Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Trust me, I'm a Pol trying to save my bac.. the planet.

The enemy of my enemy...?

Who would have thought I'd ever side with Mr. O'Leary?

But with this - Fight over Brown’s ‘green’ levy - I have.

" am no great fan of Mr. O'Leary or his airline, but good luck to him.

Retroactive legislation is the thin end of a very steep wedge.

"... the tax, which the Chancellor claims will benefit the environment, will be applied to any passenger with a current booking made before the announcement was made."

Good claim. How, exactly, will this benefit the environment? The flight is taking place anyway. EasyJet may considering barring those who refuse (who would/can?) and that may mean a few kg less to lift, but the actual environmental impact is the same. Just some extra money going to... what, exactly?

Yes, ways must be found to resolve the environmental impact of travelling, and soon, but this will just create a 'them and us' divide which will make conversion of opinion and behaviours that much more difficult."

Just last night I was watching TV and in one break there were two ads for cereals. One with actor Ray Winstone talking about the nanny state, and the other with a load of 'official robots' trying to stop you eating tasty food. The industry and the government going to head to head, with the latter using our money to wage it so they can play with the ad agencies.

Pathetic.

ADDENDA:

Let's get this straight. I don't think the existence, financial incentives and hence proliferation of a mjaor greenhouse gas industry can be a good thing.

What I don't like is when 'green' is used to 'bash and tax' without thought, or only with a view to making a money and not a difference.

Knock yourselves out trying to figure who is coming out of this well:

BBC - Airlines savaged over environment
Reuters - Minister criticises Ryanair on emissions
Guardian - Labour targets airlines over carbon emissions
Guardian - Rise of low-cost flights comes at high price
Telegraph - Virgin holds talks on low-cost long-haul flights
Telegraph - Ryanair 'unacceptable face of capitalism'

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