Theo Markettos writes: "I'd like to nominate Barclays for a Hot Air Oscar:
We've launched a new carbon-neutral debit card, which is being rolled out to our debit card users as their current ones expire. ... blah blah ... The Carbon Neutral Company ... blah blah ... reduce carbon emissions in the developing world."
This effectively balances out the harmful emissions of the card's manufacturing process by preventing the release of the same amount of greenhouse gases somewhere else.
Theo continues: "Given the huge influences economics and finance can have on behaviour towards climate change, I'm so glad this bank is focusing on the contribution of the small piece of plastic, silicon and epoxy in my pocket."
Yes, indeed - a fine nomination for the Hot Air Oscar for best emulation of bailing the Titanic with a tea-strainer.
5 comments:
Congratulations on being appointed an advisor to the government department for energy and climate change.
Let's hope they actually listen and act on your advice.
I first read Without Hot Air as a first draft PDF 1.5 years ago and it spurred me on to set-up a renewable energy company in southern Spain - Pretasol.
Khalifa Saber
That's a very impressive development. Usually books like this don't get noticed (particularly when their covers are as dull as your first edition), but you're now in a position where you can exert some much needed common-sense influence on government energy policy. Perhaps you could tell Mr Miliband to get a move on, before it's too late to prevent the power cuts predicted around 2016.
Secondly, if anybody tuned in to Any Questions on August 21st, I think that's a good example of why this book should be mandatory reading for those wishing to debate energy sources. Mr Delinpole and Porritt were trading soundbite insults on wind farms, nuclear, and the Severn barrage, until they both conceded that the debate could go no further whilst each disputed the others's claims. Next time energy policy comes up as a question on the program, they should invite you on.
How much energy goes into making a plastic shopping bag, and how does that compare to a "green" reusable one? How many times do you have to use a re-usable bag before you have done something useful?
Yes, congratulations on your appointment.
I read this morning on the BBC website that the UK government has spent >94% of the UK's annual GDP on the policy of bailing out banks (- or possibly the banks had spent this money already, and the government revealed the loss in the form of a bailout)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8249411.stm
It made me wonder whether the country has sensible priorities. I expect that spending £30K per person in the country -what the BBC claims the government has done - could get us a long way towards using renewable energy at a large scale - this sum would run the NHS at today's prices for fifteen years, or pay for fifteen years of an NHS-scale operation to build renewable energy infrastructure.
I hope you gain influence in government and continue to exert it following the general election.
Mr Mackay, they were quoting you and your book during a climate change discussion on 'Any Questions' broadcast on 11/09/09.
Definitely worth a listen on iplayer!
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