It does seem rather incongruous that on the day we are given our most 
serious warning ever about the potential devastating impact of climate change, that The Times should be encouraging its readers to fly more.
In fact, its front page banner offers a flight to Europe for every reader, those who assiduously collect their airmiles. So with a daily circulation of 683,333, that’s an awful lot of extra carbon emissions if every reader took them up on their very generous offer. But I agree, it is more exciting than a free packet of sunflower seeds.
Airlines are naturally worried about the future impact on their industry and I hope they find a solution that is environmentally friendly so we ill not be made to feel as if we are committing a crime by seeking out some winter sun.
I fear that unless the world unites to tackle this issue, we will all be issued with personal carbon footprint passports restricting our air miles and car travel each year, all our journeys will be recorded and our carbon emissions calculated.
This is a desperate issue that has to be tackled globally, otherwise everyone will question why we are doing our bit here and other countries are turning a blind eye.
Maybe The Times could start by offering walking holidays to readers instead of free flights, encouraging people to reconnect with their countryside and the environment they are protecting.
You don’t need it. All you need is carbon trading. So, if you don’t fly you get paid by someone who does. Personally i do not feel guilt. I pay far more tax for flying than current global carbon exchange prices.
Tim, I don’t feel guilty either because I usually only have one holiday a year, usually Europe, though I have saved up 10,000 airmiles with Tesco, which I think is enough for 2 to travel to Australia.
The idea of carbon trading is interesting, no reason why it couldn’t be a possibility.
The media are I fear being manipulated to allow the Goverment to raise taxes by calling them Green. Whilst it is true that we all need to improve the way we live to reduce our damage of the environment, so called Green taxes on cars is not the best solution. The Government should be legislating to force manufacturers to produce more efficient cars, white goods, aircraft and all many of items. If we could only buy ‘green’ cars we would not be able to carry on polluting. Yet the Government would rather tax us where they can get away with it, rather than herald a new demand on manufacturers to produce less polluting models. I think that this approach has more merit and is less likely to hurt families that are already over burdened with tax.
James – that’s part of the idea of green taxes. That as the price rises, drivers feel the effect in their pockets and so opt for leaner cars. One impact of the higher price of fuel during the 1970s fuel crisis was that sales of leaner japanese cars rose in the usa.
It’s sad that so many things around us are being restricted and we just accept it. Those public that fly regularly would not be affected, of course!
Is that a B29 about to drop the big one on Hiroshima?
I don’t see the problem with the Times offering these holidays. It offers what it knows its readers want. It is not the job of a newspaper to exhort us to change our behaviour.
Bel, Newspapers are very influential, they can change the public’s perceptions on almost anything.
As I’ve just blogged – it would be interesting to see the CO2 generation of MP’s and cabinet ministers.
The danger here is that the rich will do what they like, but the middle classes will be hit hard in the pocket.
Let the Blairs holiday in Cornwall – then I’ll start to take him seriously on this.
“This is a desperate issue that has to be tackled globally, otherwise everyone will question why we are doing our bit here and other countries are turning a blind eye.”
You got it in one Ellee!
To imagine that the UK – a small island nation acting can alone have any meaningful impact on global warming is a total nonsense.
I watched “Breakfast” this morning totally gob-smacked as the Labour Propaganda Machine (aka the BBC) went into overdrive, explaining all the new taxes which were about to be imposed on us to ensure that we drastically reduced our individual levels of carbon emissions.
Does anyone remotely believe that the Americans are about to follow suit with their tens of millions of gas-guzzling cars and an airport serving every two horse town.
Yes, by all means let’s do all the sensible things – but the idea of every family paying an additional £2000 a year in tax towards averting climate change as reported in the Evening Standard when, Scandinavia apart, we are already amongst the highest taxpayers in Europe – FORGET IT!
Man in a Shed, I always believe one should lead by example too, just like in California where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s has had his employees cars converted for low carbon emissions.
Carbon Gas Combustion in China, Ellee. Rainforest destruction. These are the two which count.
James, Is Russia behaving itself then?
I have spent 4 weeks in outback and coastal Australia. We are currently in a 7 year drought. I was with Dr Jim Fowler a leading British biologist, ornathologist and statistician. He has spent time in Antartica, the Arctic circle and continues to travel the world to witness the effects of global warming.
On inspection of our drought affected areas he “gave” Australia 50 years before our agricultural situation would implode and be utterly “rooted”. I thought he was just being a typical pom – negative. We then met a German biologist Dr Ingrid Witte,who is the manager of the Sturt Stoney Desert National Park. She said exactly the same thing ( without prompting). In outback Australia we have lost 6 feet of top soil for hundreds of thousands of hectares and it no longer sustains agriculture.
You have to see it to believe it. I am/was shocked…
On returning to Sydney it was announced (on the news) by a leading government scientist that the Murray-Darling river catchment area will be declared dead ( Australia largest river system and one of the largest in the world. I was also announced that our agricultural production is down 50% on last year. WITH NO RECOVERY IN SITE.
Many country towns in NSW have to TRUCK water in because dams are empty. Many children have NEVER seen rain!
Scientists are showing that even our trees are starting to emit carbon becasue they are stressed because of the drought.. THESE ARE TREES AND VEGETATION DESIGNED FOR DROUGHT!
So…. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING we can do to slow the acceleration of global warming is critical. Walk when you can, ride a bike when you can. Switch off your lights, computer. Think about the packaging your food comes in..refuse to believe that we cannot do anything.. by doing nothing the world is as good as dead…
I know what I suggest sounds small but “you eat an elephant one bite at a time..”
Sorry to waffle but I am very passionate about the impact throughout the world..
Simon, I appreciate your enthusiasm and passion for a serious subject but you maybe a little late. For all we know “global warming” is a natural occurence. For sure we need to reduce carbon emissions but the problem is a global one and not one for the Fat Communist Brown and the ghastly Miliband to insist we pay extra taxes – for what?
And for a Carbon Passport – another way for the EUssr to control us.
Simon, I’m staggered by that info, it’s hard to imagine children who have never seen rain. I agree we must start taking action now and do what we can and prevent it further spiralling out of control.
Jeremyci:- I agree it is a natural occurance. Eg Mungo National park was a lake system that dried up 15,000-50,000 years ago.( it is now a desert). We certainly cannot blame the Aboriginal population for that. (BTW Mungo is the oldest recorded history of mankind outside of Africa). Your arguement was mine, until a few weeks ago… It was the 100 years of White sheep farming that tipped it over the edge.. nothing can feed there. NOT the 50,000 years of aboriginal settlement. Do you see? In Aus they simply put massive amounts of sheep and cattle onto properties that ate the SLOW growth plants that survive droughts etc… to the ground.. Then they gave the keys back to the government, only when the properties could no longer feed the stock…. they pumped water out of our great artesian basin until it dropped 15 metres in height and dried up in many areas. I call that rape of the land. And there are many examples of this through out the world.
BUT, its the statisical rate of acceleration that is the concern. Rapid swings in extreme temperatures, drought, flood all add to the emmission of carbon, further accelerating the problem. It is the rate of acceleration that is dramatic.
When I was a kid we played under the running hose on hot days.. tonight I run the cold water from my shower into a bucket to save a few litres for the garden.
Another simple effect:- Insects are temperature dependant for breeding. Birds are daylight dependant… In spring the relationship between the two was balanced. Now insects are reproducing earlier and the birds are missing out on good protein as they still breed at the same time.. Why? Global warming. It is a statisical fact. Measured.
IT IS NOT TOO LATE:- economists are givng us 10 years to fix it. emerging countries i.e. China/India as well as the USA, Australia, Britain, Japan… MUST bring about dramatic change in carbon trading, emmissions and smart technologies..& on a wide scale. Individuals must save where they can.
If we say it is too late and do not spend the money we simply will not have agricultural capcitity (look at us here down 50%. We are the worlds largest grower and supplier of wheat.
You cannot return the world to the “Garden of Eden” but you can certainly slow the process down.
If we do not we will have massive starvation and global depression. I watch tonights news and note that the British government agree with what I learned over the past few weeks..
(Sorry to waffle!)
Ellee:- if you email Jim Fowler you can get a lot of information about global warming and first hand witness to what we have seen over the past few weeks. go to his blog http://www.maalie.blogspot.com
In conclusion: _ i do think we need to be guilty about flying or whatever. BUT simple things will help.. for sure. We may all suffer a small drop in our living standards eg smaller less powerful cars. BUT surely worth it to save our beautiful planet.
sorry I think we DO NOT need to be guilty…
just a slip (poor typist) :o)
I remain opposed to any kind of ‘carbon rationing’ whatsoever.
We are already being made to feel (by environmentalists) as if we are some kind of ‘climate criminal’ if we go on cheap flights to Europe.
The environmentalist George Monbiot, already thinks that ‘flying across the Atlantic is now as unacceptable as child abuse’. There you have it, the greens already think that people who visit the US, are no better than kiddie-fiddlers.
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/1999/07/29/meltdown/
Besides, since when has ‘climate change’ been the number one issue for humanity? It’s certainly overtaken some other pressing problems like war, disease and unemployment.
“Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s has had his employees cars converted for low carbon emissions.”
This is just a hollow political gesture Ellee and you know it. Now persuade the “Green Governor” to TREBLE gasolene taxes throughout California to bring the prices at least nearer to European levels and then you’d really be talking – and the prospects of his doing this – absolutely zilch!
I’m with the “Man in a Shed” on this. We all know that politicians, the rich and the famous will continue to fly and use their gas-guzzling cars while the rest of us will be restricted. The only way to discourage people from using their cars so much is to improve public transport radically and, as I’ve commented here before, as politicians don’t have to use it, how do they know what it is like and where to start?
We should be listening and acting and lobbying the world to follow us as we can’t do it on our own. In Tanzania Mt Kilimanjaro’s ice cap is melting which will affect tourism and income and more than 30% of the population live on the coast where the sea is rising. The polar ice cap is melting, birds and sea creatures are migrating further north and earlier in the year. There is a vast amount of evidence to support that there is a global crisis and not just propaganda. However, we will be unfairly taxed by this government with another stealth tax – taxes that should be ring-fenced and not disappear into the black hole that is the Chancellor’s pocket.
Simon and Courtney, Thanks for both those links, I have visited the sites, enjoyed them very much and added them to my blogroll. Monbiot has certainly had a fascinating life, and I can understand at his frustration at being ignored when flagging up the environment back in 1999. He was not alone, so many people were ignored up until now.
Simon,I did enjoy looking at the pics and reading about your wonderful travels, what a dream holiday, the sort I would really enjoy too. Thanks for all your interesting info on this subject, I had no idea the situation was as serious as that in Austalia.
Janice, Great to hear fromn you again. Pointing the finger to Mount Kilimanjaro’s melting icecap certainly helps focus people’s attention on global warming. We are fortunate to have suffered such as extreme consequences yet, and hopefully the worst can be deterrred.
WL You are quite right to expect our politicians and their families to lead by example – only it must be genuine, and not a PR stunt.
Re the airline issue. I saw an interesting documentary that looked at the phenonmen of global dimming. It seemed to prove that Airtraffic, due to its stratospheric emmisions (literlally) actually reduces the heat of the Earth because it reflects sunlight. It was on C4 not so long ago.
I am all in favour of carborn credits and a market solution; but we should start with power stations and energy waste at home and work. Transport is crucial and should be the last thing we try to limit. There is much lower hanging fruit.