COP26 & Climate change
I think most of us, in some way, are trying to be "green" and reduce our carbon footprint. Some sites now make a modest charge for an additional car on the pitch but do you think the charge should be higher and do you think members with motorhomes who take a car along should pay a charge for the extra vehicle?
Comments
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Car towing a caravan, or a motorhome towing a car? Not much difference to be honest, so why possibly penalise one but not the other. It might well be the car behind the MH is electric as well.
Put simply, politicians, activists and governments can debate, rage, until the cows come home. I don’t personally think much of an achievement will be made until the fundamental underlying issues are addressed. Primarily birth numbers, and moving away from a relentless consumer culture. It won’t happen in my lifetime. ☹️
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Is it the club's role to act as enforcer of green issues by imposing financial penalties? No way! Your suggestion, MB, would simply boost the club's coffers and not help cut global warming.
I'd also go so far as to suggest a modern MH towing a small light car is probably greener than a big car towing a huge slab sided box. That's not a dig at caravanners, btw, as I was one myself happily towing around the country but it's my personal logical assessment of your suggestion.
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Perhaps a bit left field but maybe the Club could look at hiring out small electric cars from some sites so motorhomers don't feel the need to tow a car? They have started to hire out bikes on some sites both ordinary and electric. There are some sites where the Club could encourage bus companies to do a short route change so you can catch a bus from the site entrance, Edinburgh springs to mind?
Maybe not in the next ten years but at some point in the future we will have to seriously start to think how we do things if we don't want a full blown climate emergency.
David
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It was not something I was advocating but both takethedogalong and Tinwheeler have mentioned "towing" a vehicle. I would suggest that the number of motorhomes that arrive on site are not towing a vehicle but is being driven by another family member such that the carbon emissions are greater than one vehicle towing a caravan.
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When you said "…members with motorhomes who take a car…", the natural assumption was that they were towing.
However, I still don’t see it as being within the club's remit to police the green ethics of members via their wallets. The Chancellor is already doing that and the car's owner will be paying handsomely to keep it on the road. Again, I say you would only be putting money into the club's coffers for a financially unjustifiable reason. It is for each of us to do our bit but not for the club to impose penalties.
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We very occasionally take our Yaris as well, not towed but driven. Typically when we are visiting an elderly aunt and there is no way we can get the MH there. It wouldn’t influence our decision to take it, so our emissions wouldn’t be any less. Just an earner for the club.
The other side of the coin is that mostly we only have the MH and linear tour, utilising public transport. Where as a caravan owner might stop longer and use there large tow car to travel out daily.
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Your views of MH touring are possibly limited to seeing MHs on Club Sites, and possibly Chatsworth in particular. Many, many MH owners don’t tow anything, and some like us use ours every day off Site, much like those with caravans use their tow car. We do occasionally take our car with us, if it’s a Site not far from home, but this is usually because one of us might have to commute somewhere, or because we have other family Members holidaying with us, and need a car rather than MH to transport the extra family members and their luggage, including a wheelchair.
Touring in any form isn’t that eco friendly.
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As far as I know you cannot now pay for an extra car on a pitch at a club site if you tow a caravan. Free parking is available in the car park.
Personally apart from making extra income for the site owners, or the club, it won't achieve anything or dissuade anyone from bring their car along, wouldn't for me anyway.
And one way of looking at it is that if anyone does bring an extra car along it is to use while their larger and possibly more polluting MH or large towcar is left on site?
Of course if the extra car is an electric or hybrid then it makes even more sense?
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Caravanners (motor and towed) are adding to the total carbon footprint of the nation. I don't want to get into comparing our hobby with other hobbies, and we should all start from this simple position - for our personal enjoyment, we are all adding to the total carbon footprint.
I think this hobby will become steadily more unpopular with those who do not participate.
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I tend to agree with you, Obbernockle, and I’ve said several times that it’s hypocrisy for anyone who shares our hobby of driving around the country in either a van or a big car to pretend to be green.
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I accept that position and really it doesn't bother me (shame on me yes if you like). But isn't that true of all holidays and hobbies? What about flying off somewhere for a package holiday for enjoyment? Or even driving without an caravan for a holiday, the NC500?
This afternoon we visited out local garden centre, as always the busiest part was the cafe but they have expended this time it into a non heated area and next to every table was an upright electric heater. The same sort they sell in their shop for just over £120. It was excellent and we personally enjoyed it. When I cycle off to the coast I sit outside on a beach front cafe under another one of those heaters, again for personal enjoyment, and I'm not the only one, it's always busy even in much colder weather.
isn't everyone adding to their carbon footprint just by living and enjoying themselves?
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It's not just "speed merchants" but recently I have heard 2 different "personalities" and programme presenters on BBC use the term of "retiring to a dull caravan life" in a derogatory sense. It's just in built to the majority of non LV users, albeit some people think it's not so bad to own a Motorhome. 'Twas ever thus.
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I know what you mean but I quite like a dull caravaning life.
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It’s camper vanning that’s “cool”. Motorhomes are like caravans really, but you don’t have to cart water about in little rolling containers. (Unless you want to, of course)😉😂
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COP26 and governments deal with the stuff we cannot, or at least gets the ball rolling on a model we can follow. At the end of the day it's down to the individual to do what they can to reduce emissions. So what can the individual do? Well we moved in 2017 after retiring early and took on a big refurb/extension so that was a starting point which we have linked up with hopefully a greener approach to life. We have:-
- heavily insulated the loft
- insulated cavities on new extension
- insulated outside walls on original build
- 1/2 of house has underfloor insulation
- fitted high performance double glazing and draft exclusion
- all rads on thermostatic rad valves
- led low energy bulbs used
- planted a wild flower meadow instead of a lawn
- planted 60m of hedge and 6 trees
- recycle everything possible
- we put out about 1/4 of a black bin bag each fortnight
- prefer to fix or reuse than replace
- buy second hand where possible
- buy local and seasonal produce where possible
- non meat eating 3 days a week
- walk when we can [to go shopping every day], use a bike if this is not possible, public transport when we can and then drive if we must
- avoid rush hour when driving and keep to 50/60mph on long runs
- drive an efficient small capacity petrol
- tow a low profile aerodynamic caravan
These have been easy to do and have the immediate benefit of saving money in many cases. We can do our bit, and these bits when added up make a big difference. Just have a think what you can do.
Colin
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I promise faithfully that I will make more use of my classic sports car (27 mpg) and will only use my diesel 4x4 when it is raining or towing my caravan (24 mpg towing)
During the spring,summer and autumn I will use my ride on mower to cut my 3 lawns at least twice a week and during the long cold winter my multi fuel stove will be used to burn logs and coal,meanwhile my oil fired boiler will be working at full stretch throughout the year because.........I will not be dictated to by a bunch of tree huggers!!!!1 -
At least five or so of those must have cost you some (considerable) money, have you recouped any of that?
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EM, are you going to go the whole hog and give up towing your caravan around the country solely for your own enjoyment?
I wouldn’t either but I wouldn’t say I was doing my bit to be green as long as I continued to do that.
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The international port is excluded from the CAZ but the IoW terminal is within the zone.
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Financial payback on some items will have already kicked in. We are about 150m2 and run at combined gas/electric of £90 a month on what was originally an early 70's bungalow. The considerable outlay will be recovered when we sell as what we have spent is less than what the property has increased in value. It is also a far more comfortable place to live in as initially we could not get warm in winter and the house was unbearable in the summer.
The towing a caravan is a difficult one. I honestly do not know if I do more damage than I would if I was doing a couple of long haul flights a year. I'm afraid to say this is my weak point.
Colin
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But not specifically at ferry ports🤣
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The long haul flights should surely be given a miss as well 🤔
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