Attended the second Climate Justice and Solidarity working group meeting last night. Proceedings got rather distracted by a proposal to formalise a general safe-space policy and an accompanying set of resolution processes - which I'm not opposed in principle, but as things progressed much of the talk did start reminding me of the kind of wrangling that accompanied the demise of Atheism+.
I listen for a good 20mins before chipping in with the idea that we should probably be mindful of forming any kind of internal policing body--perhaps shouldn't have used the word apparatchiks--and that thinking about finding ways to balance any resolution process in such a way that the offended aren't seen to be more empowered than the offendee might be something worth exploring. I got some immediate and stiff criticism for that. Oops! One particularly agitated chap ended up saying something to effect of "So what you're saying is that we should give people a free pass to behave anyway they like and stuff those who might be on the receiving end of it!"
Enough people countered that and called for calm for me not to have to address that errant bum custard.
At the end of the discussion I was surprised to be nominated by the group to lead devising a conflict resolution policy - which I declined. I said that I saw XR as a self-organising sociocracy in which groups work autonomously and define their own mandates under certain general principles and values, and that I saw the role of a Climate Justice and Solidarity working group as one that includes and represents the interests of oppressed and disenfranchised people rather than one that tells and enforces how other working groups should or shouldn't operate - each group should talk about the issues themselves and do what works for them. Somebody behind me actually harrumphed! We moved on to other things.
Several people made a point of reassuring me after the meeting and the agitated young man came an apologised for 'getting a bit hot and bothered' - which was good of him. I told him I understood his concerns and that there was no hard feelings, but cried off the usual post-meeting trip to the pub over the road, and probably won't go back to that group unless I'm asked for a specific reason relating to the other stuff I'm doing. I'll be interested to see how this group develops though.
I guess some of them just saw a middle-age white man telling them they were being idiots.
Perhaps I was - a bit.
NOx can be reacted with urea and catalytically converted into nitrogen and CO2. The particulates are solids, and once preciptated are not dangerous. 
