Climate Change - Are you Concerned?

[LillyPink]

I have just read the news online about confusion regarding Britains target on capping damaging emmissions.

Its not a subject that I think about much to be honest, but I have realised I know very little about a very important issue.

So, in simple terms (I'm not exactly scientific!!) Do you think that climate change etc, is something we should be panicking about?? Know it is a concern for the world and am aware I sound niave, but how worried should the public be?

I remember watching that space programme a couple of years ago with sam neill presenter and thinking that if i had seen that prog before I had kids, I wouldnt have had any children
as the prog scared me and dh about the future

yep, having kids is really selfish as we really don't even know what the world is going to be like tomorrow :(!

Is the environment a big theme in the UK at the moment?

I would say fairly big, but who knows?

where are you leogaela?

Switzerland.

They are 'clean' here and had a big green drive in the 80s but the momentum sadly seems to have gone.

Yes, I do think we should be panicking about it.

And I've been reading a book called \link{http://www.unspeak.net/\unspeak} about the use of language and one of the things he mentions is how keen politians and big business were to get the term 'Global Warming' changed to 'Climate Change' because it sounds less dangerous and frightening.

Absolutely, and not just climate change but the rapidly diminishing resources of oil and gas. I put a biodeisil link up and no was interested but we really are all going to have to take some steps - in fact we should be doing it now if we want our kids to have half the standard of living we enjoy.

Yes, when I stop to think about it it is terrifying, but I do feel impotent. I know I could probably do more - am forever turning electrical devices off/heating down and we do have some energy saving bulbs (but not all). And dh is the recycling king to the point where he drives me to distraction holding on to rubbish. And we don't drive much, and rarely fly. But our attempts aren't thorough, and it all feels a bit pathetic and hopeless. I would really welcome the government taking a lead and genuinely encouraging individuals and businesses to do something active. Then I'd be able to do act in a way that was contributing to something worthwhile, IYKWIM.

In fact I'd welcome a bit of nanny state here so I knew what I was supposed to be doing and what contribution it was making.

Who is going to be this someone who tells them they can't have a share of teh wealth that teh West has enjoyed?

it is not a case of saying you can;t have it - just learn by our mistakes otherwise everyone will be in an even worse position.

There are lots of new technologies that they would be using which are much more energy efficient. However - they are currently not so cheap - but surely would reduce in cost if the whole of China needed them !

could not would.

I read somewhere about a big new skyscraper - but with old technology and very energy inefficient - if they used new ideas and techniques it could use only 10% of the energy it is using. Instead they built a power station for it

We (the "west") ought to be giving them our technology and expertise - because if we don't we will suffer along with them.

And we should insist (and subsidise) insulation in houses, double glazing, solar panels etc etc etc in this country.

SO much the government could be doing if they wanted to ........

I've often wondered why we don't all use solar panels for our domestic supplies. Does anyone know if a few solar panels on your roof would cover the running of an average house - and if so why don't we all have them? Anyone?

Ah Throckenholt - that takes me back to my conspiracy theory...

monkeytrousers - we looked at it - I think you needed 1-2 panels on a south facing slope to do most of your hot water needs - can't remember how much that included heating ....

Our problem was we do not have a big enough (doesn;t have to be big though) south facing slope on our roof.

Conspiracy ?

A friend of mine looked into this relatively recently (solar panels) and discovered that not only were the salespeople pushier than double glazing salespeople, but that she would only get costs back after 60 years of use (the panels only have a lifetime of 15 years).

I would guess that's why we don't all have them :/

solar panels are not a good idea financially - just environmentally - now if the government decided they wanted us to have them then suddenly they would become financially viable ...

Doubt in throckenholt - they'd probably just stick it in the building regs and we'd have to fund it anyway. (Cynical? Moi? )

They want us all to have ID cards and they're not making them blummin' affordable...

yeah but building regs only pick up people making cahnges or building new - does nothing to get to all those who are not planning to change their house.

Makes me wonder why we bother with governments if they are not going to take the strategic long term view and the difficult decisions.

Cynical ? (is that how you spell it - looks wrong !) - yep - me too

Well tbh, just having a policy that all new public buildings had to have solar/thermal/whatever renewable applicable to location would be a start...

Erm... don't know about the spelling now, lol.

i should have known you'd be on this thread, throck (heehee).
Cavity wall insulation costs a pittance -- seriously, anyone looking into it just phone the companies up. You';ll get yourmoney back within a year (I think it's £130 or so, now).

If the EU as a whole (what else are they good for??) instituted per person taxes, not on the fuel but on the miles travelled, it would work. People who need to go to London are not going to land in Russia & travel over. Ditto a fuel tax in the USA; it can be done on the airmiles from origin-destination. People living in Los Angeles who want to go to New York are not going to travel to Tijuana just to save $50 on passenger taxes...It could be done. It needs political will.

back to subject am not really worried on a day-to-day about climate change because there are so many other things that could go wrong. Am much more worried about conflicts between Muslim & non-Muslim world, tbh. One good nuclear conflict & we're all toast, anyway (can anyone spell "Iran v. USA" right now?)

ps: we are trying to look into getting a wind turbine on our roof right now, and the info on how-to is so difficult to find, very annoying. Hopefully that will change in future.

solar panels can cover a large percentage or all of heating bills for example. My dh's family house in Macedonia built by his architect father supplies all their hot water all year round - and they have very cold winters. I am absolutely baffled as to why new houses here are not built with solar panels - especially high spec ones where they can spend extra thousands on bath features but just rely on the national grid for energy. Solar panels are ridiculously cost effective. This govt doesn't give a damn about this issue.

sorry for typos spelling to fast.

BTW, the Sustainable Development Commission, the government’s advisory body on sustainable development issues, has recently concluded that nuclear power is not the answer to the UK’s climate change problems. But the government obviously is not listening.

too fast!

Wow I never realised solar panels could be that effective. This thread is very interesting. Even though as individuals we can all do our little bit, I agree that the government should be taking drastic steps to inform the public on what they can do, and when new homes are built to have solar panels etc.