The Independent, the campaigning tabloid it’s OK to like, has a very interesting and true story this morning about the greenhouse gas cost of rising cheap flights.
The article’s most spot-on point is the UK Government’s confusion on the issue of air travel. On the one hand, you have the 21st century attitude that climate change is the top priority and needs to be taken very seriously indeed (copyright DEFRA). On the other hand, you have the 1950’s attitude (in at least part of DfT, and probably the Treasury too) that air travel is Modern and Good and must be provided for through tons and tons of new runways. Just the other day I was reading a breathlessly excited news article about internal flights into Newquay starting up from Birmingham and Newcastle – and my inner voice was yelling ‘get the bloody train. It might be slow, but at least it’s not crapping the environment up’.
Things are really not moving in the right direction. Time to buy sea-front properties in Peterborough, my friends.
Not-yet useful resource: Greenhouse Gas calculator (pretty thoroughly broken on Safari).