Michael Greenwell

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable. – Aldous Huxley

10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS IF YOU ALREADY DO THE TEN THINGS YOU ARE SUPPOSEDLY SUPPOSED TO DO

There are so many articles and guides to cut your carbon emissions and environmental impact at home and with your car and so on. Most of what they say is intuitive anyway (switch lights off, don’t leave things on standby etc).

I got to thinking, what about the people who already do most of those things? What more can we do if we don’t have the money to completely refit our homes like many of the guides suggest?

So here it is, another 10 point plan…

1. Stand next to people eating fruit out of season and shout “he’s got no testicles” very loudly (or “she’s got no vag” depending on the situation). If it amuses you more then deliberately get confused on the genders.

2. Perform a citizens arrest on people flying short haul ( thanks Rob Newman!).

3. Find people who leave their lights on to deter burglars and steal goods from their homes to make up for the cost to repair the carbon emissions this produces. Leave a note to say that this is why you have done it.

4. Throw mud in the windscreens of SUVs and jump about in animal costumes in front of them and invite them to hunt you. This should stop them going anywhere. You can claim that you are just trying to give them the rugged feel that their choice of vehicle suggest they are lacking. Don’t worry if one of them takes you up on the hunting offer. The likelihood is that if one them attempts to shoot you he will probably just accidentally shoot his friend in the face.

5. If a major energy company starts to talk about clean energy issues, write them a letter saying you understand fully what they are trying to achieve. Enclose a plastic shit with a sugar coating to prove it.

6. Agree vociferously with the next person that talks to you about motorists rights, then go into their home and start chain smoking. To prove how much you agree the point with them you could even do this in their childs bedroom.

7. If you see anyone using an unnecessary amount of plastic bags in the supermarket then you could help them pack and remove all the unnecessary things they are buying so that they are only left with what they need. This will reduce the number of plastic bags needed.

8. If you notice anyone who was heated towel rails, abuse them and call them every name you can think of…. I mean.. what is the f*cking point?

9. Don’t leave your TV on standby. Turn it off. In fact, sell it, burn it or hollow it out and use it as a plant pot. All of these options are preferable to tuning in to the innumberable channels of bile, nonsense and propaganda.

10. Get your friend to kick you in the head 5 times. If you wake up then you can explain to confused onlookers that he would have kicked you in the head 6 times but that this is a hybrid friend and therefore he does a bit less damage.

9 Responses to 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS IF YOU ALREADY DO THE TEN THINGS YOU ARE SUPPOSEDLY SUPPOSED TO DO

  1. Justin October 10, 2007 at 15:03

    Action!
    Very nice.
    I’ve been wondering about flying though. I have heard that anyone who has flown a long haul fligh has already increased their carbon footprint to a size that will never be realized by someone who never flies long haul. At the same time I have heard that flying is the most effeciant way to travel it’s just the distances involved. I don’t know what is true here as I have never seen any reliable satistics and it’s mostly just factoids thrown at me by “conservative” friends.

    Also, I would like to see some thoughts on why we should reduce carbon emissions besides “stopping global warming” which I think is now impossible. I have some ideas of my own which include connecting localization of consumption with reduction of world poverty and inequality as well as ending the oil wars. I think you are better informed than I am in general on these topics. What are your thoughts?

  2. michaelgreenwell October 10, 2007 at 15:10

    hi justin

    as rob newman says at the end of the history of oil thing, after peak oil there will be less and less energy available to us NO MATTER WHAT WE DO so we have to make a major switch. the question is if it is to be done in a horrific way or a sustainable way.

    The reduction of carbon use also has a knock-on effect in stopping the all round damage to the environment, atmosphere and the depletion of the planets biodiversity. this is because of the way that fossil fuel energy is obtained. that is a good reason in itself.

    wil have more to add later but have to pop out now.

  3. reverend gisher October 11, 2007 at 00:01

    loved number 4 but number ten ripped it. finally humor delivering the news of how far we really HAVE to go.

  4. Alasdair October 11, 2007 at 09:45

    Number 4. Don’t know about hunting but those dumb-ass pheasants make interesting clouds of feathers when struck at speed in my very own SUV …

    Seriously though there are those who genuinally need these vehicles and not all have super high emissions. My own has lower emissions than many saloon cars and doesn’t come anywhere near the emissions of most ‘sports’ cars … don’t hear so much in the press about those!

    Pheasants though! Honestly they deserve it!!

  5. michaelgreenwell October 11, 2007 at 10:34

    thanks rev

    justin the broader point is that we have vastly overshot the planets carrying capacity. therefore anything that can be done to reduce consumption is not oly good but necessary

    alasdair – maybe so but even if its emmissions were zero and it used hydrogen or something a car never be truly green if you consider the apparatus that is necessary to extract and process the materials to make the thing, build the roads to drive it on etc

    we all have some bug changes to make soon

    (i am feeling a bit apocalyptic this morning)

  6. Michael Bains October 11, 2007 at 10:41

    The likelihood is that if one them attempts to shoot you he will probably just accidentally shoot his friend in the face.

    That’s precisely teh type that bothers me most! Working in the macho Trucking Industry I see way too many middle-aged men AND women driving those stupid things for No Reason What-So-Ever. Oh yah, except for wanton ignorance and other residuals of Ego-Fear.

    #3 sounds like an actually viable li’l adventure ’round Helloween, eh.

    ;-}

  7. Alasdair October 11, 2007 at 18:19

    You are, of course, absolutely right! Regrettabley though, unless we all move to a large centralised conurbation with an excellent public transport infrastructure the viability of getting rid of high emissions (use and manufacturing) vehicles won’t happen. Getting rid of the car is a simplistic approach.

    Of course it doesn’t help when alleged ‘green’ taxes aren’t ring-fenced to enhance the public transport infrastructure. Fuel tax is more a tax on rural living where jobs are oftern few and far apart or in low-paid sectors such as food, hospitality and tourism.

    In my own example I recently had to take on a second vehicle in order to take the lad to nursery :shock: , it’s 7 miles away and buses only come along every two hours or so. I could get a bus there, but would have to wait in a bus shelter (although there isn’t one) for another hour with a grumpy baby only to have to immediately go and wait for another bus which wouldn’t get me were i want to be on time and then another bus with another wait ………. I think you might begin to see my point. It’s all very well to put up taxes and demand change but people can’t always do it alone, the government (both of them) have let the public down badly on this issue.

    I’ve considered converting the latest car to LPG but that’d cost more than the vehicles worth!! We have a part-time 4×4 (SUV) to get the mrs out in wet and snowy weather to work and a clapped out Seat Ibiza for local run arounds … oh! That’s another thing! In order for the mrs to get to work by public transport for a Monday morning start she would have to leave home on Saturday and then stay there until Friday night … so that she could get home on Saturday morning (it’s only 35 – 40 miles away).

  8. Justin October 12, 2007 at 07:36

    Alasdair
    Points well taken. As an American from western Colorado I know how hard it is to get through daily life without a car. On the other hand, depending on how important it is to you, you can always make some adjustments.
    Action is the main thing.
    By the way, a FWD is never necessary (we can have that debate if you want). And, I beg you to reconsider your opinion of pheasants.

  9. Alasdair October 12, 2007 at 12:23

    Justin,

    Pheasants are possibly the most dim-witted creatures to be deposited on the face of the planet … they are the only creature I have seen that acively throws its self under the wheels of speeding vehicle! Although I have seen sheep push others out onto the road as a car approaches!!

    On the 4wd thing, the elements can often conspire to reduce the efficacy with which a 2wd vehicle can move. My mrs keeps four days holiday aside in case of being snowed in, however, failing that she has to go to work … without the facility to switch to 4wd it’s plausible she wouldn’t make it out of the street. The road leading to our house is ‘unmade’ in so far as it isn’t entirely dissimilar to a river bed, whilst it may be argued that a 4wd isn’t necessary I don’t fancy the chances for the longevity of a less sturdy vehicle!

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