there's another blog i post on - it's called thethingaboutit and i put up the post about the petition. someone commented about it being a good move in light of a peaceful response to the oil situation. i commented back that it didn't seem so much about oil as about congestion itself. i re-read the comment and realised that it sounded like i wasn't acknowledging the car-tax as a response to climate change. so... i posted the following comment. it's pretty long and i thought to myself, "flip, i should just post that on my blog".
so here is my comment, for you as a post, because i value that you came to my blog to read what was going on in my little head!
"i've just re-read my comment and realised it sounds like i don't see the value of reducing cars in terms of climate change. i think responding to climate change is a very real and immediate need.
the impact of households making many small changes consistently would have afar greater effect on the carbon emissions of the country.
simple things like only boiling enough water in the kettle for the drinks you are making. using energy saving lightbulbs. unplugging phone chargers. not leaving computers , tv's, hifi's on standby, turning thermostat down by 1 degree (or even more and wearing a jumper). composting, recycling, shopping at charity shops, buying organic, using public transport or your feet which are free, not flying unnecessarily - how many poeple jetting off have explored every nook of this beautiful island we live on.
i don't do all the above, but bless my pharisee points score, i do a lot of them. and often i feel like i'm not making much difference and is there really any point, but if a domino effect takes place and the single drop turns into a puddle, which turns into a... ocean, then we would see big change.
we have enough oil to last 40 years more at our current rate of consumption and cars are not necessarily the greatest evil - but they are a very obvious one. if the plan passes through parilament then i suspect that there will be a certain laziness and complacency will kick in.
How about, the government used themoney set aside for this potential development and instead invested it in educating poeple and bringing about a nation of households who have made the little changes - surely those households would then make the bigger changes too, such as reducing car usage."
1 comment:
i was kinda think about the flip side of the road tax issue, that it may reduce the overly congested streets and so reduce CO2 emissions (altho mostly in the poorer people who cant afford it - its not gonna make much difference to the people who have the financial means to carry on as before, ie the people who already drive the chelsea tractors and SUVs that are so expensive to run...
and of course a tax on the larger cars combined with recent legislation making it almost impossible to have 3 or more children without having to upgrade to the larger cars make that 3rd child a seriously expensive investment, not least if that school run is gonna cost you nearing £100 a month in road tax!
the danger for me about the road tax issue is the potential for abuse a government might use it for, not the environmental benefit it could bring about....
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