You, Me, Dupree... and the BBC

I ended up here for another reason. I ended up staying a tad longer.

With the IPCC report and Valencia now it seems but distant memories, with the full brunt of Bali doubtless soon to wash over us as the 15-20,000 concerned country delegates and their entourages chew on the thorny issue of climate change, I'd like to make a small plea for more in-depth reporting on the factual issues.

I am brought here having noticed a side bar on 4x4s, where plain inaccuracy is excused as 'shorthand', and will be 'looked at more carefully'. Along with 'learned from' this has to be one of the most dire and ineffective attempts to not really provide a good reason, let alone explanation, or offer an reassurance on the quality of reporting we can expect to get.

It is also simply not good enough to rely on any old press release as gospel just because it has a green tint.

From electric cars not having any emissions (the exhaust is just in another place) to wind farms with rather optimistic ratings to plastic bag bans (are we really going to get a town by town piece all around the country? Modbury was 'first'. OK) that may not actually be as 'friendly' as shared (this may show why it is a lot more complex and worthy of deeper consideration: http://junkk.blogspot.com/2007/11/junkk-category-plastic-bags.html ), I simply think that we, the consuming public, need a better explanation of all the issues, warts and all, to help decide our actions.

By green-gilding everything uncritically and without thought, you run the risks of a) misinforming, b) encouraging poor practices, c) simply disappointing or d) giving unnecessary ammunition to those who would advocate a less concerned, more hedonistic approach to our planet's precious resources.

Green is usually one heck of a good thing. But you still need to look at each and every aspect of it on what can be some quite complex interactions and/or merits before shoving any old stuff out in its name.

There are simply too many who see it only as the colour of money or the rally of a 'ban-wagon', and will use it for less noble ends than the saving of this planet.

And if as the efforts of the organisations above would suggest, and as echoed by our government and media such as the BBC, this is the greatest challenge we face as a race, then it surely deserves to be taken a lot more seriously, to the highest standards of journalistic challenge, at every level.

At the moment too much is being pumped out as an '... and finally', by the most junior of staff, and the consequent tone, lack of investigation and/or frequent errors are eroding the good and necessary works on the much bigger picture.