to civilly ask you to use your cars less

[mosquitofeast]

My last thread was deleted because I was not being "civil" enough, I don't actually think it is a subject there is much room for civility in, but I will try!

My last post was to try and answer some questions about me. Here they are

I think I have answered these.

No I am not a strict vegetarian. I don't buy milk or dairy, but eat it in other peoples houses,

no I don't fly,

foodmiles, well, I take them into consideration, but they are not the only indicator of the environmental impact of food. Tomatoes grown in a heated greenhouse 2 miles away might have more environmental impact than tomatoes grown outside in Spain, and flown in.

I have 2 adopted children, 1 is an adult no longer living at home I currently have 3 foster children, but that is likely to change this week

Yes I have a pet, it came with one of the adopted children.

No I don't smoke

I do limit my impact on the environment. I haven't flown for three years and have no plans to in the near furture, when I'm not furloughed, I walk to work and the kids both walk/are walked to school. We recycle a lot of of waste.

However, I will use my car when I can't be arsed or don't have time to walk. There I places I cannot physically get to via public transport (which is more expensive than taking my car) and I am not lugging a full shop home or doing three/four journeys.

You are talking utter pretentious nonsense. Being 95% vegan....erm no. You either are or you aren't. Comparing car use to the slave trade? Your audacity is astounding.

This is a cultural difference. Where and when did society pick up the idea that 2 miles takes an unreasonable time to walk? This is an new thing. Previous generations would not have said that, nor my generation

How about when your generation benefited so much from house price inflation that current generations can barely afford to buy a house in many parts of the country without both parents having to work full time and juggle with wrap around childcare which fines them for being 5 minutes late for pick up (quite right too but it is really hard if you are late only because the bus didn't turn up). Hopefully the answers on this thread have made you wind your neck in and reflect that time is the luxury your generation had but which others don't have which necessitates them driving rather than walking. I'm a non driver who is lucky enough to live in an area of good public transport but I am not so ignorant as to be unaware of how hard it is for others.

There is nothing to prevent a full time worker being a foster carer as a single parent. The only issue is the social worker meetings have to be outside of school hours. My current children are all over 8, that's a guess, 2 have no knowledge of their age, but I am guessing over 8. They will be issued with an "official " DOB at some stage, possibly the same one, then they will effectively become twins! But I am often a short stay carer, and have younger ones. I've never needed to own a car, but occasionally use taxis for longer journeys with the children if necessary. I|f more people used taxis for necessary journeys, that would help the environment a lot, as the space needed for parking could be massively decreased. Would anyone with the occasional necessary journey consider getting rid of their car and using taxis instead?

I live slightly less than two miles from my nearest supermarket. When I go shopping once a week I come away with about 8 bags full of shopping, much of it heavy.

If you think I'm going to carry that lot home you've got another think coming.

I saw your previous thread - the start of it anyway - I thought you were joking! Obviously not. In which case you are totally naive and must live somewhere they have good public transport. Aren't you lucky?

Could I civilly ask you not to split infinitives?

I walk loads rather than drive. But as the great Julian Cope said "There ain't no getting around getting around "

@PhilCornwall1

* No I don't smoke

You should try it, might help you unclench.*

Weed, that would certainly make her do that.

maybe have a look at my other thread? My 3 current foster children have been working as slaves in a cannabis factory

I wouldn't concern yourself too much OP. The last projections I looked at show we're still on course for a 3.5-4*C rise in GMST by 2100, so quite frankly we're fucked.

I'd just try and enjoy what we have now cause unless there's a massive global change (virtually chance of that) what's coming our way will make covid look like a weekend in the Ritz.

@mosquitofeast

Because they've got small children with them who can't walk that far yet.

Because you're on your way to somewhere else afterwards.

Because it's pissing it down with rain.

Because they're exhausted before they even started.

Honestly, can you really not understand why people might not want to or be able to fit in walking instead?

but again, you are forgetting, many people without cars do! in the rain! with small children! |Its just an attitude, thats all.

Yes, I remember well walking into town with my mum when I was a little girl ( we didn’t have a car, nor did most people , where we lived.) Our bags were heavy and when it rained or snowed or hailed , we still had to walk to the shops. Even whilst in town, we had to go into several shops to get what we needed then the long, uphill trudge home. I hated it and so did my poor mum who struggled to carry it ( I had a little basket of my own and that was laden.) Thank goodness for cars and out of town supermarkets .

There’s no taxi in my village and to get one from the town is £30 each way.

@mosquitofeast

There is nothing to prevent a full time worker being a foster carer as a single parent. The only issue is the social worker meetings have to be outside of school hours. My current children are all over 8, that's a guess, 2 have no knowledge of their age, but I am guessing over 8. They will be issued with an "official " DOB at some stage, possibly the same one, then they will effectively become twins! But I am often a short stay carer, and have younger ones. I've never needed to own a car, but occasionally use taxis for longer journeys with the children if necessary. I|f more people used taxis for necessary journeys, that would help the environment a lot, as the space needed for parking could be massively decreased. Would anyone with the occasional necessary journey consider getting rid of their car and using taxis instead?

I've never needed to own a car

Well bully for you. Clearly there is sufficient in the way of other methods of transport where you live. Millions of people are not in that situation.

What do you, OP, class as an 'unnecessary' journey? What do the people who came out with the stats class as 'unnecessary'? We have seen from the posts at the beginning of the pandemic that some peoples' necessary, i.e., milk for their tea, is considered by others to be completely unreasonable. Without a full description of the definition, there cannot be a debate. However, your tone clearly indicates you don't wish to debate, but instead wish to issue a set of immovable demands. Unfortunately, that attitude makes you sound unpleasant and hectoring, and hence people will not respect either you or the point you're trying to make.

No. My kids need to eat so I have to use my car to earn money to pay for food plus a roof over their heads.
I do numerous calls everyday so public transport is not an option.

Some people really have nothing better to moan about.

Even after this pandemic when things get back to 'normal' people soon aren't going to have a choice about whether or not they continue to use their cars as they currently use them. Global CO2 caused by cars (and everything else) is rising and unsustainable and is going to lead to severe consequences which will become so blindingly obvious that governments and societies won't be happy to have people driving around in diesel or petrol cars anymore. Elements of the solution will be increased cycling, increased public transport and electric cars. The government will have to have some form of subsidy to help people to switch from fossil fuel to electric once they make fossil fuelled cars illegal (a ban on new ones is currently planned for 15 years time but I think that will be brought forward again). YABU to ask people to change their lives before they have to, as any such requests are unlikely to change people's minds.

As an aside I thought some authorities had requirements that foster carers with young children were advised not to work full time outside the home...

You cshould step off your bloody soap box right now. Im sick to death of people telling other people what they should be doing. And now because of your thread I am going to use my car more than ever.

@MyChemicalRomancee

No I am not a strict vegetarian. I don't buy milk or dairy, but eat it in other peoples houses

So you’re points re pollution and saving the planet are completely invalid!

Every little helps. Reductio ad absurdum of your argument would be mass suicide what with our breathing and use of water

@Mothermorph

As an aside I thought some authorities had requirements that foster carers with young children were advised not to work full time outside the home...

As an adoptive parent who is looking to go with foster to adopt it is required to have at least one adult in the home who either doesn’t work or can go without their work if they need to give their job up to care for their foster child/ren.

All you have done is clarify that foster carers CAN work.

Please give us a rough idea of the industry you're in? How far you have to travel? How your foster children get to school? What hours you work?

Only then can we decide if a stranger is in any position to judge the rest of us so harshly.

To be honest, I find this thread quite depressing. People saying that 2 miles is too far or takes too long to walk is ridiculous!

And why is making kids walk anywhere described as "dragging them"? Our favourite park is a 2 mile walk away. We never drive there, we always walk, that includes my 4yo. She walks there, runs around, plays in the playground and then walks home. She's perfectly capable of doing this because we don't bundle her in the car at every opportunity. She doesn't complain, she used to but she quickly learned that her legs are for walking and she can't get away with being lazy. 2yo is still in the pushchair for part of the journey when we go out but we will build it up like we did with DD. We have a big childhood obesity problem in this country and its really not hard to see why if you read threads like these.

OK OP's other thread was quite goady and I don't agree with everything they are saying. I use my car when I'm doing the weekly shop because I can't carry it all back on foot. But we really do need to try to walk more, any journey that you can walk and have time to walk really shouldn't be done in a car. I think that people are far too reliant on their cars.

Tbf I am thinking of this from more of a health point of view rather than the environment, I do try to do my bit for the planet but there is definitely more I could be doing. I'm sorry but it is just pure laziness to drive for the school run if it would take less than half an hour to walk and you don't have to rush off afterwards to go to work etc. Or to drive a couple of miles to the shops to get bread and milk. Of course there are people who have disabilities that mean they can't walk far, or don't have safe walking routes, or literally do not have the time (and I mean can't physically make the time). But there are plenty of people who use their cars for short, non essential journeys that they could definitely walk. Off the top of my head I can think of about 10 people that I know who do this.

@sageandroses

I thought OP said on the other thread she'd experienced contraception failure and that's why she had 5 kids? Now she's got 2 adopted and 3 foster kids?

The thing is OP it's all well and good you trying to be more 'civil' but on the other thread someone pointed out that their mother needed to make frequent hospital trips in a car and your response was that she should just move closer to the hospital! You know, because someone in ill health can so easily do that, never mind the finances involved or the fact they might actually like where they live.

You can't say inflammatory stuff like that and expect people not to get defensive.

Haha, yes this is very true, OP did indeed say contraceptive failure was the reason for the number of children she has!

To be honest, I find this thread quite depressing. People saying that 2 miles is too far or takes too long to walk is ridiculous!

Now that's ridiculous, how do you know how much time others have??

@Mothermorph

As an aside I thought some authorities had requirements that foster carers with young children were advised not to work full time outside the home...

well, when they have enough foster carers to choose from, they may be able to insist. But as it is, I don't take children who need someone at home full time.

So, if you work full time out of the home, why are you on MN right now? Shouldn't you be working? And if you work full time out of the home and are a single parent, who will be picking your foster children up from school that you said they were in today? Who is looking after your non-adult adopted child today, or any day that you are working out of the home?

And if you are going to then turn round and say you do shift work or work weekends or any other excuse, who looks after your adopted child and foster children during those times?

Foster children (certainly ones who have been slaves in a cannabis factory!) are going to need doctor's appointments and social work appointments and goodness knows what else. Are you telling me that you walk to all their appointments or that the doctors / nurses / social workers always all come to your house?

I think you are winding us up. Or that you actually have a partner or someone else who drives you around.But it's a loophole so you can say you don't. No way you work full time, out of the house, are a single parent and look after four children and get them to school / all their appointments with just the odd taxi ride. Unless you don't live in the UK but rather a small village in another country where everything is in one building and you live down the street.

Two miles isn’t far but it is when you’re short of time. I would usually drive two miles.