Global Warning

The Grim Reaper

Autumn 1997

Whilst hundreds of millions of pounds are spent each year encouraging us to buy new cars and cheap aeroplane flights, very little is spent on publicising the consequences of these actions. At the inspirational Bristol Cycling Campaign Food Land and Transport (FLAT) weekend, Dr. Mayer Hillman (author of Cycling and Health) redressed the balance in a powerful talk that left each of us reassessing out assumptions about our "green" lifestyles.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the prime mover in the greenhouse effect. Almost everything we consume creates CO₂ at some stage in its consumption or manufacture. Our current UK CO₂ production is about 25 tons per household. This is made up of approximately 11 tons from power stations and refineries to make electricity, other industrial processes 5.5 tons, domestic heating 3.5 tons and transport 4.5 tons.

In most of the developing world CO₂ production is about one tenth per capita of that in the west. Per capita we have 350 times more cars than in China, though they are keen to catch up as western car plants move in.

In order to stabilise world climate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that CO₂ production across the planet must be reduced to 2.2 tons per household - that's more than a 90% reduction for wasteful westerners. Anything above this target will continue to result in accelerating global warming. The present UK government is aiming for a 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2010, and then only if other countries do likewise. Plane flights were singled out as being especially harmful. A return flight to Florida creates for each seat 1.8 tons of CO₂ per person - that's more than double the annual per capita CO₂ "allowance" necessary to stabilise the world's climate.

Mayer suggested a CO₂ ration book was a possible solution. Each human would have the same annual allowance and they would have to exchange tokens for various goods and activities, which would be "priced" according to their production of the gas. If you ran out, you could only buy extra tokens from people who hadn't used their allowance.

It's human nature to be paralysed by inactivity in the face of a doomsday scenario, but our practical experiences of the FLAT weekend was that it was possible to consume less but have more fun.

Who is happier: someone who has huge heating bills, a long commute to work, a flash car to maintain and big supermarket bills, or someone who has home insulation, solar water heating, a bicycle, and shops and works locally?

The Grim Reaper