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About Me
- Susan Harwood
- It's one of those odd things . . . I live in my little house by the sea and listen to the radio and reckon I know best about more-or-less everything . . . as I keep telling the news-casters, the policiticians and all the experts interviewed there. I shout quite loud - but I'm beginning to suspect they can't hear! Sometimes, I write to my MP . . . but there's always more to say. So, here it is!
BOOK ON A BLOG
THE BRICKS IN THE CAVE - A full length children's adventure story by Susan Harwood - click on the book to read it.
ANOTHER BOOK ON A BLOG
TIMES RHYMES - For people who want to learn 'Times Tables' the easy way!
4 comments:
I think you are shouting at the wrong thing. Governments, businesses and people need to listen to the evidence for climate change, which is compelling and I have to say they have started to, and then take action in a big and coordinated way to mitigate the effects of climate change and to adapt to the changes which will still take place due to the leaves of CO2e already in the atmosphere.
The point that has caused you to "shout at the radio" is if people turned down the thermostats by a degree. You keep on hearing this because the large majority of people haven't and are unlikely to modify their behaviour until the cost directly applies to them here and now, not in some future temperature rise. Fuel poverty or the current increase in domestic energy prices does encourage people to turn down their heat, but it hasn't been due to many people's concern about climate change and the big global societal changes this is likely to bring!
I applaud the recent decision announced by Ed Miliband to increase the UK target to cut greenhouse gas emissions from 60% to 80% by the middle of this century. It is not going to be easy to achieve, but is necessary.
Keep shouting.
Thanks for the 'keep shouting' bit at the end! It's encouraging!
Two thoughts behind this:-
Turning down thermostats may be important but, as you suggest, those who are likely to do it have probably done so already, so banging on about it as if that's all that matters is daft (and a waste of all the leaflets it's written on).
The other is that, as you say, governments and businesses need to take action in a 'big and co-ordinated way'. Turning down thermostats (and part filling kettles) may be important (I don't want to run it down) but the power saved is trivial compared with the amount of energy wasted by the very governments which encourage us to turn off our lights and by big businesses which proudly display 'recycled paper' on their packaging.
This is an appeal for BIGGER actions by people with the power REALLY to make a difference!
As an aside:-
You mention fuel poverty . . . I do have a worry that the wrong people (in other words the people who are already cold) will be the ones who end up turning their thermostats down.
Susan
You have to keep on telling people if it will help the problem. You just have to find different ways to get the message across. You can see this through the power generation companies who on the one had wish to sell power yet on the other hand provide advice and encourage customers to reduce energy. There is a real dichotomy here, but driver largely links into CO2e emissions that come with the power supply. The current high cost of energy does have the advantage of encouraging people to really consider their usage. When power is cheap and the environmental cost less obvious to the consumer, or the impacts too far in the future for them to be that interested, despite the impact that it will have on future generations, it tends to be other events that will change usage. There will be a lot of people who now think about there energy use and it has nothing to do with CO2e, just the economics of affordability.
I understand your point that it feels like the smallest user being asked to do something whilst others don't, but I have no problem with this. The need to reducing emissions is a societal issue on a global stage. The feeling of being asked to take an action (in this case turning down your heating) is a cost to you and your utility. It is the same in a global setting when we ask developing countries to reduce emissions when our emissions in the developed world have been the main contributor to climate change. Requesting developing countries to restrict their emissions seems rather harsh in light of this, but necessary in just the same way (although whilst we in the west need to cut our emissions drastically now, we need to accept that developing countries emissions will need to increase further before they can decrease).
My rather long reply is really trying to say we all have a part to play and the incentive is an ethical quandary. Make changes because you believe in them for the long term benefit of society, rather than not because you don't see everyone else in society doing so.
Bigger actions by people in power will make a difference. That's why I think it is great that we now have an 80% target, although arguable this should be bigger still. The Governments role is to help society with the incentive a rather tricky thing when we elect them, but don't wish to face the reality of living in a global society that requires us to have a much smaller emissions footprint.
I don't share you worry that the wrong people, i.e. the cold people, will be the ones to turn down their thermostats further. We make countless decisions everyday, all of which have a "carbon footprint", whether buying produce from abroad, rather than UK, or drinking coke, rather than water from the tape. Each action leaves a footprint. As an individual we can make decisions about the level of that footprint, but continue to live in the society we live into day.
Keep shouting....
You can help fighting the climate change. How?
At Home:
Think about how much waste you produce daily, then REDUCE, RECYCLE, REUSE!
Use ONLY low-energy bulbs. They use up to 80% less power and last 10 times more than the traditional ones.
Turn OUT the heaters when you air your home. Don’t eat up the exterior.
Low Down the thermostat at least by one degree. 20 to 21 degrees are sufficient for a home.
Make sure that all the electrical household appliances and the lights of your home are turned off when you go out.
Leaving music or television working in your home in order to avoid robbery is sensless measure
Insulate property roofs, water deposits, piping systems.
Purchase ONLY low-energy household appliance.
Think about installing renewable energy supply.
Doing all this won´t prevent anyone to keep shouting ;) ...
Cheers,
Piero
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