Global Warming - Are you doing anything ??

Use this board for general non-cycling-related chat, or to introduce yourself to the forum.
User avatar
Fonant
Posts: 432
Joined: 14 Dec 2006, 9:18pm
Location: Lancing, West Sussex
Contact:

Post by Fonant »

hubgearfreak wrote:remember, REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE, in that order


I couldn't agree more. That's why we reduce our use of throw-away disposables, and reuse our cotton nappies again and again ;)
Anthony Cartmell (also known as "admin" when posting in a more official capacity on this Forum)
Kangaroo trike, Windcheetah recumbent, Batavus dutch bike, Dawes Galaxy Twin tandem, Pashley unicycle
http://www.fonant.com – Quality web sites.
User avatar
hubgearfreak
Posts: 8212
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 4:14pm

Post by hubgearfreak »

Fonant wrote:
hubgearfreak wrote:remember, REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE, in that order


I couldn't agree more. That's why we reduce our use of throw-away disposables, and reuse our cotton nappies again and again ;)


& increase your use of soap, electricity & water :wink:

OK i'm not perfect, but without a proper CBA we'll have to agree that the advantages of either are best marginal if existant at all. :D
pickles
Posts: 19
Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 6:09pm

Post by pickles »

Some very impressive stories here. I don't have a driving licence (and don't intend to get one) so that isn't a problem. My priorities are:

1) No flying
2) Little/no driving
3) Little/no meat eating
4) Smaller house

It sounds pretty awful, but I find the old disposable/non-disposable nappy debate (Defra came down in favour of the former) rather ironic. Surely having children at all is about the worst thing you can do environmentally? Not a serious suggestion, but the logical conclusion of any debate over personal actions undertaken in the name of sustainability.
User avatar
hubgearfreak
Posts: 8212
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 4:14pm

Post by hubgearfreak »

pickles wrote:Surely having children at all is about the worst thing you can do environmentally?.


the outcome would be extinction for humanity.

that would certainly be the end of man-made environmental problems, but a bit of an extreme solution, IMHO.

but it does raise the question of the importance of nappies...i.e., in his lifetime, the benefits of either will pale into insignificance compared with his (hopefully) 80 years of comsuming goods

i mean i hope he doesn't die young, not that he'll be jetting off to dubai skiing
User avatar
Fonant
Posts: 432
Joined: 14 Dec 2006, 9:18pm
Location: Lancing, West Sussex
Contact:

Post by Fonant »

pickles wrote:Surely having children at all is about the worst thing you can do environmentally?


Depends what you mean by being good environmentally. I take it to mean preserving our environment so that mankind can continue to exist in reasonable comfort, without selfishly consuming finite resources. It's really about being careful now, so that we all don't suffer from pollution, lack of energy, global warming, etc. in decades to come.

If you think mankind is generally a Bad Thing, then stopping having children would indeed be a Good Thing. But then you'd get into discussions about the meaning of life, the need to reproduce, etc.
Anthony Cartmell (also known as "admin" when posting in a more official capacity on this Forum)
Kangaroo trike, Windcheetah recumbent, Batavus dutch bike, Dawes Galaxy Twin tandem, Pashley unicycle
http://www.fonant.com – Quality web sites.
User avatar
Fonant
Posts: 432
Joined: 14 Dec 2006, 9:18pm
Location: Lancing, West Sussex
Contact:

Post by Fonant »

hubgearfreak wrote:but it does raise the question of the importance of nappies


I think the nappy issue gets pushed a lot by local authorities that are facing increasing landfill costs is because it's a nice, easily-defined, problem with a solution in control of individuals. Of course there's much more than nappies getting thrown away (I liked the idea from It's Not Easy Being Green that there's no such place as "away"), but the problems and solutions are less well-defined, and you'd need to get Tesco to change its ways...

I think the same sort of thing applies to road congestion and the constant call to reduce car trips to school. Much more congestion is caused by adult commuter traffic, but that's a less-well-defined target.
Anthony Cartmell (also known as "admin" when posting in a more official capacity on this Forum)
Kangaroo trike, Windcheetah recumbent, Batavus dutch bike, Dawes Galaxy Twin tandem, Pashley unicycle
http://www.fonant.com – Quality web sites.
old-n-stressed

Post by old-n-stressed »

Glad to see that there are some other people who are worried about the environment other than me.

I've just changed from commuting by car to using the train and bike to "do my bit".

If I wasn't so bothered about helping out the environment, i'd habe given up of the first week - the train companies do nothing to make the journies of their passengers easier, sometimes I think that they'd be happier if the trains were empty and they had no customers at all.

Other than the eco-commute, we're trying to use the car less and cut down on the short journies that we do by car. If we do use the car, we drive at about 50-60MPH which gives an extra 50 miles per tank.

We also turn off the lights when we're not in the room, turned down the heating and fitted eco-lightbulbs.

Our house is already quite well insulated, but i'm looking very seriously into fitting solar heat and power to supplement and reduce our use of gas and electricity.

I'd really like to go further than that, hopefully i'll be able to convince the missus to help me start reducing the food miles that our weekly shop contains. (We both go shopping, but we don't select our food by how locally it's been produced at present - we bought some strawberries today that had been flown in from Israel...!!!!!!) It may mean that we just end up buying stuff that is in season in this country.

I'd also like to do other stuff, but when you see a 5.0L Range Rover roar past you with one occupant on the ride to work, you realise that we're all going to hell in a handbasket.
malakoffee
Posts: 9
Joined: 29 Dec 2006, 11:03pm

Post by malakoffee »

old-n-stressed wrote:I'd also like to do other stuff, but when you see a 5.0L Range Rover roar past you with one occupant on the ride to work, you realise that we're all going to hell in a handbasket.

It's good to hear that you are doing your bit too, however, I fear that you are right in your final statement. What we require to reduce the rate of the increasing damage is nothing less than the complete inversion of materialistic values. Where the wasteful showoff is shunned and held in low-esteem by society. The bloke with shiny, big car & house doesn't get the girl and is seen as ignorant and selfish.
It has taken us hundreds of generations & thousands of years to get to our current cultural values. Do you think we can change it all in the blink of an eye ??
reohn2

Post by reohn2 »

malakoffee wrote:
old-n-stressed wrote:I'd also like to do other stuff, but when you see a 5.0L Range Rover roar past you with one occupant on the ride to work, you realise that we're all going to hell in a handbasket.

It's good to hear that you are doing your bit too, however, I fear that you are right in your final statement. What we require to reduce the rate of the increasing damage is nothing less than the complete inversion of materialistic values. Where the wasteful showoff is shunned and held in low-esteem by society. The bloke with shiny, big car & house doesn't get the girl and is seen as ignorant and selfish.
It has taken us hundreds of generations & thousands of years to get to our current cultural values. Do you think we can change it all in the blink of an eye ??

Not a hope (in hell).
Only needs will must for the majority.
User avatar
Jac
Posts: 291
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 5:12pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by Jac »

Its precisely because of the current social values that cyclists are not valued at all - and seen as just a nuisance on the road.
Only wealth and ostentation are valued by our western society - and our government. That is why encouraging us to be 'green' is just more hot air from a govenment whose economy is based on rampent consumerism, and says one thing and does something quite different.

And, although I do everything I can to save energy - smaller house, extra insulation, water meter, never fly, buy local food, recycle and cycle when possible - cant help feeling its all an insignificant drop in the ocean when you facter in America and China.

We're all doomed :cry:
Terry T

Post by Terry T »

Unfortunately, Jac is right. just look at the role models we are responsible for creating. What earthly good is celebrity if all it does is sell more of the things we don't need, but aspire to? It won't stop me doing my bit though.
Zanda
Posts: 483
Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 1:07pm

Post by Zanda »

What earthly good is celebrity if all it does is sell more of the things we don't need, but aspire to?

Which celebrity am I supposed to aspire to? Let me know so I can make sure I ignore them.
...The bloke with shiny, big car & house.... It has taken us hundreds of generations & thousands of years to get to our current cultural values.

I thought the acquisitive tendency and the celebration of private property were Victorian phenomena. That'll be just 4 generations, then :wink:.
EACH time you ride-and-don't-drive or recyc-and-not-bin or save-some-power that's a bit of your eco system you're saving for later. :P
I like what you are doing.
Terry T

Post by Terry T »

Celebrity per sé, not just an individual, although come to think of it, Victoria Beckham would be a start! :shock:
Zanda
Posts: 483
Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 1:07pm

Post by Zanda »

I stumbled across the following graph a couple of years ago and bookmarked it for posterity.
It compares the energy spent (in calories) in travelling a kilometre using various types of transport. Which mode of transport uses least energy per kilometre?... Clue: It uses renewable energy.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/humanpower1.html
Food: the original bio-fuel.

Eight bicycles use the amount of road lane that one car needs
(based on these figures: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4057)
Last edited by Zanda on 23 Jan 2007, 7:20pm, edited 1 time in total.
reohn2

Post by reohn2 »

Fonant wrote:
pickles wrote:Surely having children at all is about the worst thing you can do environmentally?


Depends what you mean by being good environmentally. I take it to mean preserving our environment so that mankind can continue to exist in reasonable comfort, without selfishly consuming finite resources. It's really about being careful now, so that we all don't suffer from pollution, lack of energy, global warming, etc. in decades to come.

If you think mankind is generally a Bad Thing, then stopping having children would indeed be a Good Thing. But then you'd get into discussions about the meaning of life, the need to reproduce, etc.


The problem seems to be that we as a species are never happy with what we've got,we will be victims of our own success.We love oneupmanship and ultimately it will be our downfall,it is our nature.Greed is us.
From what I've read there are six billion of us on the planet that number will double at the current rate of growth in around ten (10) years it will then double again in five(5) years. There will be catastrophe of that there can be no doubt unless we stop now.
We are the generation that could witness the total breakdown of humanity as we know it, possibly even the destruction of our species.
We(the species) won't do what we know we should until its to late, its the nature of the beast.
We are a paradox.The capability of being extremely clever and wise whilst being extremely stupid at the same time.If you don't believe me look around, examine your own actions.Our lack of selfexamination and then acting on it for the good of all is there for all to see or not as the case may be.
We in this country alone have for the last,well certainly 35years been voting political regemes into power who's main selling point has been rank consumerism, promising more and more for less and less.What hope have we if we don't wake up from this dreamscape that we have created for ourselves.We keep believing the politricktions simply because we want to, even when we see the opposite in front of our eyes.
i won't bore you anymore, just to say full strength truth isn't what people can take.
Sorry to be negative but thats the way i see it at the moment.
Post Reply