Unthreaded
"France heatwave: Paris region closes schools"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48770248
Why bother? Surely there's a climate strike due?
Mark Hodgson
"Overseas aid: Stewart says funding may be shifted 'away from humans'"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48770640
"Overseas aid funding may need to be shifted away from humans to the natural environment to protect the planet and reduce poverty, Rory Stewart has said.
The international development secretary told MPs hard decisions would be needed if the UK was serious about mitigating the impact of climate change globally.
"We may have to target our money directly on the trees," he said. "We may actually have to plant trees."
He also warned a no-deal Brexit could, at worse, cut aid funds by up to £400m."
No comments on how much the budget might have to be cut as a result of the staggeringly wasteful and idiotic statutory instrument amending the targets in the CCA, however. That didn't even require an impact assessment. And despite that asinine piece of legislation, it seems it's not enough to save the world that Britain will unilaterally commit to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2050 - we also have to find the funds to plant trees all over the developing world.
Way to go Rory. Despite the horrendous choice now facing Conservative Party members, it could have been so much worse if Rory had made the final cut.
Mark Hodgson
"Increase in children protesting climate change"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment
{No, BBC, in English in the UK, that's children protesting AGAINST climate change].
"11-year-old climate change activist Elliot speaks to us about his fears for the future of the environment
(Image: An Instagram picture depicting children climate protestors, posted by Mothers Rise Up. Credit: Mothers Rise Up / Instagram )"
Mark Hodgson
stewgreen
LPG vans are a rarity at the moment on the UK new market - Mercedes Sprinters and VW Crafters / Transporters can be spec'd with a range of petrol engines suitable for an LPG retrofit. Many smaller vans still (only just) have a petrol engine option.
It has been obvious for at least 3 years that the intent of the Green loons at TfL has been to attack private diesel vehicles so if I were living / working in London that would've factored into the decision matrix for a new vehicle. Fuel at 60p-ish a litre helps too. The retrofit game is now quite competitive and a simple petrol-LPG conversion will definitely come in under £1000.
If Pimlico Plumbers wanted to prod TfL + Khant they could effective throw a few thousand (he can afford it) at an LPG equipped diesel van that would I suspect sail straight through Euro 6 tests with a bit of tweaking.
Khant and TfL have been trotting out a procession of agenda driven distortions of engineering reality and won't reveal the costs they've incurred and certainly won't compare their efforts to the Far Eastern urban deployments of lower emitting vehicles in the large cities over there.
Still in the Dark
I think no political grouping has a monopoly on stupid, thoughtless, aggressive attitude / prejudice and it's a mistake in my book to trust any party's full spectrum of policy on the basis of liking one bit :-) There is plenty of crossover between the Guardian;s commenters and those at The Daily Mail.... when some 'sleb (as they do) opines on how awful Daily Mail commenters are - it's obvious they don't read the Guardian's comments.... so yes - I agree - a plague on both their houses.
tomo
AK
I wouldn't say meaningless, they made you what you are. In some ways you've passed this to your children and grandchildren.
Still In The Dark
tomo
As a "plague on all your houses" person I get a lot of pleasure predicting the most popular comments on the The Mail and Guardian online. Although different I would class them as equally rabid, despite coming from different extremes.
Still In The Dark
AK "All meaningless pleasures now".
Doing historical research, it's the oddest snippet that someone thought to record that fills in the blanks that the obvious recollections miss out. I sift through near identical images and just wish people had recorded their home or that derelict building nearby instead of the chocolate box view.
TinyCO2
Yesterday's Times had a photospread on a certain windfarm lawyer who moved to California
.. husband got a job with Facebook.
stewgreen
The Hull actress pans Rylance in her Times letter
' stop being a flipping dramagreen about the sponsors BP
.. if you wanna do politics then get elected like our Glenda
.. look at me I fought for Suu Kyi and see how that turned out'
I paraphrase M Lipman
stewgreen
"In Pictures: Climate change protest 'The Time is Now' descends on Westminster"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48775463
"A coalition of environmental protesters from across the country have descended on Westminster to lobby politicians over the issue.
"The Time is Now" group promised a wide range of people would take to the streets around Parliament, including surfers and nuns, and they would come from a wide range of organisations, such as Christian Aid, the Women's Institute and the National Trust."
Good reasons not to support Christian Aid, the WI or the National Trust.