Howard, there is no question that we need to take better care of the planet.
The question that arises is how we should go about it. In countries like England, which is responsible for global CO2 emissions of 1% (Germany 1.8%), how can we explain to people that they should give up their mobility? The last thing people accept is regression. Acceptance is only achieved by the masses when the costs are the same or lower. This is my experience when I talk to people from different income groups. Of course, nobody has to agree with me.
Yes the UK contribution to MMGW is negligible but can you expect the major polluters like China to walk everywhere when the UK still has gas guzzlers? Its not realistic. We all have to contribute.
The elephant in the room is of course population. Each of us emits about 1kg of CO2/day just existing. Then we want food, and houses and toys and cars and holidays etc. So whatever we do here in terms of leccy cars is cancelled out by breeding in the third world. Luckily populations are declining in the rich countries and even those that have just developed like Korea have a birth rate below 2 per woman.
That we all need to do something cannot be denied. The problem is - what? Sounds horrific but a pandemic in the third world killing off 75% of the population is as necessary as swapping moaning first world types over to a return to a more austere 1950s style way of life. One small EV per family?
