Subject: Re: Travel to Barcelona


Interesting point...my brother lives in NYC and my closest friend in Brazil How to get round this?

	Email is pretty good.....! 

But actually guilt about travel is just one dimension. Were in the 1 billion elite club - the 5 billion on the periphery want to join us...whilst we are toying with the idea of joining them...a much wiser idea if we follow today's international report on climate change.....

And yet it's the whole package...all the offices in my building are too hot today given the unusual spring weather for february...Has the heating been turned down...er no, have people adopted a layered sweater approach to feeling warm in winter even inside , not yet - we still depend on the old fashioned metghod of opening and closing windows ..have we all given up eating meat? er no...

I think we ought to look more at the psychology of getting us to change our damaging climate change addictions. The government has just increased taxes on air travel..will that lead to fewer journeys - er probably not; do travellers feel better about paying the fee - er probably not, will the money go into creative climate change projects rather than the Chancellors coffers - probably not - it will do doubt help to fund part of the 2012 Olympics.....Contrast this with the German government's decision to retrofit less energy efficient homes...If we did that in this country, would it make a measurable imapct on Carbon emmisions, very much yes; would people love it if it was at no coast to them - of course since they will get an upgrading which saves themm money on fuel bills and actually produces a feel good factor whilst having a warmer less polluting house....

If energy efficient choices were made to cost less that energy inefficient ones then most of us would willingly jump....which is anotgher good reason for examing how the £75 billion about to be sopent on Trident could actually offer us all new energy reducing alternatives...I'm sure faster forms of land transport could be evolved on existing infrastructure if only we had adequate investment - imagine going to Barcelona by anti-gravity rail from your local station..the Shanghai Mag lev train travels at over 300 miles per hour....I would certainly use that rather than air....

Alas the western world is spending more on war than advanced carbon control measures and of course we should take individual steps to make small changes but let us not lose sight of the fact that the universal plan for emergency climate change as we currenly are organised is not magic mirrorors to reflect the sun but war planning. By all means let us ponder our own jouneys and their merits but the big boys have toys and a game plan of eventually militarising almost everything...if we give way to them then you can bugger Barcelona and Bogna......

Steve
On a sunny day in february amidst unseasonal blossom

				


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