Imagine a Birkenstock stamping on your face, forever
Make fuel waste an offence, demands climate expert - Scotsman.com News
HOMEOWNERS who do not to take action to improve the energy efficiency of their properties should be treated as criminals, one of the country's most influential environmentalists said last night.
Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, "We should be getting into the territory where we force people to do this (insulate their homes],"
"Lots of people have done things voluntarily, such as changing their light bulbs. However, there are also a lot of people who can't be bothered.
"Making it compulsory would help to concentrate their minds. I think climate change is so serious that we need to start cracking down in a serious way. We need to start forcing people to do the right thing – not just encouraging them but actually forcing them."
(I am sure the headline is from PJ O'Rourke but Google gives this blog as the only source I can quickly find...)
Comments
And funded by nearly £4.8 million of our cash too...
Posted by: Devil's Kitchen | April 14, 2009 7:07 AM
Just as in the US, everything must be done to reduce CO2 emissions except for the only thing that would actually work, which is to raise the cost of CO2 emissions through taxation.
I'm not a big believer in the whole AGW/CO2 we're all going to die hoopla, but if this really is such a big problem, why not introduce a simple carbon tax on an escalator, so that is starts off low and goes up by a fixed amount every year? We know how to do this because Maggie Thatcher managed to do it with petrol taxes. We could easily make it fiscally neutral by building in a compensatory reduction in income taxes as the carbon tax increases. By having a smooth predictable transition in the tax system, we can minimise the impact on the economy by allowing businesses to plan ahead and actually reduce emissions by making emissions more expensive.
Since self professed believers in catastrophic climate change only ever put forward schemes that can't and won't make any difference, I can only conclude that these advocates are either stupid, mendacious or both.
Posted by: Chris H | April 14, 2009 9:25 AM
If the government is serious about reducing CO2 by 10% they should simply shoot every tenth person.
Posted by: Charley | April 14, 2009 11:18 AM
WWF, as His Satanic Majesty points out, is a fake charity.
Time to check your direct debit list. If these people appear, cancel it.
Posted by: Jeff Wood | April 14, 2009 12:00 PM
If they were serious they'd champion nuclear power.
Posted by: Mrs. du Toit | April 14, 2009 1:35 PM
http://timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/tim_worstall_award/
Worstall gives the source of the phrase
Posted by: Anonymous | April 15, 2009 4:57 PM