Sustainability - Low carbon? Let’s be realistic!
In the third of our series on sustainability, Gill Westcott reflects on some of the arguments against Friends becoming a low-carbon community
Recently I have been interviewing councillors and council officers about their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and am encountering intensely conflicting opinions and worldviews about this. Take, for example, ‘Mr A’, who says, (I am paraphrasing): ‘The scientists can’t even agree about climate change, so how can I be sure enough that it is actually due to human activity? It might be the result of natural cycles, activity of the sun and so on.’ And ‘I’m convinced that something is going on – but is that all necessarily a bad thing? A few extra degrees most summers wouldn’t do us any harm – think of the tourist industry! And in any case what can we do? The Americans aren’t going to change their lifestyle, are they? And what about the Chinese? They are opening a new coal-fired power station every week.’
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