Eat your cake

[Darley]

I see a lot of posts about conserving fuel and saving energy, and am always a bit bemused by the 'green' bandwagon thing. If you really want to save energy and the planet, ditch the car and all those pretty little gadgets that light up your home. Arguing about whether bio-fuels are better than fossil fuels is like arguing over who should get to pull the plug from the bottom of a sinking ship.

Unless people are prepared to significantly alter their habits, the demand for scarce resources will continue to rise, and in the process a lot of poor people will get poorer, die of starvation, or be annihilated in wars over food, water and fuels.

A simple and quick solution for the UK, would be to follow France’s lead and invest in nuclear energy. Then the government should think about ways to discourage travel; a good start would be to ban out-of-town shopping and business parks, reduce the catchment areas for schools and hospitals, and give financial incentives to encourage the re-development and sustainability of town centres.

The ‘green’ movement is nothing new, having been around at least 40 years, and it’s continued existence proves beyond doubt that mankind will always resist change if it means we have to give up something. You want your cake; and you want to eat it, ice it, dip it in honey and suck the life out of it.

[badger426]

Hmmmm... interesting, but as Tesco say every little helps.
Badger.

[Davy Crockett]

Originally Posted by Darley

I see a lot of posts about conserving fuel and saving energy, and am always a bit bemused by the 'green' bandwagon thing. If you really want to save energy and the planet, ditch the car and all those pretty little gadgets that light up your home. Arguing about whether bio-fuels are better than fossil fuels is like arguing over who should get to pull the plug from the bottom of a sinking ship.

Unless people are prepared to significantly alter their habits, the demand for scarce resources will continue to rise, and in the process a lot of poor people will get poorer, die of starvation, or be annihilated in wars over food, water and fuels.

A simple and quick solution for the UK, would be to follow France’s lead and invest in nuclear energy. Then the government should think about ways to discourage travel; a good start would be to ban out-of-town shopping and business parks, reduce the catchment areas for schools and hospitals, and give financial incentives to encourage the re-development and sustainability of town centres.

The ‘green’ movement is nothing new, having been around at least 40 years, and it’s continued existence proves beyond doubt that mankind will always resist change if it means we have to give up something. You want your cake; and you want to eat it, ice it, dip it in honey and suck the life out of it.

I agree with much of your ideas on green issues, I do my best with recycling etc. then what about the masses in the very poor countries of the world when if every will they go green, if they not all ready.
It’s a big merry-go-round, help one poor country out of the poverty trap and introduce them to pollution and polluting

[derelict]

Originally Posted by Darley

A simple and quick solution for the UK, would be to follow France’s lead and invest in nuclear energy.

hasn't this just happened? Hasn't HMG handed over the UK nuclear industry to a Monsieur Burns in EDF?

Originally Posted by Darley

Then the government should think about ways to discourage travel;

surely our fellow-motorists and commuters do that for us already? I don't see how HMG could make it worse...

Originally Posted by Darley

The ‘green’ movement is nothing new, having been around at least 40 years, and it’s continued existence proves beyond doubt that mankind will always resist change if it means we have to give up something. You want your cake; and you want to eat it, ice it, dip it in honey and suck the life out of it.

You've missed the bit about getting your money back afterwards...!