COP21

[A fool and his money.....]

8 hours ago, Trackman said:

Here's some ideas of what could be done now by our globetrotting politicians to show real leadership and good examples that we mean business.

We are being asked to make changes to how we live. We will be asked to make sacrifices and no doubt to pay for the privilege. How many will bother if our government don't make their own sacrifices too. The proposed measures below are all easily doable relatively quickly, require no massive investment and would be more than just the  hot air we currently suffer.

Excess speed produces more carbon. Bring in a 60 mph maximum speed limit for the Island.

Stop promoting carbon producing motor sports events, which term includes all the extra fuels burned in all the ancillary activities and knock-on effects.

Stop running highly inefficient coal-burning non-essential railways.

Introduce energy efficiency into new builds.

Insist that all the Parliamentary and Government shindigs take place on-line to avoid all the jolly travel: You know like everyone else has to do.

Come on boys and girls of Tynwald, lead the way.

You're making the mistake of politicising this. It's fairly universally accepted by climate scientists that we're in the shit if things don't change fairly drastically. You can find a carbon footprint in literally anything. Choosing the things you don't like and using their carbon footprint to suggest they should be done away with is not a logical or helpful approach. It is divisive, because other people may like the things you don't like and dislike other things, which inevitably will have their own carbon footprint but you won't be in favour of getting rid of them because you like them. This sort of nonsense won't do much for our carbon footprint either.

What we need is logical action, find out what our major sources of pollution are and what can be done about them, taking into account other factors such as cost, culture, practicalities, inclusivity.

Above all it needs to be inclusive. For example the huge subsidies in EV taxation and fuel costs. I would suggest that these exclude most of the population of the island one way or another. Some people don't drive, others live in flats with no practical way of fitting a charging point. Still more will have to wait 10 years or more before EV's are affordable enough for them to buy. Similar could be said of subsidised electric heating tariffs. This is not the way to get everyone onboard as needs to happen. The new insulation scheme starts to do this by being open not just to homeowners, but doesn't go nearly far enough, it should be drastically broadened. Free public transport is another inclusive and probably very effective idea, the list goes on.......

I completely agree with you about the new build and government travel though.

[pongo]

30 minutes ago, Cambon said:

Maybe where you live. In my house it tastes of chemicals. I drink bottled water for that reason. 

Ours used to taste of chlorine (it no longer does). But chlorine quickly evaporates. The smart thing is to chill it (open) in the refrigerator.

Edited November 15, 2021 by pongo

[doc.fixit]

We found there was a plastic water level thingie in our kettle, Sister in law found it on the interweb where it was listed as a fault with that particular kettle. We took it out, it just unclipped and, 'voila', job's a gud un. untainted water.

[Max Power]

The IoM delegation returning from COP26..

 

[James Blonde]

30 minutes ago, Max Power said:

The IoM delegation returning from COP26..

 

If they're serious about cutting coal they could close the Steam Railway tomorrow at the stroke of a pen.

They would save all the carbons and the taxpayers would save about £3m a year that could be redirected into Manx Care and/or tree planting to catch more carbons.

[James Blonde]

11 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

Someone should challenge Daphne on that. I’d love to see the look on Longworth’s face when his precious choo choo’s were shut down by the climate change lobby. Maybe the school kids should get out on the platform at Douglas station?

If they're so serious about it let's see them do it. There can't be any sacred cows in the Climate Emergency [sic], so the choo choo can't be one of them.

[Roger Mexico]

12 hours ago, offshoremanxman said:

Someone should challenge Daphne on that. I’d love to see the look on Longworth’s face when his precious choo choo’s were shut down by the climate change lobby. Maybe the school kids should get out on the platform at Douglas station?

Don't be silly.  Longworth would just love the opportunity to invent a electric stream train.  It would only take him £100 million and 20 years to produce something that broke down all the time.  But at least it would be painted green.

[James Blonde]

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

Don't be silly.  Longworth would just love the opportunity to invent a electric stream train.  It would only take him £100 million and 20 years to produce something that broke down all the time.  But at least it would be painted green.

I mean they're basically just glorified kettles. Could Strix design one? 

[James Blonde]

Meanwhile Dippy Daphne has said NO on behalf of the GMP to any gas that's within our territorial waters. Does she get to make that judgement call? 

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/gas-extraction-in-manx-waters-a-no-no-says-mhk/

[pongo]

12 minutes ago, James Blonde said:

Meanwhile Dippy Daphne has said NO on behalf of the GMP to any gas that's within our territorial waters. Does she get to make that judgement call? 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/gas-extraction-in-manx-waters-a-no-no-says-mhk/

Did you even bother to read what you linked to?

Quote

She says whilst the ultimate decision may be 'above her pay grade' she doesn't think any existing proposals should come to fruition.

 

[pongo]

[Andy Onchan]

10 minutes ago, James Blonde said:

Meanwhile Dippy Daphne has said NO on behalf of the GMP to any gas that's within our territorial waters. Does she get to make that judgement call? 

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/gas-extraction-in-manx-waters-a-no-no-says-mhk/

She'll be hearing from me. Firstly, she has no mandate and neither does Tynwald, really. Lifting gas out of Manx territorial waters is the key to our carbon-free future. We need the dosh to invest is sustainable, non-carbon energy technology.

Those who think we can manage without carbon fuels at the moment are living in the proverbial cloud cuckoo-land. The world is nowhere near ready to make that leap. 

[pongo]

6 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

She'll be hearing from me. Firstly, she has no mandate and neither does Tynwald, really.

She has every right and responsibility to express an opinion. Her mandate comes from the electorate.

And yes it is for Tynwald to decide.

[Andy Onchan]

2 minutes ago, pongo said:

She has every right and responsibility to express an opinion. Her mandate comes from the electorate.

And yes it is for Tynwald to decide.

She has every right to express her opinion, indisputable. I didn't say otherwise. I voted for her but I don't agree with her on passing up the opportunity of generating investment income to secure our carbon-free future for generations to come. 

[pongo]

12 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

She has every right to express her opinion, indisputable. I didn't say otherwise. I voted for her but I don't agree with her

You said that she has no mandate and that neither does Tynwald.

But she does and so does Tynwald. That's how representative democracy works. Fortunately we do not elect delegates