Are Boaters really Green?

[John Orentas]

Why do I have the gut feeling that all this Eco-friendly, planet saving, climate changing, tree hugging stuff will go the way of the Millennium Bug and the Hoola Hoop. Perhaps I am just naturally cynical.

[blackrose]

Why do I have the gut feeling that all this Eco-friendly, planet saving, climate changing, tree hugging stuff will go the way of the Millennium Bug and the Hoola Hoop.

 

You mean into oblivion along with everything else? Yes, you're probably right.

[carlt]

You mean into oblivion along with everything else? Yes, you're probably right.

I suppose I could be a bit greener by not burning the midnight oil so much.

 

Note to self "go to bed carl"

[fuzzyduck]

I suppose I could be a bit greener by not burning the midnight oil so much.

 

Note to self "go to bed carl"

 

Yeah, Bad Carl!

[NB Alnwick]

Why do I have the gut feeling that all this Eco-friendly, planet saving, climate changing, tree hugging stuff will go the way of the Millennium Bug and the Hoola Hoop. Perhaps I am just naturally cynical.

 

Quite right - and all those useless wind turbines will be harder to get rid off than nuclear power stations - just another blot on the landscape but far less useful . . .

[anthony]

I think some of the whole green debate is political spin but surely there is some good in it.

How much in the way of fumes can we continue to pump into the air we breath and expect to get away with it?

If IM sitting in my garden and jets are passing over every 60 seconds what effect is that having on my health as opposed to jets passing every 15 minutes?

What effect would not recycling have are we just doing it for fun?

Yes the planet has evolved but we cant expect to abuse it and not see changes.

I for one dont see the green debate a fad as I can see some of its benefits.

Some might say what the heck im not going to be around in the future so i dont care.

What about future generations future heritage?

[NB Alnwick]

I think some of the whole green debate is political spin but surely there is some good in it.

How much in the way of fumes can we continue to pump into the air we breath and expect to get away with it?

If IM sitting in my garden and jets are passing over every 60 seconds what effect is that having on my health as opposed to jets passing every 15 minutes?

 

Our environment in Britain was ten times worse before the mid 1960s.

 

You ain't seen nothing like a true pea-souper - when everyone and everything burned coal and 20,000 plus steam locomotives were lit up every morning, the air in towns and cities was permanently tainted with acrid smoke. Many of us would make our way to work choking and spluttering with scarves wrapped over our mouths and visibility down to a couple of yards. On cold Winter mornings it was dreadful and almost everyone had chest complaints . . .

[Bobphilips]

Our environment in Britain was ten times worse before the mid 1960s.

 

You ain't seen nothing like a true pea-souper - when everyone and everything burned coal and 20,000 plus steam locomotives were lit up every morning, the air in towns and cities was permanently tainted with acrid smoke. Many of us would make our way to work choking and spluttering with scarves wrapped over our mouths and visibility down to a couple of yards. On cold Winter mornings it was dreadful and almost everyone had chest complaints . . .

 

Peasoupers are very good examples of polution that can be readily seen and hence a solution implemented for. As technology has advanced and hence the ability to detect unseen polutants then new solutions can be sought.

[blackrose]

Peasoupers are very good examples of polution that can be readily seen and hence a solution implemented for. As technology has advanced and hence the ability to detect unseen polutants then new solutions can be sought.

 

Also smogs tend to be associated with regional pollution from various nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides in industrial/industrialising countries which usually preceed environmental & heath legislation. This is not on the same scale and quite different from the global events based around carbon dioxide which environmental & climate scientists are currently alerting us to (whether you believe them or not).

[gaggle]

half of the scientists are saying it is just the natural cycle of events the earth goes through and the only alerting they are doing is to try and inform us to take no notice of doom and gloom, the end is nigh merchants.

meself i am not the slightest bit worried about climate change, global warming,food wrappings or any of the other green issues.

now all i am worried about is will the kids do as i said and come straight home from school so we can get to the boat and float off up the cut, if i was short of things to worry about i doubt it would be some fanciful green issue that would spring to my mind as something i could devote some attention to.

 

if the green brigade had some real worries to think about the concern they show for the planet may diminish somewhat, i cant for the life of me understand why or how people can be wound up to give the time of day to all this crap.

[NB Alnwick]

if the green brigade had some real worries to think about the concern they show for the planet may diminish somewhat, i cant for the life of me understand why or how people can be wound up to give the time of day to all this crap.

 

The trouble is that they will end up causing more problems with all their useless 'wind farms' each of which reuires tons of concrete to be poured into the ground and miles of heavy cable - all of which causes even more pollution . . .

[Typowriter]

Hands up who reads The Daily Mail.

 

[NB Alnwick]

Hands up who reads The Daily Mail.

 

If I could afford a daily newspaper it probably wouldn't be my first choice . . .

[carlt]

Hands up who reads The Daily Mail.

 

Crossword's too easy (then again they all are except the guardian and independent).

[John Orentas]

I was born and brought up in Manchester soon after the war, in the words of one of the Likely Lads, "We had pollution before it was fashionable". I remember standing under a lamp post, looking up and not being able to see the lamp. The Central Library in Manchester was a perfect uniform Black when I started work, in the late 60's it, and most other buildings in the city centre it was cleaned up, it was and still is beautiful White limestone.

 

It is the Clean Air Act, sewage engineers and Margaret Thatcher (see closed down all our industries) that cleaned up our cities, dewy eyed tree-huggers had nothing to do with it. Nor did those people who belatedly discovered the Greenhouse effect leading to global warming have any influence at all (astronomers have known about the phenomenon for a great many decades).

[tomsk]

Don't forget the farting cattle and all those nasty volcanoes, My personal belief is that the dinosaurs gassed themselves in a fit of synchronised farting, the like of which the world has not seen since.

Edited March 30, 2007 by tomsk

[Bones]

Don't forget the farting cattle and all those nasty volcanoes, My personal belief is that the dinosaurs gassed themselves in a fit of synchronised farting, the like of which the world has not seen since.

 

I think that should be an absolute truth! All hail this new and perfect theory! Does it work for other species?

[tomsk]

I think that should be an absolute truth! All hail this new and perfect theory! Does it work for other species?

 

 

All extinct ones anyway.

[NB Alnwick]

All extinct ones anyway.

 

Members of human race (or at least the head cowboys) are perfectly capable of rendering themselves extinct without waiting for global warming or climate change. Just wait until the cavalry and the Ayatollahs really get going!

 

In the meantime, the best policy is to do the best that you can (without inconveniencing others) and enjoy boating while it is still possible . . .

[blackrose]

half of the scientists are saying it is just the natural cycle of events the earth goes through

 

Almost all climate scientists accept that there are natural climate cycles and changes, but actually it's only a very small percentage of them who think that current global warming is not affected by anthropogenic activity.

 

If it's not the Daily Mail then I really don't know where some people are getting their information? Most environmental scientists I have worked with are not tree huggers at all but are very realistic in their outlook about what can and should be done. Indeed, they are much less idealistic or dramatic about the subject that the average layman, most of whom would rather have simple answers to these questions and are not prepared to comprehend & acknowledge the enormous complexities involved. Many people seem to conflate & confuse the issues and then become polarised into two main camps - either they become almost religious about it & take things to ridiculous extremes, or they think it's all a conspiracy & just give up altogether because they've stopped caring.

 

I think these are actually two sides of the same coin and there are parallels behind both of these reactions, but hopefully as people learn more this polarisation will diminish and more informed & reasoned opinions will begin to prevail.

Edited March 30, 2007 by blackrose