Climate Camp in Kent, police have said.

Officers said they recovered the weapons from a wooded area on the Hoo peninsula on Monday evening.

Protesters said the weapons were nothing to do with the camp and accused police of a "smear campaign".

Earlier police and protesters clashed at the site, where about 1,000 people are camped. Twelve people were arrested and seven charged.

Officers said the weapons included an adapted knife, replica throwing star, knife block containing knives and a large chain with a padlock.

Throughout Scargill's talk he reiterated (with considerable passion) his complete opposition to nuclear energy, on grounds of safety and workers' conditions. Many Uranium miners are paid compensation for illness due to exposure to radiation, on the agreement that the company is absolved of any liability. Consequently these deaths do not appear in official figures and so the human cost of nuclear energy is hidden.

Taking gas and nuclear out of the picture, this leaves the country with a considerable energy deficit which, in Scargill's opinion, could not immediately be filled by renewable energy sources. While some efficiency measures should be taken (he mentioned insulation of all homes and workplaces), no considerable reduction in energy consumption could be achieved. With him the hippy arguments of "who needs a 30 inch plasma TV" (shouted out at the meeting), and more fundamental lifestyle changes leading to reduction in energy use are not realistic. Instead, "our children deserve the same standard of living that we have", this also being extended to the developing world where rising energy needs must be provided for.

Scargill says this energy can only be provided by British coal, mined under hard-won conditions and very low accident rate (for the mining industry), and burned in modern coal-fired power stations fitted with carbon capture technology. Combined heat and power plants can increase efficiency from roughly 30% (which is typical of Coal, Gas and Oil) to 70%, by providing cheap household heating to communities. A number of clean coal technologies were discussed, many of which were proven in the 70s and 80s in experimental power generation plants run by the Coal Board, later being shut down by the Tory government.

The UK should take active steps to prepare for dangerous climate change of perhaps 4C according to one of the government's chief scientific advisers.

In policy areas such as flood protection, agriculture and coastal erosion Professor Bob Watson said the country should plan for the effects of a 4C global average rise on pre-industrial levels. The EU is committed to limiting emissions globally so that temperatures do not rise more than 2C.

"There is no doubt that we should aim to limit changes in the global mean surface temperature to 2C above pre-industrial," Watson, the chief scientific adviser to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the Guardian. "But given this is an ambitious target, and we don't know in detail how to limit greenhouse gas emissions to realise a 2 degree target, we should be prepared to adapt to 4C."