I misread “Sanaa” as Santa and I was not even surprised, like of course Israel is blocking kids there from getting presents. Unsurprisingly, reality is even worse.

I think you underestimate how long 20 years is. But yes, in europe we usually try to improve someone while in prison so we get back a funtioning member of society, not enslave them for life like in the US.

It’s the maximum sentence in france, I believe.

I was backpacking with my boyfriend and our dog one time and sitting in front of the supermarket with the dog while he went shopping. It was hot so I had a bowl of water for the dog. First a person dropped 5 euros in the water bowl, which I quickly gave back, explaining in broken french I was not homeless. Next, a kid gave me a bag of croissants and a bag of dog treats! I couldn’t refuse, so now we are always on the lookout for beggars and dogs to pay it forward. We already succesfully bought treats for two dogs and gave a bag of croissants to a woman with a young child begging.

It is probably a statement related to the average tree. Also, I believe hemp and bamboo are not trees (but I’m also not a plant scientist) so not really relevant in a statement about trees.

I coudn’t find a source for your statement, but I did find that it takes a tree 30-40 years to store a ton of CO2, so maybe that’s what they mean? A tree will store carbon as it grows, because it builds itself with carbon from the air. https://ecotree.green/en/how-much-co2-does-a-tree-absorb

We were all ready to discuss the politics of climate and climate justice. A talk about the justice of support for countries in Africa dealing with natural disasters while they are responsible for less than 4% of emissions was very well received. The “politics” was someone asking to free palestine and telling us not to vote for the biggest green social party because they are not doing enough for oppressed people. I think we can rightfully say that was too off-topic for this march.

I see many people saying this, and claiming that therefore any protest or attempt at doing anything for the environment is futile. But although it will be hard, protest and change is also necessary. In the Netherlands, aggresive protests have already ensured that fossil subsidies (38 billion euros of subsidies to companies that work with fossil fuels) are a major talking point for the upcoming election. Doing nothing isn’t an option anymore.

I was there and the interruption happened only a short while after she said everyone deserves a voice. All the guy did was ask to put the focus back from polarizing views to the main goal of the day, a march for a better and more just climate policy. Let’s hope this message comes across with at least 70.000 people marching!