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Britain to Pass Devastating Viro Bill

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...14/nergy114.xml

Businesses will be forced to curb emissions

Supermarkets, hotels, councils and universities could be given a "cap" on the amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit within five years under Government plans announced yesterday to set legally binding carbon reduction targets.

The new legislation, binding the UK to an ambitious 60 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050, was published as ministers stepped up their attack on the Tory leader David Cameron's proposals for a new tax on frequent fliers and higher duties on domestic flights.

[...]

In the longer term, the powers could be used to give every person or householder a personal carbon allowance, which would take account of how much energy they used in the home, driving and flying.

[...]

Environmental groups will be able to take future governments to court if they fail to live up to this Government's promise to cut Britain's carbon emissions under its provisions.

[...]

The Tories and Liberal Democrats welcomed the proposals but said carbon budgets should be set annually.

[...]

The Green Party said setting a legal framework for carbon emissions was a "massive opportunity" but the proposed targets were "dangerously unambitious".

With all of the major parties supporting it, there is little doubt this will become law. And as long as nuclear power remains a taboo, a 60% cut can only be achieved through a drastic curtailment of "economic activity" (meaning: all human activity) in all areas of life--a drop in living standards that will make the Great Depression seem prosperous. And this is only the beginning--wait until you see the bill that isn't "dangerously unambitious."

The nation that once led the way in the Industrial Revolution is now the pioneer of its antithesis. Let's hope the rest of the world will not follow suit this time--or else we're in for a (literally) dark age the likes of which Christianity has never even dreamed of causing.

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Yes, that was one of the first things I thought of when reading the article--that I should get out of here while I'm still allowed to...
They'll fly you out, but the trip will be 40% of the original. By my calculations, that just about gets you into Germany. :thumbsup:
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They'll fly you out, but the trip will be 40% of the original. By my calculations, that just about gets you into Germany. :thumbsup:

I guess I'll have to continue my journey by car then. The gas-guzzling models I like to drive are bound to make up for the loss on Germany's no-speed-limit freeways! :dough:

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You'll need to think of Plan B, because:

Germans have been all too keen on things like windmills and recycling for much longer than Britain, but they tend to cherish their autobahns too much for any politician to dare to contemplate messing with them. This is actually one of the very, very few things I like about Germany.

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OK I'm from the UK, here's what I think.

Recently Channel 4 produced a show called "The Great Global Warming Swindle". I am yet to watch it but was pleased to hear when a friend of mine told me he was now beginning to doubt global warming being man-made. Even the people who say they support green measures are only just talking; hardly anyone actually puts into practise their green morality.

That leaves politicians. They will certainly pass this climate change bill, no doubt about it. But - woe betide any politician who harms the economy. If the climate change bill starts to harm the economy then as soon as voters link the pain of the falling economy with green policies, then voters will dispose of the politicians.

The skillful politician will be the one who can satisfy voters green morality by appearing to be green, while not actually doing anything that will majorly harm the economy.

I could be wrong. The economy could easily be devastated by this bill and Great Britain could be about to head into deindustrialisation again for the second time in 50 years. But I have to say that I wouldn't put my money on it. For example look at Live Eight. I went to the concert and you had 200,000 people (plus the rest of the country) all feeling moral and good about themselves for helping Africa. What was achieved? Absolutely F all.

For Americans to get a feeling for Live 8 I have to spend a few more sentences on it. Literally for about 3 weeks straight, there was a media frenzy. Every single newspaper was cover to cover about it. Every famous person was there from Brad Pitt to Bill Gates. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4645869.stm

Then 7/7 happened and everyone forgot about saving Africa and concentrated on improving security. A similar thing will happen with global warming.

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Then 7/7 happened and everyone forgot about saving Africa and concentrated on improving security. A similar thing will happen with global warming.

The problem is that this bill will allow Greenpeace to sue future governments if they don't achieve the cuts it mandates. And even if everyone else forgets about "global warming," Greenpeace will not--you can put money on that.

Besides, I'm not sure whether a majority of the voters support the anti-carbon agenda even now. The only people I hear clamoring for "saving the planet" are politicians and celebrities. On the radio show I listen to (Breakfast with Nick Ferrari), the callers are almost unanimously opposed to "green" taxes. I could be wrong, but I see this more as politicians acting against "public opinion," implementing unpopular but "necessary" measures. Necessary for expanding the powers of the nanny state, that is!

Gordon Brown doesn't worry about unpopularity because Labour is so unpopular he knows he will lose the next election anyway. David Cameron needn't worry about supporting an unpopular bill because he knows he will win the next election no matter how blatantly he betrays Tory values. And neither cares about what will happen after the next election, because both are short-sighted pragmatists who only think of the year 2050 when it provides them an opportunity to grab more power--NOW.

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I'm most concerned with this part:

In the longer term, the powers could be used to give every person or householder a personal carbon allowance, which would take account of how much energy they used in the home, driving and flying.

Or breathing? Respiration, after all, produces carbon dioxide and water vapor, both "greenhouse gasses." About 4% of a person's exhaled breath is pure CO2. You can easily calculate how much CO2 a person produces, given age, weight and average daily activity (now working out will cost you a lot more than a gym membership and some sweats).

Reductio ad absurdum? I wish! The whole idea of treating CO2 as a pollutant is absurd to begin with.

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I could be wrong, but I see this more as politicians acting against "public opinion,"

There is an excellent example of what I mean in the Motors section of today's Sun newspaper. In an enthusiastic review of the new model of Aston Martin, Motoring Editor Ken Gibson writes:

[This car] personifies the love affair between a driver, his sports car and the open road. It makes you want to put two fingers up to the politicians and run right over their carbon footprint.

I'm sure many readers were nodding in agreement just like I did. There is plenty of "public opinion" in favor of the freedom to drive (and fly, and live), but none of the politicians wants to cater to it, as it would mean sacrificing their chance to expand their nanny powers. See, they do have a backbone--when it comes to doing the wrong thing!

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