COP26 & Climate change
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The young deserve to be angry they will inherit a broken planet that is heading to being ‘not fit for purpose’. The young are a fantastic & intelligent positive for this world & so involved in their own future it bodes well for everyone that they will be our future leaders, hopefully in my lifetime I may get to see a Govt that actually cares about it’s population rather than what’s in it for them(all political parties I include) the way the frail & elderly have been treated in the last few years is a disgrace.
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David this has to stop , I'm agreeing with your posts for three days straight!
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Many of us were very young but around when the Clean Air Act came into force. It was a massive undertaking but did contribute over time to better air quality for most of us. What no-one realised was the problem of CO2 lingering above us, it can remain from 300 to 1000 years and we've carried on unwittingly adding to it. We've had warnings, holes in the ozone, bans on certain chemicals so let's hope we can tackle this challenge. We'll have to find ways to do this and it is do-able, just like the Clean Air Act was. Our cities and towns were covered in filthy black soot, fog turned into smog, people had awful life shortening respitory diseases, working conditions were grim for many. I've mentioned this before but it is possible to turn things around.
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I agree, of course I do. You have of course hit the nail on the head later on in your post as well. That’s why I think it will take generations. We all want things we can enjoy, lifestyles that suit us. If you have the means of course. What remains is just how indulgent tomorrow’s choices will be now that future generations have the kind of scientific proof that we never had.
Rocky, agree with you as well. However, my take is that while the planet might not be fit for human purposes, a good few other forms of life might just survive and flourish a whole lot better.
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Corners has outlined the logic clearly. Big tug + white box = MH+toad.
The MH, on site, becomes slightly more 'green' as it will generally be a eco runabout compared to the tug that has to fulfil both duties. MH on its own may be, again slightly, greener as travel is linear and less miles are covered for any given tour plus local trips off site are frequently by bike or public transport.
I think it is R2B who is always suggesting vehicles should only have two pedals. I think his leg muscles must be stronger than mine.
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Another Bradley Wiggins eh? This I gotta see.
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So does our Jeep😂 Although it does have two selector sticks👍
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To get back to vanning, and going green, have a simplified way of rationalising things. Quite a few people I know have flown to the US on holiday. Apparently flying to Florida uses about 95 tonnes of fuel going and because of the jet stream about 85 coming back. Without complicating the math with the specific gravity of fuel and taking 1 tonne as 1000 litres, that's 180000 litres. It's actually quite a bit more. I gather the planes are not full, one flight I was told of had 2 out of 3 seats empty. Without knowing what the average is I've taken a figure of 360 passengers. That works out at 500 litres each or if it were me and OH, 1000 litres. That's 6000 miles of towing or 5 times what I've done this year.
As I have said I've made the calculation simple, not worrying about different calorific values of the fuel so the figures are approximate. It's still good enough for me to say I will keep caravanning but won't be flying.
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I think what individuals may or may not have to do is a bit vague at the moment. I am not suggesting people don't understand and some will already be making changes, even if only in a small way. Strangely people who partake of our hobby are probably more up to speed on things that will impact on them compared to Joe Public. The fact that we drive petrol or diesel powered cars and motorhomes highlights it a lot for us.
Moving away from our vehicles and to our homes is probably where the biggest changes will happen. It is here that we will require the help of Government if they are really serious about reducing emissions from homes. Firstly the Government could insist that new homes are built to a very much higher standard. The is very little connection between the cost of building and the eventual selling price so this could probably be achieved with no cost the the Exchequer? However even if current annual house building plans were achieved, 300,000 a year, that only means just under 3 million homes built to the higher standards by 2030. I am sure many of us already have double glazing and loft installation but I wonder how many of us have solar panels, I don't. It seems to me that solar panels would be a very personal way to offset our personal emissions? Likewise any house with a central heating boiler over 10 years old needs to have it changed for a more modern version which even it it were gas would be more efficient and les polluting. Subsidies from Government for all of these things would start to bring down the damage we are doing considerable and possibly make it cheaper to run our homes. Currently the Government are offering a £5000 grant towards the installation of a heat pump. Trouble is these are not efficient unless the house already meets very high thermal efficiency, so probably pointless on many houses in the UK. Ground heat source is another technology promoted but do people realise you have to have a massive hole dug in your back garden!!! Just a few random thoughts.
David
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Anyone considering an air source heat pump needs to do their homework and research very carefully. They are probably best as a part of a quality new build where other factors such as best type insulation are done as part of the build. Sticking one in instead of a boiler might not be enough to keep you warm.
https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2016/02/pros-and-cons-of-air-source-heat-pumps
Build quality of a high percentage of homes in this country is not very good at all. Better insulation, solar panels, efficient heating system.......all should have been stipulated to a minimum standard down the last three decades are so. But no, house building companies work on the the throw them up, cram them in, and charge a packet principal. ☹️0 -
Yes, I think that is part of the issue👍 Possibly a good idea in anything built from now in, integrate everything that’s needed during the build, but fitting retrospectively.....🤔lots to consider.
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Don’t know where 95 + 85 tonnes comes from, but something like an Airbus A330 operating that route would use about half of what you claim.
I’m not claiming aviation is green, far from it, but there is a cost to be paid for cruising at 450 mph rather than in a caravan at 40mph.
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Yes, I think heat pumps are the latest work of Alchemists. Maybe ok in a super efficient home with all the cost that involves (especially retrospectively), but best many can hope for is a very expensive supplementary heating source. Going forward, at least we might have greater reserves of renewable energy to power the thing!
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Not only do heat pumps require larger bore pipes and larger radiators they also require hot water storage tanks, with immersion heaters, (which most people have got rid of due to the advent of the Combi boiler) so most people having them fitted would have to virtually have their home torn apart!!! Unless you already have a very thermal efficient house you would probably end up having to supplement the shortfall in energy extracted from the air by using electricity to make up the difference. There is also the noise created by the pumps which if it doesn't annoy you it will the neighbours!!! Ground source heat pumps would probably be more efficient but you are at least doubling the cost on installation. Many new gas boilers are being sold as Hydrogen ready and there is a move afoot to think about converting gas mains to accept hydrogen. All this is years away but years have a habit of ticking by quite quickly!!!
David
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Some folks get very bogged down with solar panel issues when they come to sell. I think it’s ok if you own the complete installation, but if you’ve been lured in to some sort of scheme (there are many of them) where a third party has a legal charge over part of your roof, it can put potential lenders & buyers off. I spoke to a conveyance solicitor who tries to avoid such cases if he can! In a unregulated market, that’s the sort of nonsense that needs to be sorted.
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If we all have to go down the heat pump route for warming our homes when our existing gas boilers have to be replaced I wonder if there will actually be any CO2 saving and if so over how many years? What CO2 is generated in producing and delivering all the new radiators, pipework and extra insulation needed to keep a home, if the predictions are correct, to just a moderate degree? If I take my own home, where and how would I be able to have bigger radiators? There will be a big push for us all to have triple glazing in our homes. Glass manufacture uses a colossal amount of heat with the consequent CO2 emissions.
I'm sure none of us will relish having a shower in 'warm' water rather than hot so additional water heating will be required. Where does the required extra heat come from? I can also envisage a good market developing in sound absorbent boxes to go over the relatively massive (compared with a gas boiler) heat pumps that have to be somewhere in ones garden and at least one metre from the boundary of a property. The noise from one pump would be bad enough but if a whole street is humming what is that going to do for one's sanity. The queue for the doctors will be even longer.
The prospect of 'free' heat is appealing but not if one has to spend a fortune in obtaining it and generating a lot of CO2 to achieve this. It would be like driving to Spain because oranges are very cheap there. It is a good idea full of unintended consequences as I see it.
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Moderator Comment - Your original comment was completely off topic, that was why it was Deleted User. This one has also been edited. Might I suggest you revisit the forum T&C's. If you are unhappy with the way your posts are moderated the correct procedure is to contact the Community Manager direct not to try and discuss on the forum as the T&C's would remind you.
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