COP26 & Climate change
Comments
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I don't really like planes, but I did go to Turkey in 2018 and Morocco in 2014, so guilty.
Colin
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If there is the slightest possibility that you think you are doing any damage at all then you shouldn't really be towing otherwise what is the point of your other endeavours?
Not aimed at you but one can't have, in my view, this elastic sense of being green, I'll do this and this but I'll keep towing.
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It’s a trade off really. Doing a few things is better than doing nothing, some things are huge gains, others only minimal gains.
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I think it is the realisation that you cannot be perfect and trying to figure out what you can do to try and at least go some way towards addressing your errors.
Colin
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Consider the environmental impact of running a 40 or 50yr old car compared to the 7 or 8 modern cars that will have been built and trashed in that period.You have tree hugging credentials - well done. The other stuff maybe needs a bit more work!
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Our MG is 50 years old this year. 😁 Our MH is 20 years old.😁
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My MG is only 43 (44 next may) but has only done 52,000 miles,which is a good reason to use it more!
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so probably all that 'work' from 2017 you talked about was wasted, or maybe even made worse in that one plane trip in 2018?
A single flight produces three tons of carbon dioxide per passenger (ie you and your OH unless you flew alone)
Energy Catapult Analysis shows that in 2017, the average household generated 2,745 kg ( 2.745 tons) of CO2
It's certainly a complex situation and yes you are certainly doing your part, it's just not as easy as you make out.
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Our inherited 4 litre petrol Jag is 25 years old and has done 29,000 miles. I'm sure you can actually see the petrol gauge move but sure is fun to drive.
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”A single flight produces three tons of carbon dioxide per passenger (ie you and your OH unless you flew alone)”
That’s a nonsensical statistic as it depends on distance and duration of the flight (amongst other things).
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Maybe but a quote I found by doing a simple search on google take it up with the people who wrote it not me Bill?
It might be a sensational headline, who knows, but there is a CO2 effect, will that flight that EM cancel out all his other good work? Who knows, but it's just not as easy as it sounds?
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I like statistics they allow me to put things in perspective. I can’t prove they are right or wrong so you supplying them is good enough for me, I’ll ponder that next time I fly C👍🏻
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I don't think anyone on here thinks it is easy, but as TTDA and BB said, doing something is better than doing nothing.
At present, unless you never use any form of transport other than a bike, never go on holiday, pretty much the only things you can do to try to reduce your carbon footprint are the sort of things that EM listed.
We do not claim to be "green", we just see a lot of that list as sensible things to do where possible as many of them will save money, and make life more comfortable.
Back in 1988 when we had our house built, we put in about twice the amount of insulation that was required at the time, including underfloor insulation, and also special glazing units, so as a result have always had very reasonable fuel bills. Our floor area is 280 sq m and we pay £140 per month.
However, things have moved on, and we could now install better glazing, and even more insulation in part of the loft, but it is all floored and it would be a big job. The outer wall insulation and the rest of the roof could be improved too, but that would involve over-boarding internally, which would be very disruptive and also a big job . Whoever buys the house when we are finished with it will have all these options.
At present it would take a long time to see any return on that size of investment, but mainly it is the disruption that would be involved that would rule it out for us.
We have solar PV, the returns on that more than pay for our fuel bills, and having spent a bit extra on materials and fittings 33 years back has meant that very little in the house has had to be repaired or replaced over the years. We are presently in the middle of our first bathroom replacement.
We also still have all our original, now unfashionable, furniture, carpets etc, but we like them, so we are not big consumers either.
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The earth we are told by “experts” has gone through various changes over billions of years. Those experts have shown geological/historical evidence to us so I personally feel all we can do is adapt to changes and where at all possible not “contribute” to them. Getting world leaders, who may only be in control/power for a short time, to agree to change is complex and therefore may not be totally successful so I will continue to “try” to do my bit in whatever small ways possible without losing my enjoyment of life.
Good Luck to all those back room negotiators working to try to pull it all together at the conference.
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Well did a little more reading last night and yes there appears to be differing numbers, however a few more credible sources give a figure of around the equivalent of 250Kg per hour. I also learnt a new word and concept, actually two, the radiative forcing factor. For commercial aircraft this factor can range from 2 to 3 . So an aircraft may actually only produce 125 Kg per hour but is multiplied by 2 (suggested by Defra) due to various factors, like CO2 given off at attitude is much worse than CO2 at sea level. There are also other CO2 in factors in aviation, for example from actually making the plane in the first place and training of pilots (min 1500 hours) compared to making and learning to drive a car for one example. Some sources say that flying is the worst form of transport for CO2.
So EM's flight to Turkey, an eight round trip will 'produce' 2 tonnes of CO2.
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Sorry didn't see this when I replied David.
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The same here David and we have solid fuel central heating as well. We even had the room heater replaced last year. If we are still about next time it needs doing, I think it will be a heat pump of some description. Unless of course COP agreements ban us from using our smokeless fuel sooner than that.
We do try and save energy where we can. One thing we have on the positive side of the scales is we have not been on a jet for 20 years and don’t have any plans to do so.😀
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That was all sounding more sensible until you got to the bit about plane -v- car manufacturing. Surely there might be an issue about scale to factor into that analysis - estimated 70+ million cars manufactured per annum?
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Again it's not 'my bit' Bill, I'm just giving you what I read.
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It won’t happen, but it would be so interesting to see how those under 25 would vote to live their lives, including younger teenagers. I wonder just how many might opt for limited children, change of transport methods, a greater take up of plant based diets, a limit on overseas trips, giving up on individual car ownership, etc......🤔 I suspect that certainly this country is a good few generations away from that at the moment. It never ceases to amaze me the oh so different life I have had compared to that of my parents, and that’s in a mere 50 years or so.
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I think most of the above in one way or another involve making choices though AD, much the same in many ways as we faced in our younger days.
The added pressure of course is now we know just how much impact certain choices we make will have on our planet as a whole. We didn’t have the information to hand in quite such a stark way fifty years ago, and of course have got used to and enjoy the lives we have chosen. It’s going to be a huge change for those in rich countries, where the things we take for granted might have to change, or even stop ultimately. It’s very much all about what the next two or three generations choose to do really, yet it’s our generation that are in positions of decision making. Hence the young, clued up and at times quite angry activists.
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