If you were the government . . .?

Question

What measures would you put in place to start combatting global warming? They can be drastic, unpopular, political suicide - (it's just that I don't think fannying around with 'Green Taxes' is going to work quickly enough) .

You may be Fast Eddie but you have no imagination -

Thank you Pearl - I thought there were only jokers and cretins out there today.

Apart from Billy Kin .... sorry Billy.

OMG! How am I going to pick a Best Answer, nearly everyone has some terrific ideas. Think I'll have to sleep on it.

Rebel !!!! You're back, where have you been?

Hi Sidious - Be nice if you want to win friends and influence people.

Hi Anna Banana: I'm awak and it's got worse 49 answers!! Most good answers with loads of suggestions...... I'd put it to the vote if I didn't think people would vote for the one that says 'what global warming?' I'll have to take the plunge even though it means readings all 49 all over again. :-)

Answer 1

I would get rid of all plastic bags in shops so people would be forced to bring in their own bags. Cars would no longer be allowed and everyone would use public transport except at weekends. Packaging for food would be made a lot simpler thus making less waste. There would be less flights than present and I would raise the cost of electricity and gas so that people would be forced to make cutbacks in their homes.

Answer 2

A couple of months ago, when it was still the dog end of winter and frosts could be expected any morning, I strolled through Winchester High Street on a Saturday morning. Approximately 2/3 of the shops had their doors wide open and half of those were using overhead 'air curtains' above the doors to keep the premises warm.

Passing by these on the outside was quite warm too.

When I asked one shop keeper (assistant?) why they didn't shut the doors to save the electricity he told me "not my shop, I don't pay the bills". This is very common in most towns.

Also, I cannot count the number of office towers and their car parks left fully lit after everyone has gone home; and why do we need motorways like the M5 fully lit at 02:00 every morning when switching off half the lights would still be adequate for safety considering the low traffic levels.

I have been told that domestic energy use is about half of the national total but simply putting the prices up for the general public will only serve to make gas/electricity/petrol more expensive and not significantly cut consumption.

For example, why should I spend a lot of my capital changing all my light bulbs to expensive 'energy savers' when it will make sod-all difference compared to the large office block down the road that's lit up like a Christmas tree all day and night throughout the year (including summer)?

It is apparent that financial penalties (and who seriously believes that 'green' taxes will be anything other than another goverernment money grubbing scam?) don't work very well.

What is needed are not "dis-incentives", what is needed is clear and unambiguous action which will not in reality hurt anyone, in fact it'll save money, and which will have an instant affect on the nation's energy consumption.

If I was the government (aka Diktator Tony) then I would start where the difference would be SEEN to be made first. That is, Ban all un-necessary lighting (security in car parks doesn't need all the lights that are used), Ban all "heating of the pavements" by commercial premises, Ban all patio heaters.

I'm sure that you see where I'm coming from here. When the public see that the Big Boys, including government, are visibly cutting their energy waste then they'll see that changing their own personal habits could be worth while.

Also, I agree with you that some of the answerers are complete idiots who obviously don't care about anything or anybody except relishing their own stupidity.

Answer 3

The first consideration must be that the ozone layer can actually and effectively be repaired once such measures are in place. Once that is in place, the only measures that will be effective will be those that are enforced by legislation and where the full force of the law can be seen to be in action. Everything, but everything, where energy requirements are reduced will help here ..... none will be popular of course ... people's livelihoods will be at risk, unemployment is bound to soar, the economy will dive, and people will simply have to get used to the idea that the car, air travel etc are simply going to be policed in usage. I was talking to an old bicycle collector recently and he said that in the early 1900, people with cycles were 'gifted' as they could find work outside their local area ..... and frankly that is the way that we may well have to go. The earth's oil resources are vanishing and powered travel may well become a thing of the past. I agree, green taxes simply put the cost of living up .... people and industry will not change their lifestyles and modus operandi unless laws tell us to do so. Everything will change and adaption will be long, arduous and very unpopluar ... remember the poll tax? Obviously, carbon emissions will need to be slashed, industry will cave in, travel will be reduced to cycles and boats, streetlights will vanish and air travel will simply not exist for pleasure. Is this the price of saving the planet? Everyone must also be taught to 'do their bit' so energy education in schools from five upwards will become mandatory as will that of recycling. Recycling needs to be stepped up a gear or two and everyone will have to comply or be fined or charged ( same thing ! ). Actually, the comment about reducing the world population, on a controlled and projected basis, is not a bad idea. The surge of population can only mean one thing ..... a surge in energy requirement.

Answer 4

I think the measures would have to come from the UN, as this is not only on government solution. We feel great effects of the global warming and climate changes already. Recently, there was a strange phenomenon where there were a large number of deep sea fish came up to the surface of the Andaman ocean and died, together with large number of planktons (redtide) approaching the shore. It was thought that the ice melt from the world polar seeping down the sea base and had caused the sudden change in the water temperature at the sea bottom that has caused these phenomena.
UN should treat this issue serious as their effects are far more serious than the nuclear proliferation, as they can devastate the world much more than nuclear weapons. Economics and political sanctions should be called upon countries, corporates or individuals who is causing these results.

Answer 5

Practically everyone who has flown over the world at night can look down on cities , towns and motorways and see lights on, why, offices are shut people are not about to see advertising boards and cars have their own lights, so I would make it a law punishable by a large fine to have lights and in areas that are totally unnecessary, the amount a energy that is wasted this way governments do not seem concerned about, but if a aircraft leaves London for USA half full with a royal or a government head , there is a big story, as with all the race cars and boats , they burn up a colossal amount of fuel testing and racing, then they turn around and say I have helped I have planted a tree, they should plant a forest, then there is the population, this as increased immensely and they all have to boil a kettle if you are in a developed country if not burn a wood for the amount you would use, stop cruise ships , ahrrgghh, you could gone on forever, makes one wonder how he gasses affected us in the age of the industrial revolution , we where then where China is now burning on hell of a lot of coal, giving this country , UK some of the worst smogs you could imagine. we Will survive, it is the politicians who are saying what they like to get votes rather than looking at it logically and saying what must be done rather than we are going to do.

Answer 6

I would love to make the UK, the world leader in this area instead of just hanging around waiting for other countries to shame us into doing anything.

Industry should be forced to look at mass transportation and waste disposal

Service industry should look at teleconferencing instead of sending their staff all over the place.

All new houses should be built from renewable materials and have carbon neutral facilities. Or old houses refurbished appropriately, which is both cheaper and more economical.

I would make public transport cleaner, safer and free. Then anyone still wishing to use a car would be taxed to the hilt.

I would make all areas of society, that's industry, business and the general public, responsible for their own waste, adn I don;t just mean rubbish, I mean energy and time moaning about lefties.

The very first thing I would do as government though, would be to force all MP's on bikes and enforce all the above measures on parliament and the civil service. I think it's a disgrace how much they talk the talk and then do the 4x4.

Answer 7

Only create on type of can for sodas and drinks (many of them come in plastic or big or small glass ones). Recycle all paper, mandatory by law and create a committee that will set up a plan in to how to save the Amazons either by taxing and perhaps prohibiting SUVs in urban areas or suburban areas. Encourage people to get a hybrid and create hydrogen power by taxing people. This way were not dependent on electricity. Global warming is the biggest of them, we will have to set a goal into what year we are going to reduce the most carbon emissions. Maybe working with European countries that will be more apt into solving this issue.

Answer 8

In major city centres where pollution is heavy, make all public transport free to everyone. Exclude all private vehicles, except bicycles and electric vehicles.

Outside of city centres, make more flat smooth surfaces which are for non-motorised vehicles only. Maintain these paths to a level that it might be possible to Rollerblade on them.

Taxes on industrial scale polluters are specific issues which can be addressed at the appropriate level. One can only make it uneconomic for them to operate in your country. If there is a way of measuring the cost of polluters, it surely must be in the cost of putting right the damage done.

For example, a certain amount of emissions into the atmosphere would cost what it took to redress the balance. Be that the cost of planting trees, which convert CO2 to oxygen or whatever. Privately run forests would become the cost of atmosphere polluting companies. One must operate one to get a licence in the other.

I don't think green taxes are fannying around. They are very effective at moving polluters from your backyard.

Unfortunately, they will find somewhere else to go where the taxes are not so penal.

Major developments in Hydro-electricity, solar, wave, and wind power would get subsidies especially at the micro level whereby many individuals can make some difference. If centralised energy costs soar, micro level energy production starts to become economic.

Perhaps all new property developments should be required to have some form of micro level electricity generation built in from the start. If every house in the UK was required to have solar tiles on their roofs, what difference would that make?

Answer 9

There are some who dismiss the idea that global warming actually exists. Now, not really knowing the truth, and not really thinking we can do much about it, even if it is our fault. I would like to see a better recycling project undertaken.

We know that the use of reusable energy and recycling is supposed to be the way forward, well, even if it didn't make a blind bit of difference, we still have a duty to clean up after ourselves. The 1 thing we do know for sure is that we have no room left to bury our waste. So its up to us to make damn sure out tins glass and paper are properly disposed off, and our other waste is kept to a minimum.

To help with this, i take my tins to work(we have a proper skip for them) and my paper and glass gets collected. When our new addition to the family arrives, we will be using the green nappies, still throwaway, but bio-degradable. For only a few pence more we can save tonnes of nappies that will never rot. Perhaps these should be the only disposable nappy on our shelves, with the govt helping with the cost of them to be made better still.

Sorting our waste, may help with global warming, but will definitely make our futures cleaner and roomier. Mick

Answer 10

Global warming is a natural occurance... Mankind is not helping it but he sure is NOT the cause, yet the UK government in their wisdom insist we combat it and make sure we are charged for it... yet another load of lies from the so called 'runners of the country'.

It will happen no matter what we do, the world has been heating up and cooling down all its life over periods of 10's of thousands of years... way before manmade Co2 gases were about.

Global warming doesnt mean the world will heat up... in some places it could trigger an ice age... What is happening is natural but those who govern (or at least try to) think they are doing the right thing yet they could be doing more harm than good.


Green taxes is one of many 'idiotic' taxes and an excuse to take even more money off the hard working citizen... as if he doesnt pay enough.

So... if i was the PM i would ignore those who tell me its man's fault. Nothing anyone can do about global warming, and it will probably last longer than mankind.

Answer 11

Hey Wiggins - WAKE UP!! I've just dozed my way through the answers so just have a vague idea of smartalec (few) versus genuine and good versus dramatic as asked for. Too pooped to think hard (hurts at 01.16) so just want to agree with more forceful government instead of namby-pamby vote-securing rhetoric whereby we public and business are forced to turn off the goddamn lights; recycle - why is it so difficult for everyone?? - use less of everything and WHY can the rest of the world not adopt the Irish no plastic bags in stores unless paid for policy? Ever get your shopping packed by employees of major supermarkets? They (hopefully innocently) portray the
relentless-machine picture of their employers in disregarding waste issues and our children's future and pack-pack-pack items in individual bags which end up where?? - not in their backyard presumably.

Okay I'm rambling - everyone to bed NOW!

Last word I promise - heard commentator on radio say he had met many people who were passionate about reducing global warming - as long as someone else did it! Think that sums most of us up and so we NEED to have guidelines enforced - trouble is how many decades that will take those in power to design whereby they are not also penalised!

That is why we all have to take our own initiative.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz