Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 12/16/2009 2:43:39 AM PST by markomalley
Boris Johnson has said the Copenhagen climate conference is in danger of failing if environmentalists continue to “overdose” on gloom.
The Mayor of London, who is in the Danish capital to speak on greening cities, called for a positive message instead to encourage world leaders to take action against climate change.
He said London will lead the way by making sure no Londoner is more than a mile from a charging point for an electric car by 2015. "We need to stop overdosing on gloom and start conveying a message of optimism to people they can improve their lives and cut their CO2,” he said.
He warned that the public was turned off by a "miserable" message, but said measures to improve energy efficiency in homes could save people money and cut their heating bills in homes while an electric vehicle network would mean they do not have to "buy a lagoon of petrol or diesel over the lifetime of their car".
"We're never going to beat consumerism, we need to harness it, we need a new green consumerism," he said.
He said cities were responsible for more than three quarters of emissions and it was "up to us" to make the changes to urban lifestyles, which help people save money, be greener and become healthier - such as cycling.
"I think cities can break the logjam and show national governments the way to pick up the pace,” he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
But that's not the way this summit is going and that is not the way the eco-nazis want it to happen.
Well keep adding evironmental restrictions until the public moral improves! (Shut up and smile!)
A gallon of people fuel costs more, has much poorer energy conversion, and does more environment damage than a gallon of gasoline. And repair costs for the engine and body damage are simply off the charts.
Leftism is mostly about size envy. Riding around bike-ville in this will royally piss them off:
“Common sense”? Hardly. In the US, many of the easy energy conservation methods have already been achieved over the past 30 years. You are at the point where it takes more and more money to save fewer BTUs (”diminishing returns”). So you will be asked to make lots of investments and change your lifestyle (eg, driving a short-range, small EV) to appease Gaia all for little return or improvement in your life — other than knowing “I care” and “I did something.”
Will this have any impact on global CO2 emissions? Unlikely. If everybody in the US cut their emissions by 20% (very hard to do), how long do you think it will take the US to grow its population by 20%? And that’s not even factoring in the electrification of China and India where the growth of CO2 emissions will swamp any savings we make at very high cost.
Lastly, if CO2 were a problem (and it isn’t, but let’s suppose), then nibbling at the edges with 10% or maybe 30% reductions won’t make any dent in the problem. The gas has an estimated half-life in the atmosphere of several hundred years. If you really want to drive down CO2 levels, you will need quickly wean the globe off all fossil fuel combustion. And the only practical, economic alternative is nuclear which the green kooks won’t allow. So you are boxed in.
Don’t buy the “common sense” argument in this article. It ain’t so.
Is the infamous pinko mayor of London or is that one gone? Sounds like the same guy, he still thinks government is the solution when in fact government is the problem. Let the market work- if people want “green” products and these products are well made, practical and reasonably priced they will buy them. A treaty out of Copenhagen is unneccessary if a country wants to encourage personal conservation but essential if your agenda is to limit opportunity and liberty for your people.
I do buy the 'common sense' argument he advanced in his discussion. But here's why (through examples):
You said, In the US, many of the easy energy conservation methods have already been achieved over the past 30 years. You are at the point where it takes more and more money to save fewer BTUs (”diminishing returns”).
For an EV scenario, we would have to have increased power generation capability (read that nuclear plants). I don't see this guy denying that obvious reality.
So you will be asked to make lots of investments and change your lifestyle (eg, driving a short-range, small EV) to appease Gaia all for little return or improvement in your life — other than knowing “I care” and “I did something.”
I used to commute in the city (thank God I don't have to do so now). It is a pain in the a$$. Part of that pain is filling up the car. It would be convenient to be able to plug in at the garage at work. And then plug in at home at night. I don't give a damn about the Gaia lovers. I'm saying it would be NICE.
I'm writing this over a FIOS connection. That took a considerable investment (running fiber everyplace). Who did that investment? Government? No. A private company. Who provides most of the electricity in this country? Government? No. Private industry. And they would have to be the ones to run most of the additional power infrastructure to power this. And they'd be happy to do so -- more revenue -- but government would need to get out of the way. And, the way I read this guy, that's what he is advocating.
Will this have any impact on global CO2 emissions?
I don't know and I don't care. If it's cheaper and/or more convenient for me as a consumer, I'd be happy. And that was his point.
But don't worry: Copenhagen is not going to go this guy's way. The enviro-nazis want to make us all feel pain, not make our lives better (penance for the sin of advancing our societies)
Does he mean, “the sky ISN’T falling?”
Hey Boris, what are you going to run all of those electric cars on? Windmills and good intentions? These people have collectively lost their marbles!
Somebody needs to check how much money the Mayor of London has invested in electric car recharging stations. :0)
Oh my... that makes so much sense!
Seriously, most people WANT a cleaner environment, but the loonies have taken over the message and want us all to live like we did in the middle ages. And most of know that won’t end well.
How are the utopians going to generate all that green electicity to charge all those green cars?
In Britain- it won’t be solar power.
London surrounded by wind turbines?
Could you envision all of the turbines on the white cliffs of Dover?
>> Finally, a message that appeals to common sense
Boris looks to be an improvement over “Red Ken”.
The cheapest choice is usually the most green. Price is usually a function of the total energy that was spent making, marketing, and delivering a product. Conservatives are by nature more green than leftists, without even trying.
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