worn thumbs
Established Member
Absolutely true! If we are dealing with a global challenge,we should require all nations to do their part.A few dozen new coal fired power stations in China each year utterly eclipse our efforts to clean things up.Something also needs to be done to persuade Billy-Bob in Alabama that he doesn't actually need a three ton pickup to transport himself and his testicles to the supermarket for a loaf of bread.Logically, a level of taxation that corresponds to the same proportion of average pay ought to be applied.No American politician would dare suggest such a thing as $4 or less per gallon is practically a birthright and an environmentally sensible step would guarantee political oblivion.
In the meantime,our political classes have just began to have doubts that imposing the hairshirt lifestyle on us is actually the route to acquiring or retaining power.I suppose they might have been blinded by operating in a zone with abundant public transport,and even so TFL have had rather a lot of money put their way to bail them out.Those of us in the wastelands outside the M25 have a much sparser provision of public transport.I certainly don't advocate doing nothing but imposing expensive new requirements on us collectively will inevitably divert money from other things and who can predict the level of shrinkage that will be experienced by other areas of the national economy?
I'd be fascinated to see a map showing where the necessary new power stations will be located and the routes of the grid connections that will be needed.Locally we have the inevitable protest group objecting to a line of new pylons,although their fears may be somewhat relieved by the windfarms at the end of them being put on hold as the economics don't work with current interest rates.We also have the Stop Sizewell C group doing their best to keep capacity down.We need an awful lot of generating capacity and we need it soon.
