'Hmnn, we'll leave it there'

Just watched the almost obligatory daily BBC breakfast eco-slot, this time on how hard it is to be green.

Usual plot. Usual suspects (Lucy Siegel from the Observer and Sue Carroll from the Mirror). Here's my email:

''Great, a quick green-slot with an Observer pro-eco and a Tabloid 'who cares' by way of debate.
Actually Sue did have some good points, as did Lucy.
But what was the actual result for us to act on in anything other than a nanny-state, guilty way? 'Hmmn, we'll leave it there.'

ps: For Mr-Mid, there is another choice for his cereal boxes that is higher on the re-hierarchy than recycling, Re:use:

My office filing system is free and expands daily."

The core of the piece was a study that showed there are 3 green shades: Lite, Mid & Dark.

The Dark was that Irish guy Don-something Mac-something who actually came across less didactic than I have experienced before. He was singing the praises of his free electricity. I did note his turbine was a pigeon perch, and somehow they had manged a sunny day. But the rest of his stuff was quite inspirational.

What was not was the main conclusions. Going green is stressful.

And here's a major innovation: more will go with it if it's made easier and cheaper. Now, what initiative can help with that. Well... D'uh.

What's the odds of getting a plug on the BBC?

'Hmnn, we'll leave it there'

I decided to write:

Dear Ms. Carroll,

I am quite a committed environmentalist, so I was most interested, if not surprised, but still disappointed with the BBC Breakfast TV piece you took part in.

Don’t worry, this is not going to be an eco-tirade: I pretty much agreed with all you said, or at least your reason for feeling the way you do to say it.

Yes, it is hard...er to be green, in many ways. But, depending on your acceptance or not of certain predictions we may need to think hard about embracing many of them.

But they are being sold appallingly. Hypocritical government, corporate-style e-activists and green elite media jollying around the world to climate conferences to tell the rest of the population they can’t fly. Or domestic initiatives under a green banner with no substance, no hint of where money may actually go, and hence zero trust or public support. Heck, I almost feel like getting a 4x4 and booking RyanAir myself!

It’s no surprise, with the only thing grabbing headlines being endless guilt trips or ‘may as well give up and by a Humvee to get to the Apocalypse quicker and in style’ vs. ‘Share an eco-lodge in Mauritius’ commentators trying to knock spots off each other as to who is better informed.

Such Prius persons are nothing to do with Mondeo Man. They don’t understand the things that matter, and impinge on most normal, average working folk who need to get to work, need to get the kids to a party at the weekend and get two weeks holiday... so slow travel at only £10k isn’t really an option. But they do care.

Going green is only stressful because a load of folk with a vested interest in playing it that way have captured the high, or at least broadcast ground. And offer little but talk.

But there are practical, proactive initiatives out there that are not costing the taxpayer a fortune (or anything), are not designed to meet targets as opposed to actual environmental ROIs, and can be inspirational. A few even have the odd notion that you can have fun and be re:warded whilst saving the future.

And I’m hoping your readers may appreciate hearing about more solutions like these.