I see they’re at it again.

Usually, proudly obstructing traffic and stopping people getting to hospital or a loved one’s funeral.

Smug behind they’re banners – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

In Hi-Viz jackets – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

With slogans – printed with Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

Sitting on roads – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

Having travelled there in vehicles, trains, buses, whatever – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

Wearing clothing – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

Even their raffia sandwiches and oatmeal shoes are produced using farm machinery – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

Probably from the other side of the world and transported by ships – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil.

That Stonehenge has been targeted is not only deeply offensive, it characterises the stupidity of these – things.

Stonehenge was built without fossil fuel. It did not even have processed iron ore as steel or iron.

If anything, they should have regarded it with veneration as an example of what can be and has been achieved without the oil and fossil fuel they despise.

Might as well go the whole hog and have a banner, “Too stupid to defecate without an instruction manual and a sniffer dog”.

But, here’s an idea:

New banner – “Just Stop Making New Cars”

Many years ago, as are so many things now in my life, a full comparison was run between a Morris Minor and an, at that date brand new, Ford, either Escort, Fiesta or Focus. It was expected that the modern engine, engineering and technology of the Ford would let it win hands down. But, when a full lifetime audit was made, it was found that the energy build costs of the Moggy had been amortised over such a length of time, there was no way for the Ford to beat it. However fuel efficient the newer vehicle was, it would not be able to overcome the fact that its life expectancy was so much less than that already achieved by the Morris.

Forgetting the financial aspect, the major cost of a new motor car is the energy required to manufacture it. This includes everything from mining and transporting mineral ores and other raw materials, refining, processing, transporting to the manufacture site, then the energy costs of the manufacturing process, the cost of transportation and distribution to the final point of sale. It’s a lot.

If that vehicle is scrapped after maybe five years, then the whole process, one way or another, has to be repeated to keep the same driver mobile.

In the late 1940s and ‘50s, Detroit ran into a problem. At the time, America did not have a modern highway system with interstate routes, etc. Detroit had needed to build big, strong cars. And they did. They had a big reliable V-8 engine and were made to last. And that meant the market for new cars was shrinking, or at least threatening to slow down. The solution was to build a new model each year and sell it as a status symbol. Keep up with the Joneses, you only have last year’s model – and it shows.

This was pushed and pushed, very successfully and kept the new car market running. It was a business model which has been adopted throughout the world.

I can remember Volvo proudly advertising that either 70% or 80% of all Volvos ever made were still running. So how do you sell a new Volvo? You keep very quiet about that and start “upgrading” new models. Sometimes the new feature is even a paint colour not previously available.

At the same time, realising longevity was not a great asset, manufacturing quality was downgraded, under the guise of engineering improvement. Steel gauge was reduced, replaced by plastic. Components were not repairable and must be replaced. Obsolescence became built-in.

After the Second World War, London Transport, the predecessor to TFL, needed a new fleet of buses. They had the foresight to bring in aviation engineers to help with the project. One of the big lessons learned from wartime was that an aircraft on the ground ain’t much use. It needs to be in the air. If it has to wait for an engine rebuild – bad news. The concept of a service exchange unit came in. The new fleet of buses was designed so that major components, engines, transmissions, etc. could be quickly removed and taken to the bench for a full rebuild to factory specs. Meanwhile, a previously refurbished unit could be fitted very quickly, getting the vehicle back on the road and earning revenue.

BMC, the British motor builder, adopted the idea with their “Gold Seal” replacement units. A fully reconditioned engine or gearbox could be supplied and fitted quickly and the old unit, if salvageable, returned to the works for a full spec. rebuild.

From the new vehicle sales viewpoint, not a good idea.

But in terms of sustainability, an absolute winner.

We do not need the vast numbers of new cars being forced down our gullets like chicken nuggets, only with more aggressive sales tactics.

We do not need to scrap all vehicles more than three months old. The energy cost of recycling is extremely high. It is only the mining and initial refining leg of the energy build cost that is avoided, and even that does not account for the collection, processing and transport of the recycled scrap.

Already, most people with a car more than ten years old will be familiar with the second-hand component market. It works just fine and keeps a lot of vehicles on the road, cheaply and easily. Small garages and workshops are very familiar, equipped and skilled. But it is still a cottage industry.

Recently, a steering pump failed on my car. A very good small local garage replaced it with a used unit – at a third of the cost of a new unit from the main dealer (not including the main dealer’s exorbitant labour charges). This means I can afford to replace the unit, if necessary, at least once more and break even. And that does not include the saved energy build cost of a new pump.

This system can even accommodate major advances that are really useful, not just cosmetic. Most carburettor systems can be replaced with upgraded fuel injection systems, more efficient and responsive. If industry were to turn its attention to refurbishment instead of new-build, even more improvements could be made without scrapping and rebuilding the entire car.

And stop worrying about jobs. The workforce would merely be re-deployed in local or area businesses centred on refurbishment. A nuisance for the major manufacturers who would have to downsize the production lines. But we all have to bleed a little to make this planet work- forego the second yacht and suffer.

A last note to Just Stop Oil:

Never get into an argument with a gobby amoeba. You will lose.