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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Climate change denial is dead – but the fight for green votes is starting
Donald Trump’s tweet that the snow-blasted US east coast would benefit from some global warming has reignited attention to his climate-change denial. But after a year of his presidency, it’s increasingly clear that, in terms of both public opinion and policy, rejection of climate science is a sideshow.
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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-42495883
You deserve to be in opposition
Is May any better?
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-department-killed-off-by-theresa-may-in-plain-stupid-and-deeply-worrying-move-a7137166.html
https://twitter.com/foxinsoxuk/status/949170086979538944
The answer is no and this government was one of the majority who confirmed their commitment to the Paris accord when Trump indulged in his gesture. This is why I am not convinced by Leo's piece. The answer to charges that global warming is not being taken seriously is yes it is. The commitment to the development of the infrastructure for electric cars is the latest step. Yes, some think it should be done faster but any political movement based on that is going to be pretty short lived.
Better for government to provide tax breaks for innovation and R&D in energy saving technologies, much easier politically and will most likely still produce the desired result in the end.
More seriously and on topic, I would be more interested in the approach of Green politicians if they had practical ideas for replacing current wasteful and polluting practices (e.g. Fossil fuels and overuse of plastics) with different equivalents.
At the moment while the hot air they provide properly harnessed could go some way towards meeting our energy needs, they tend to have an almost Puritanical desire to just cut everything so we slow the damage rather than solve the problem.
They also do so with an irritating holier-than-thou patronising attitude which would be more bearable if a lot of them were not so narrow-minded and ignorant.
And far too few seem really interested in the most pressing problem of all with our current lifestyle- how very short we are running of the resources to sustain it. With or without global warming we will be running out of oil probably within the lifetime of people now alive.
And what's the alternative? People bring in their own refillable mugs to fill? (which would have hygiene issues) Or for shops to provide different sorts of paper cups? Or to drink coffee on-site in their own re-washable mugs? Or do we really want them to drink less coffee?
The 5p per plastic bag charge works because (a) its accepted, as it represents a very low % of the price of a shop, (b) it makes people think about just how many bags they use, because there is a nominal cost, and, (c) there is an alternative - bring in your own bags. So it's seen as fair. And its worked.
I remain to be convinced any of these apply to takeaway coffee cups. It doesn't pass the smell test.
Edit. Don't disagree about Vince. Elegant but fragile, he is not fit for purpose.
I think it's a second order issue for most - not one that decides votes, but one that affects the view of political parties. The Tories are right to think that if they present a greener agenda it will soften to "nasty party" image.They will then hope to win votes on their key arguments (economy, Brexit, whatever) from people who would otherwise feel that voting Tory is not something to be even considered.
It is, however, an issue with an unusually well-informed key audience, so they need to avoid tokenism (hugging huskies and all that) - it would completely undo the progress.
In electoral terms, I agree with Mr. Barasi's perspective. Personally, I don't, and terms like 'denier', which have mostly been used about those attempting to pretend the Holocaust never happened, does nothing to persuade me to join the ranks of those either nagged into submission or genuinely converted to the zealous ranks of true believers.
Air passenger duty is a lot more and is I'd assume unpopular, but also largely accepted despite the best efforts of airlines like Ryanair to whip up indignation. I've never met a voter who mentioned it on the doorstep.
A major reason for this change is that there's very big money to be had in being green, especially in the energy sector. Money somewhat helps to concentrate minds on many levels.
Govt`s policies and the Paris agreement are all still based on reducing `man made global warming`There are probability theorists though who believe a mini-ice age is more likely than global warming and if they are right the current global govt green policies will look idiotic excluding Trump`s.
I do like in the USA the provision of iced tap water with meals as a matter of routine rather than request, though I deplore their throwaway plates and cutlery found in cheap hotel breakfasts. I prefer reuse rather than recycle.
Personally I cannot understand the fad of bottled water, or drinking coffee from a plasticised cup. As as far as possible I avoid both, on cost grounds as well as environmental. I do enjoy flying abroad though, but we all have our hypocrisies. Single use medical equipment is a bit of a nightmare too, no reuseable forceps and scissors any more, but cannot fight city hall.
He was convicted of 12 offences, sentenced to run concurrently. He may well have done many more, but no evidence was put forward to trial on these for whatever reason. Either we believe in the rule of law or we do not.
*Wasn't it Mrs May in charge of the Home Office 2010-16, setting the rules?
There's a fine line between a good policy like this, and a bad one though. if it had been say 50p per bag, then a lot more people would have been attacking it. So it has to be pitched and costed carefully.
Also there's practical issues. It's easy to carry an empty bag down the shops or have one knocking in the boot of the car. Thats different from cups for coffee.
Behaviours can change. People can start carrying a reusable cup. Or stop and sit. Or pay a tax for the damage.
She's wasn't responsible for setting the rules.
That was the responsibility of the Justice Secretary.
Judging by The Telegraph article, it might be the fault of Michael Gove*.
there are fears that Worboys was released as part of a drive, launched by the Government in 2016, to give prisoners serving indefinite sentences the chance of release.
*Or Liz Truss, but my money is on Gove.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/26/michael-gove-tells-tory-mp-his-christianity-informs-prison-policy-i-believe-in-redemption_n_9076940.html
https://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0513/700793-bord-na-mona/
This, rather like housing, is a multi-layered issue with a number of occasionally contradictory facets and possible solutions.
First, there's climate and there's the weather. Yes, it can be a bit colder than "normal" or a bit hotter than "normal" over a 10-20 year period but in geological terms, that's a blip. I'm inclined to the view that "something is happening" and it's happening in some regions very quickly and too quickly for it to be entirely natural. The uncomfortable truth is a lot of the world's population live in cities by the sea so sea-level rise causes problems for millions straight away while the permafrost melt in Alaska and northern Siberia appears less of an issue because there are fewer people involved.
Second, even if the deniers are right and there's nothing unusual happening it makes a lot of sense to use the finite natural resources of the planet more carefully and sensibly.
Third, we've treated the planet like a child treats his or her room and caused a mess. I've seen the pictures of the sea choked with our rubbish and I'm ashamed - closer to home, the post Christmas fly tipping clear up round East Ham is underway.
According to the song "in the avenues and alleyways where the soul of a man is easy to buy" - well, round East Ham it would be "in the avenues and alleyways where the mattress of a man is easy to dump". It angers me we still have a culture where individuals think dumping their rubbish on someone else's street is okay. The worst are the small builders and contractors who instead of paying to use the perfectly good civic amenity sites think dumping it elsewhere and getting someone else to clear it away is a good thing.
If you want an example of where capitalism needs to do better in environmental terms that's it - take some Thatcherite personal responsibility for your rubbish so to speak and that extends to how we eat and cook and preventing the fat-bergs which block our sewers.
People don't like being told how to live their lives but recycling is one of those instances where the messages are getting through - most people do it, they may not always do it right but they do try.
If temperatures decline then I suspect some will claim it's a success of their policy drive. If temperatures rise they'll cite it as evidence of their perspective.
I don't claim to be an expert, but surely that's well-documented by now.
I would support taxes on all environmentally-unfriendly disposable packaging. We have a duty of care to those that come after us, and much like with chewing gum, much of the costs of our current behaviours are not captured in the price we pay in the shop. Capturing those costs through the tax system is a perfectly legitimate and proper role for government.
Labour's spending plans are a 'bit of a s*** or bust strategy', shadow minister says
A Labour MP's colourful way of calling for more investment is seized on by Tories, who accuse the party of economic recklessness.
https://news.sky.com/story/labours-spending-plans-are-a-bit-of-a-s-or-bust-strategy-shadow-minister-says-11195726
Surely she meant to say Labour's policy would be a 'shit and bust' strategy.
Why on earth was that not done in this case to keep this man in prison until he dies?
The Frackers have a long hard road ahead of them. I introduced a controversial energy process to the UK and it took 10 years or more before the protests died away. I had death threats, and was accused of causing asthma and cancer etc.
The process is now established and has saved many millions of tons of fossil fuel.
Electric cars and renewables won't "replace oil". A lot of the extra energy powering these electric cars worldwide is going to have to come from fossil sources, from power stations which are less efficient than internal combustion engines. And vast quantities of oil will still be needed for manufacturing plastics and other industrial processes. What will power the mining machinery to mine the silicon used in solar panels and windmills? Or the vast quantities of cobalt, lithium, vanadium etc used in highly polluting processes to create the heavy duty batteries necessary to store renewable energy? Most likely it will be oil. What will be used to smelt the silicon, the steel, vanadium, cobalt, lithium....mostly coal.
Honestly, what is the contribution to global warming by going out on the road, as compared to the saving by taking your own up cup?
In global warming, the numbers are so big that if we all do a little, then it just adds up to a little. Nothing is going to change if everyone takes their own cup.
Far better to assess whether all these journeys out on the road are actually necessary.
I don't think farming is particularly broken atm, with the obvious exception of the price British consumers are willing to pay for eg. in particular milk and other farmed products. Take away subsidies which allow lower prices for you and me to buy milk at Tescos and prices will rise.
What this case shows is that, for all the hysteria around sexual harassment etc, as a society we simply do not treat these offences seriously enough when the perpetrators are caught and punished.
Re coffee cups, personally I would impose a £2.50 tax on anyone buying that abomination - cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles.
Pineapple juice or apple juice are the drink of champions.
So is mango juice, but only when my blood sugar level is below 4.5.