How big is your ecological footprint ?........

[Paul mabbott]

Yes, needs to be a lot more sophisticated. One big weakness, I think, is that it doesn't allow for numbers of people per household or per car ....
We have two cars but don't use them both at once - one small diesel for daily essential use, one larger one that fits the whole family (and tent and equipment) for holidays ... or carrying double basses, drum kits and the like. When the lads finally leave home we'll probably get rid of the big one. In the meantime how does this arrangement fit into the questionaire?
Families of growing offspring create the same problem with regard to house size - three bedroomed house with two youths okay but when one of them go to university do you immediately take in a lodger? But this is a good point: a lot of older people end up in houses that are much too large for them but which they can't bear to leave. Taking in lodgers would be useful in more ways than one: financial support, help if needed, saving on energy ....

Originally Posted by henrya

Hard to answer some of the questions - it doesn't allow you not to have a car! henrya

[Rainbowmum]

I just did this and am shocked that mine is 1.7. Some of the answers I guessed so it could even be more or hopefully less.
But still I am always looking to improve!

[Paul mabbott]

And that's the good thing - I think most people on this forum feel they may be about as low as they can go .... but not a bad idea to share ideas for saving energy or avoiding polluting products.
Some good news - that Richmond (London) Council is going to hoik up parking charges for Chelsea tractors and GLA to increase their congestion charges.

Originally Posted by Rainbowmum

But still I am always looking to improve!

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Some good news - that Richmond (London) Council is going to hoik up parking charges for Chelsea tractors and GLA to increase their congestion charges.

Hi Paul....I have mixed feeling about this. I should imagine that most people in the richmond area will just pay the extra charge, because they can afford to do so, what happens when it hits people in poorer areas with large familys, they will suffer big time....Also, tradesmen,(like myself) will be forced to pass on any charges to the customer, for parking our big vehicles in the street, meaning the cost of living will go up.....There was a guy on the radio the other day, who is now retired and uses a 4x4 to tow his caravan (the ideal vehicle for the job), which he uses for his holidays in this country. He was asking, why is he going to be charged more, when many many people use aeroplanes to fly them to their holiday destinations, causing far more enviroment damage than he will ever do. He has a point....

[Paul mabbott]

Good points, Jonny.
Yes, I suspect that the charges for the rich will have little effect - they should be much higher. Basically these overlarge cars should have much higher taxation and charge rates while people using smaller, more fuel-efficient ones should pay less road tax &c... Needs to be a much greater differential. However, I think that poor people simply can't afford these beasts so ....
Yes, there ought to be some relief for people who use large vehicles professionally - at least those who can demonstrate that need (not like someone I heard locally who drives twenty miles each way on a daily basis to the city centre alone because he 'lives in a very muddy land'!).
With regard to the caravan, I have my doubts about caravans in general but also see the attractions. Many people cope with caravans with smaller cars; and how often does he use it? See my earlier mail about our having two cars - we pay in excess for a car that we hardly use; would rather not but it seems reasonable.... you makes your choice and you pays your money ... If you need a particular car for just two or three years, I would think it bette to hire one: expensive but you're saving on insurance, road tax, MOT &c &c and parking/congestion charges?
The whole concept needs a lot of thought but something has to be done!
Cheers, Paul

Originally Posted by Jonny

Hi Paul....I have mixed feeling about this. I should imagine that most people in the richmond area will just pay the extra charge, because they can afford to do so, what happens when it hits people in poorer areas with large familys, they will suffer big time....Also, tradesmen,(like myself) will be forced to pass on any charges to the customer, for parking our big vehicles in the street, meaning the cost of living will go up.....There was a guy on the radio the other day, who is now retired and uses a 4x4 to tow his caravan (the ideal vehicle for the job), which he uses for his holidays in this country. He was asking, why is he going to be charged more, when many many people use aeroplanes to fly them to their holiday destinations, causing far more enviroment damage than he will ever do. He has a point....

[nightshade]

Phew! changed the car (1.4 Diesel 58 mpg) 1.6 planets still room for
improvement I know eat the wildlife

[Paul mabbott]

No, tame the wildlife to pull your car ....

Originally Posted by nightshade

Phew! changed the car (1.4 Diesel 58 mpg) 1.6 planets still room for
improvement I know eat the wildlife

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Jonny

There was a guy on the radio the other day, who is now retired and uses a 4x4 to tow his caravan (the ideal vehicle for the job), which he uses for his holidays in this country. He was asking, why is he going to be charged more, when many many people use aeroplanes to fly them to their holiday destinations, causing far more enviroment damage than he will ever do. He has a point....

I heard that Jon, was on radio 2, he gave the councillor a right mouthfull

One of the other points mentioned on that programme, and one on channel 4 also, was that some of the modern 'large' cars emit less emissions than older smaller cars. I suppose you have to take into account that it takes more resources to make a larger car though.

Whatever happens, and as you say, it's always the 'small guy' that gets hit in the pocket.

[Garden Carpet]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Good points, Jonny.
Yes, I suspect that the charges for the rich will have little effect - they should be much higher. Basically these overlarge cars should have much higher taxation and charge rates while people using smaller, more fuel-efficient ones should pay less road tax &c... Needs to be a much greater differential. However, I think that poor people simply can't afford these beasts so ....
Yes, there ought to be some relief for people who use large vehicles professionally - at least those who can demonstrate that need (not like someone I heard locally who drives twenty miles each way on a daily basis to the city centre alone because he 'lives in a very muddy land'!).
With regard to the caravan, I have my doubts about caravans in general but also see the attractions. Many people cope with caravans with smaller cars; and how often does he use it? See my earlier mail about our having two cars - we pay in excess for a car that we hardly use; would rather not but it seems reasonable.... you makes your choice and you pays your money ... If you need a particular car for just two or three years, I would think it bette to hire one: expensive but you're saving on insurance, road tax, MOT &c &c and parking/congestion charges?
The whole concept needs a lot of thought but something has to be done!
Cheers, Paul

Some poor folks with disability do drive these bigger vehicles as they are much easier to get in and out of.. what of them I wonder?
jaki

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by Alan

I heard that Jon, was on radio 2, he gave the councillor a right mouthfull

One of the other points mentioned on that programme, and one on channel 4 also, was that some of the modern 'large' cars emit less emissions than older smaller cars. I suppose you have to take into account that it takes more resources to make a larger car though.

Whatever happens, and as you say, it's always the 'small guy' that gets hit in the pocket.

He he, yes he did, quite right too....Modern engines are very fuel efficient and do not produce much in the way of nasty emissions. I wish I was in a position to be able to buy a new car. All this new tecnology costs lots of money and it is only wealthy people, or people willing to get into debt, who can afford it.......

[Paul mabbott]

The suppliers of junkies always create their own mythology: the petrol-car industries are no different (except that they can spend millions of pounds on adverts) and petrolheads always fall for them ...
Cars made now *in some cases - there's still a lot of variation between manufacturers and models* are more energy-efficient than older ones but *all* vehicles using fossil fuels create carbon dioxide. Of course, more recent models may create less than older ones, but the bigger the car, the more it produces.
*All* car travel produces more pollution than the equivalent by bus which is less energy-efficient than train and the only transports which do not produce greenhouse gas are cycling and walking.
Petrol engines may be getting slightly more efficient *but* increasing the size of cars, increasing the numbers of cars, increasing the unnecessary journies by car will wipe that saving away. Indeed, while many people have, over the last two-three years, been going for smaller, more efficient cars, and diesel, and biofuel, the actual saving of greenhouse emission has been wiped out by the pigs taking to bigger cars!
There used to be a public health advert which said, 'Think before you drink before you drive!', perhaps this should be revived but missing out the middle phrase!
Cheers, Paul
PS: on your last point, yes, the rich will always buy what is most expensive and most polluting.... and people get into debt just to by cars that they don't need. I've said before, we (and we are *not* wealthy!) have two cars for different purposes on which we pay tax, insurance, MOT, repairs, fuel - all for minimum usage .. and the wife complains that after spending all that money I always travel by public transport when possible, which is most of the time in my case although I appreciate that some parts of the country don't have public transport ....

Originally Posted by Jonny

....Modern engines are very fuel efficient and do not produce much in the way of nasty emissions. I wish I was in a position to be able to buy a new car. All this new tecnology costs lots of money and it is only wealthy people, or people willing to get into debt, who can afford it.......

[Jonny]

I often wonder how many nasty emissions are produced in the making of a car, there is so much plastic in them these days....
Public transport needs a lot more put into it. My wife doesn't drive, she gets everywhere by me or the bus and train, she is always saying that the bus was late or didn't even show up. How would anyone feel about that if they had a job to get to and they were always being let down by public transport, they would use their car.....
I still feel we are barking up the wrong tree here though, its the big companys and the airlines the government should be concentrating on, not the motorist......

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Jonny

Hi Paul....I have mixed feeling about this. I should imagine that most people in the richmond area will just pay the extra charge, because they can afford to do so, what happens when it hits people in poorer areas with large familys, they will suffer big time....Also, tradesmen,(like myself) will be forced to pass on any charges to the customer, for parking our big vehicles in the street, meaning the cost of living will go up.....There was a guy on the radio the other day, who is now retired and uses a 4x4 to tow his caravan (the ideal vehicle for the job), which he uses for his holidays in this country. He was asking, why is he going to be charged more, when many many people use aeroplanes to fly them to their holiday destinations, causing far more enviroment damage than he will ever do. He has a point....

perhaps the answer is to exempt utilitarian vehicles from the charge. That way tradesmen with white vans and people who need a four wheel drive such as a landrover 90 or 110 wouldnt get hit - but rich so an sos who never take the thing off road anyway are not going to buy a uit to take tarquin and mellisa to school - they will buy a range rover , a freelander , a disco ,or some other kind of chelsea tractor and thus will be hit by the charge - that said the charge is essentially only a way to get more cash out of these folok cos being rich they will just pay up and keep using their gas guzzling twitmobile.

a better bet might be to actually ban SUVs from a 5 mile circumfrence of schools this would keep them away from the area in which they pose the highest risk to safety and encourage the rich to buy something else to convey tarquin et al to school in in the first place - they could even pay a "poor person" to walk them there

[Turtletagger]

I don't know how you lot get such low scores, you have to be living just on carrots and potatoes, no electricity. and walking to the fields to gather those two groceries.
I'me with Earth Heart, this is a fix, either that or you lot are cheating. What do you say Rich, my score was 3.6.
Watch what you do with your old computers Paul. I saw a programm the other week where the computers go to Africa and they are stripped and the memory accessed from the hard drive. Then the criminals collect the data and get into your bank account. Scary.

[Paul mabbott]

True - before disposing of a computer always double overwrite it not just delete 'all'!

Originally Posted by Turtletagger

Watch what you do with your old computers Paul. I saw a programm the other week where the computers go to Africa and they are stripped and the memory accessed from the hard drive. Then the criminals collect the data and get into your bank account. Scary.

[nightshade]

Small older vehicles need a proper tune to gain max.economy/emissions rating
A workmate who did all her own services,bit the bullet and parted with
money for a full tune, the result was an upgrade to the engines fuel system
which reduced fuel consumption and emissions (which at todays prices will soon
pay for itself)

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Turtletagger

Watch what you do with your old computers Paul. I saw a programm the other week where the computers go to Africa and they are stripped and the memory accessed from the hard drive. Then the criminals collect the data and get into your bank account. Scary.

In fact even a complete overwrite wont neccessarily erase a drive - you can get comercial programmes which will suposedly gurantee to delete everything but several criminals have found to their cost that the forces of law and order can still recover info from such drives - and if the good guys can do it chances are that bad guys can as well.

The only way to be completely safe is to erase and ovewrite the drive then physically remove it from the machine and destroy it using metal shears to cut the disks up - even this wont neccesarily erase every last bit of info but it is very unlikely that criminals will bother to try and read info off the fragments.

If you are super paranoid you cut also use a blowtorch to melt the disk fragments then pour the molten metal into a hole in the ground - put this will be overkill for most people and if you are that paranoid it might be better not to bank online in the first place

edit: another easier solution is to pull the drive out , stick in an enclosure, reformat it then use it for extra storage on the new system - or installit on the new system and use it as a scratch disk

[Paul mabbott]

The Guardian has a new web-page devoted to helping us reduce our carbon footprints ....

Tread Lightly | Environment | Guardian Unlimited

[ron1863]

I scored 3.8 but was brutally honest, can everyone say the same???

[naturelover]

1.4 planets for me,might not be right because wasnt sure what country ours was like?

[Blackbrook Eye]

Originally Posted by naturelover

1.4 planets for me,might not be right because wasnt sure what country ours was like?

I also found that problem, there wasn't a city in the options that is remotely like Shepshed. It seems to me that to get your footprint down to one planet size, would require living under the stars and eating grass, I scored 2.1 and trust me I am too mean to waste anything. A point not covered was although house size was taken into account, there was no mention of how it was heated, and that surely must have some impact

[Jez]

I'm very surprised at 1.2 but it was all to asking on my composting. perhaps it was due to the self standing house?