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Quiet revolution: dispensing with cars and planes
Steve Richards, The Independent
There is a quiet revolution afoot, but the Government is not rising to the challenge
People have had enough of cars and planes and are starting to have a good time again without them
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…I detect an understated revolution from below, one that is only indirectly connected with decisions taken by elected leaders in this country or anywhere else. The revolution is in its early days. I predict confidently that it will lead to a dramatic decline in car usage and holidays in far-flung places.
Indeed I wonder whether we are seeing the beginning of the end of cars, at least in cities. People have had enough of cars and planes and are starting to have a good time again without them. There has been no overt prompting from political leaders. Instead, of their own accord, some people are deciding to act differently. They do so for selfish reasons, not out of some hair-shirted environmental altruism. The most sustainable revolutions depend on selfish motives rather than a bleak sense of sacrifice.
My sense of the beginnings of a revolution is based on disparate conversations and my own lifestyle decisions. I have had too many conversations and taken too many decisions for these to be a coincidence. Admittedly there is a danger of assuming that anything that happens to you is somehow representative of broader trends. Still I take the risk and make the assumption. Something big is happening.
First there is a friend who enjoyed driving fast cars. He used to get up early, avoid the traffic, and whizz to places at mind-blowing speeds. But the speeding fines started to pile up. Those cameras clicked wherever he went. He has given up with the fast car. There is no point in it. If he goes fast it costs him a fortune in fines, on top of the wild expense of running a speed machine.
…Now take several people I know in London who have given up with cars altogether. They have had enough of the congestion, the cost and another range of fines. These days it is impossible to park even briefly to get money out of a cash machine in most parts of London. Another camera clicks and the driver is sent a big parking penalty.
…I have a car, but for similar reasons hardly use it. There is too much hassle involved in even the simplest of journeys. For selfish reasons I cycle to most places or take a deep breath and risk Britain’s frail public transport system.
…Separately I have other disparate conversations about holidays. I bump into people all the time who have decided not to fly abroad this summer. Some of them have pots of money. They could afford to do so. But they cannot face the airports. Andrew Marr wrote recently that the two ugliest words in the English language were “Heathrow Airport”. He speaks for many.
Again, I do not detect acts of selfless environmental altruism from those who have decided against taking a cheap flight this summer. They cannot face the crowds, the security before entering an airless plane for hours only to face the same squalid nightmare at the other end. With selfish relief, they contemplate a holiday in Britain.
(7 June 2007)
Time for action says airline magnate Branson
Richard Branson, Sydney Morning Herald
The aviation industry needs to act on climate change, not just talk
about it, says Richard Branson.
I AM the first to admit that I am a relatively recent convert to the need to tackle climate change. I was inspired after meeting former US vice-president Al Gore, who convinced me that I could play a part in convincing others that it was time for urgent change.
Why have I so strongly set out my green ambitions for Virgin Atlantic and other parts of Virgin? Because, from the books I’ve read and the scientists I’ve met, I am certain the world is heading for environmental catastrophe if we carry on as we are, relying on fossil fuels to improve our daily lives. Our children and grandchildren will never forgive us for doing nothing to stop climate change.
I am an airline owner and, yes, we have done our bit to cause environmental damage. But now we have to do something about it.
Our planet needs the biggest step-change of them all. We need technology to be developed that will reduce carbon emissions by all airlines, which contribute nearly 2 per cent of global emissions. If we had much cleaner and more efficient planes, then we could start to reduce the contribution we make to climate change.
…The next time you book a ticket, ask the airline what they’re doing to reduce their carbon emissions. If they can’t tell you, switch to someone who cares a little more. Then, future generations will be able to thank us for cooling down global warming.
Richard Branson is the founder and owner of the Virgin brand.
(7 June 2007)
Missed flight: airlines boss says industry has done too little, too late
Dan Milmo, Guardian
A senior director at the world’s largest airline has warned that the industry has “lost the battle” in the environmental debate and it could take a decade for carriers to restore their reputation.
Leo van Wijk, vice-chairman of Air France-KLM, the world’s biggest airline by turnover, said the industry passed up an opportunity to take the initiative in the green debate eight years ago and now it would pay the price. In an extraordinary outburst at the annual general meeting of the Iata airline trade association, Mr Van Wijk dismissed executives’ opinions on the issue as “BS”.
He said: “What I hear is a lot of BS – I think we have lost the battle already. I don’t think the customer is interested to hear that we have a great story. We know damn sure that within a reasonable timeframe there is no way that we can diminish it [carbon emissions].”
(6 June 2007)
MEPs and motors
Mark Mardell, BBC
BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell on the appeal of fast cars, the damage they do to the climate, and moves being debated in Europe to limit car emissions and put a health warning on car advertisements.
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Should you be allowed to drive cars that can do a ton, even if you’d be breaking the law? We all know that boys – and girls – of all ages love shiny, big, powerful toys.
But do car manufacturers appeal to the child in us all who loves to go “Vrrrrm!” at the expense of the world’s climate?
Members of the European Parliament are being urged to think so and to stand up to them. The European Parliament is going to be asked to beef up plans to fight global warming by stopping cars pumping out so much carbon dioxide.
The European Commission came up with its own idea for the laws in February and since then I’ve been trying to track what is happening to this proposed law, which will affect how we drive all over Europe.
The first really major step since then is upon us. Parliament is getting involved. The basis of this is a report which has just gone to the translators, who will doubtless have fun finding out the Maltese, Irish and Latvian for technical terms like “limit value curve”.
(7 June 2007)
Contributor Mark Yates writes:
Why do all these articles mention about reducing C02 “only”? Not a single article like this mentions that the North Sea (UK, Norway) is depleting at 8-10% a year, and that for national security reasons we need better mpg (and therefore lower C02)! It is absolutely essential we get away from 400hp 4x4s and 4×4 cross-overs. We need 60mpg+
