Going Green

[CarlMetro]

It seems to be a bit of a political obsession in the UK at the moment.

We have the Chancellor yesterday announcing rises in fuel duty for motorists and a doubling of environmental taxes on airline flights from £5 to £10.

We had a transport study published which suggests charging motorists for every mile they drive.

Then have seen the Congestion Charge in London introduced, the price then inflated and now the are covered expanded to almost double the original size.

And of course we are about to see greater increases in road fund licence for the most polluting vehicles, with the top band possibly paying upwards of a £1,000 a year.

We also have local authorities proposing that we should be paying more for refuse which is not recyclable to be taken away.

We are told that we should turn off our tv's and computers rather than leaving them on standby, and to use energy saving light-bulbs to save electricity.

All of this, and much much more to save the planet, to maintain the climate we have, to stop man from destroying the one thing he truly cannot exist without.

...........and yet a report last week, published by the Chinese government confirmed that they plan to build 526 coal-fired power stations in the next 20 years.

USA still refuses to acknowledge the benefits of the Kyoto Agreement, and therefore refuses to sign up to it, although primarily because of cost of implementation.

Former Eastern block countries such as Poland produce more pollutants in a day than some of the better countries across the world do in a week.

So, tell me, what is the point of me doing little things when not everyone else is doing the same thing?

[Sleeper]

Not much in the grand scheme of things, but someone has got to make a start somewhere. Might as well be here, just wish it didnt mean overcharging us without seeing any benifit in any department.

[oldhippie]

the oil companys are ripping you off so why shouldnt the government get a piece of you too?

[Daniel]

Not much in the grand scheme of things, but someone has got to make a start somewhere. Might as well be here, just wish it didnt mean overcharging us without seeing any benifit in any department.

I agree. It's got to start somewhere. if it fails then it fails. At least we tried.

[Hazell B]

There's a massive point to doing something rather than nothing.

For example, refuse. What other countries do has no bearing on our own problem with landfill and recycling. Let them have litter in the streets, that's their own fault. However, if we continue just lumping rubbish together in the land, we'll end up landfilled to our own back door steps. Fancy living near a dump? Neither do I :

Less cars in the cities means cleaner air near your lungs, and that of your children. What's wrong with cutting down on car use if you want to breathe clean air when walking the city streets?

Using a bit less power at home means lower fuel bills (no matter what the power companies say!) each year. Unless you enjoy paying your electricity bill, why waste power?

I'm a bit confused about the zero carbon new house thingy. Anyone care to explain that one to me as I cannot work out how a new build can possibly be zero carbon when it's built with concrete, etc. Unless they mean zero when it's lived in?

[Daniel]

There's a massive point to doing something rather than nothing.

For example, refuse. What other countries do has no bearing on our own problem with landfill and recycling. Let them have litter in the streets, that's their own fault. However, if we continue just lumping rubbish together in the land, we'll end up landfilled to our own back door steps. Fancy living near a dump? Neither do I :

Less cars in the cities means cleaner air near your lungs, and that of your children. What's wrong with cutting down on car use if you want to breathe clean air when walking the city streets?

Using a bit less power at home means lower fuel bills (no matter what the power companies say!) each year. Unless you enjoy paying your electricity bill, why waste power?

I'm a bit confused about the zero carbon new house thingy. Anyone care to explain that one to me as I cannot work out how a new build can possibly be zero carbon when it's built with concrete, etc. Unless they mean zero when it's lived in?

I'm guessing the latter is correct. It's carbon neutral when lived in? I think it would be very hard to negate the carbon used in the construction of a house.

Incidently I helped out yesterday planting a woodland on an old tip site that had been capped and had a bit of topsoil put on top of it. Just think of all the carbon that those trees will be taking out of the air Plus it will also look a little better than a barren old tip site!!!!!! Was quite satisfying work even though it was raining. Thank god for gore-tex raincoats!!!!

Being green doesn't just have to make sense from an environmental point of view either. Having a composter, wormery, wind turbine or light efficient bulbs saves money by meaning you need less electricty and you don't need to go to B&Q and buy compost or fertiliser. If you can save money and be green at the same time then why not?

[BDunnell]

I agree with the view that doing nothing on an individual level because China, India and the like aren't doing anything is no argument at all. It's an obvious thing to say, but if every country that isn't that big a polluter in the grand scheme of things took the same attitude, the world will get nowhere in terms of tackling something that is undeniably (unless you seriously believe those who say that the phenomenon of climate change doesn't exist) very important.

[Daniel]

I agree with the view that doing nothing on an individual level because China, India and the like aren't doing anything is no argument at all. It's an obvious thing to say, but if every country that isn't that big a polluter in the grand scheme of things took the same attitude, the world will get nowhere in terms of tackling something that is undeniably (unless you seriously believe those who say that the phenomenon of climate change doesn't exist) very important.

Regardless of whether this warming is caused by natural warming or the greenhouse effect it's something that people should be very worried about. Just a few hundred metres from where I live here in lovely sunny north wales there's a nice big hill which is I think about 500 ft tall. Not that many thousands of years ago it was almost all underwater and where I'm sitting now would have been a few hundred feet under the sea by an oceanside cliff rather than being just a couple of miles from the sea as it is now. Regardless of whether it's caused by us or the planet it's happening very fast and has serious implications for many areas of the planet and not just people living by the sea.

[schmenke]

..............and yet a report last week, published by the Chinese government confirmed that they plan to build 526 coal-fired power stations in the next 20 years....
Former Eastern block countries such as Poland produce more pollutants in a day than some of the better countries across the world do in a week....

True, but on a per-capita basis Western countries still are far more polluting than China, specifically in the production of greenhouse gases. USA and Candada are the worst offenders. I'll do some googling and try to dig up some statistics.

[Dave B]

It's frustrating when you try to be as green as possible, only to see countries like China and the USA undo all your good work.

On the old forum, I made fun of the fact that I can change a 100w filament bulb for an 18w energy saving one, yet the chavs over the road will use five times that saving just with their Christmas lights!

Of course the UK should do the right thing, and be seen to be doing the right thing. But there's a massive sense of injustice that we're doing ourselves no favours economically, while certain other countries can expand their economies without a care in the world.

If you wanted a ship built, or to set up a factory, would you do it in a country that was carbon-neuteral, or one that would do the job cheaply?