CoffeeHousers' Wall, 4 August - 10 August 

Maggie

New Cars & Carbon Emissions
How many miles of 'clean' driving must I complete before the planet begins to benefit bearing in mind the carbon emissions created when my new car was being manufactured and the disposal of my ten year old 'dirty' (but still in perfect working order) model?

Nick Kaplan

On the topic of cars and carbon emissions; according to Top Gear (admittedly not the most neutral source) the complexity of the battery in the Toyota Prius means that its technology must be sourced from all over the world with the result being a huge increased in carbon emissions during the production process. In addition, around the top gear track a BMW M5 was more fuel efficient then the Prius. I wonder if all those ‘green’ Prius drivers would be so smug if they knew that.

Anthony

Far longer and further than you have years to live - and you've better things to do than worry about that. Just be thankful you didn't live during one of the 'recent' little ice ages - even the best and newest cars would have had trouble keeping going. And the ice age to come will punish the best of us.

Travis Bickle

Guys, it matters not a jot whether your actions actually make a blind bit of difference to saving "the planet", just so long as you feel good about yourself and can appear smugly green to your neighbour.

Wearing a thick jumper in summer can convey a similar level of superiority, and is actually far less damaging to "the planet" than most of the solutions that have been implemented.

Verity

My god, Travis Bickle - I would regard appearing to be 'green' as toe-curlingly infra dig! Absolutely nothing to be smug about, to be sure! I wouldn't even live in a neighbourhood where being 'green' was admired! People that stupid would be no good at helping in an emergency.

DW

Is the jumper a home knit - or from China?

Fearless Frank

There's been quite a lot on the news today about putting up road tax for older "gas guzzlers", but no mention (that I heard, anyway) of the bloomin' obvious flaw in the idea that it's a "green" move: these cars are on the road anyway. What are you supposed to do - chuck your old one away and buy a new green-mobile?

Puncheon

Over on Iain Dale's Diary there is a discussion on an English Parliament. What to Coffee House Wallers think? My own view is that I regret the break-up of the Union, if only because that has been a long-standing objective of French foreign policy and it would encourage the Euro-federasts. But the ill-conceived and badly thought-out Blair devolutions have let the genie out of the bottle, and the present situation whereby Scottish and Welsh politicians can vote for polities that they then deny to those living in England is intollerable. The Ken Clark proposals are mere legerdemain designed to fool the gullible. The idiot Prescott ideas simply emasculated England even further. I would be happy with an English Parliament, provided it was not located in the South East and it was accompanied by the abolition of all regional quangoes and at least county councils, ie there should be a large net reduction in politicians and bureauctrats. We would then have a federal UK that would need to develop a mechanism for acting together in the foreign policy area, particularly in respect of the EU. Perhaps even Ireland would be interested in joining such a federation, now they are becoming disenchanted with their new pals in Brussels.

Juan Kerr

Fearless Frank.

Yes?

Diana

I'd like to know the latest on Labour party funding. Are its top bods actually liable for the debt? Has that been resolved? Have they got a replacement for the guy who wouldn't take the top job (fearing liability - sorry, can't remember his name off the top of my head)? What are the names now in the hat?
How far is the party in debt, and are they getting any donations in this climate, apart from the unions? Also, have many union members pulled union members have pulled their Labour party subscriptions, particularly since Gordon Brown became PM?
Would be interested to know.

Fearless Frank

Juan Kerr – maybe I didn't make it clear.
I mean most people faced with a tax-rise on a car they already own will either try to sell it (if they can find a buyer) or else carry on using it.
Either way, that car is still on the road, as polluting as it was before. There is no possible green outcome to raising the tax on cars that are already in use.

Kevin

Has anyone else noticed the recent speech patterns of interviewees? When a question is asked, it is possible (I believe) to instantly recognise the interviewer has hit a very sensitive spot when the questioned answers with "Look ..." (which I assume means I have an opinion which I will not share with you), or "We are where we are ..." (which means it is our fault but we are not going to take the blame). Two examples from the last week: Andrew Strauss discussing Michael Vaughan and Geoffrey Robinson on Today today.

I know this is not a recent phenomena, but I have noticed a rise in frequency. Does this mean our interviewers are getting better? Or is there more to hide?

Roger Thornhill

re Cars and Carbon.

IIRC, the "dust to dust" carbon footprint* of a Toyota Pious is greater than that of a Hummer.

I find the parallel hybrid vehicles like the Toyota to be irrational aberrations concocted, it would seem, by the company's established "mafias" in engine, braking and transmissions. A series hybrid needs only a generator (around 250cc = 100+mpg), no transmission, no brakes (fully regen) no special cam profiles, fancy exhaust modelling, ECU trickery (all three need only cope with a constant speed for generation).

The new Electric Lightning is an example.

* production, use and then scrapping

Forlornehope

Maggie,
We did a full study in the early 1990's that showed 20% of a steel car's carbon footprint is due to its manufacture; this went up to 50% for aluminium. It would probably be less now, in both cases. From that you can calculate how long it will take to balance scrapping your existing car and replacing with a more economical alternative.

Verity

Kevin - Tony Blair always said "Look" He said it every time anyone asked him a question. In fact he said it every time he opened his ugly mouth.

Martin Cox

This Government's familiar incompetence is again apparent in the leaked suggestion for a 'Stamp Duty holiday'.
The stated purpose is to restart the pro perty market, but the effect of deferring a decision until the autumn will have exactly the opposite effect.
#Who woould buy a house now if by waiting a month or two, thousands of pounds could be saved?

Roger Thornhill

@folornhope

Who is "we"? Are your findings on the net? If my understanding of approx 80% in manufacture is wrong I would like to see the info.

Tim Carpenter LPUK

Yes, Martin, the "leak", will bung up the market even more.

Stamp Duty should be ABOLISHED forever along with Income Tax, CGT and IHT.

The fact that they cannot bear to be without this revenue stream shows they are hooked on taxes and spending like crack cocaine.

The Tories and LibDems are no better.

Aidan

Puncheon, I don't see the need for an English Parliament, which will no doubt needs its own expensive secretariat. We can get to the same place by the simple and obvious expedient of prohibiting Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs from voting in relation to matters which are reserved for their own Parliaments/Assemblies. I have yet to see a sensible argument against this.

Keith

Aidan, well said. And while we're at it, let's derail the Barnett Formula express on its northern journey.

cuffleyburgers

I agree with Puncheon and that as a result of labours foolish tinkering there is now no sensible alternative to a federal United Kingdom with an English parliament and a very much reduced federal government based in London to look after matters such as defence,foreign policy, immigration.

Education on the swedish model and police and health decentralised.

Introduction of a flat tax for federal taxes, topped up with local income tax for each national government to manage as it pleased.

As Puncheon rightly says, one of the chief measures of success would be a dramatic reduction in the weight of government in terms of cost,and a secondary objective will be to reduce public sector spending to somewhere south of 30%.

nicodemus31

Puncheon/cuffleyburgers & Co:

The thought has crossed my mind that a lot of people who regularly cast their votes for the SNP don't actually realise that Alex Salmond's (current) position is that he would retain the Queen as the Scottish Head of State, in the event of full independence being won.

The only parties currently in favour of a "Republic of Scotland" are the fragmented remains of Tommy Sheridan's mob.

Despite the SNP leadership's huffing & puffing, the fact is most SNP supporters are anti-English reactionary bigots who don't have a clue how dangerous their actions actually are.

Furthermore, do the Scots expect Westminster to foot even part the monstrously huge bill which would be inevitably racked up? Imagine the cost of setting up separate Scottish embassies around the world, changing signage, implementing a whole new passport for the virgin Republic, a new Health Service (it couldn't be called the NHS any more, could it?), the list is endless- and frankly frightening.

I sincerely hope (as a Scottish resident) that good old Blighty sticks 2 fingers up at the whole ill-thought out Tartan & Heather bull***t dream.

I suspect it will, however, somehow end up footing the bill.

Puncheon

Aidan - my primary aim in supporting an English Paliament is to justify a huge reduction in local authorities and bureaucracy - as spotted by cuffleyburgers. Your solution would leave us in England governed by a rump GB Parliament with little or no credibility. Whether we like it or not, EU membership has destroyed the Union - as the French, Germans and Spanish always intended. If we set up an English Parliament to complement the Scottish, NI and Welsh arrangements we can then propose a federal arrangement to deal with foreign and EU affairs, which could well tempt Ireland to join. The idea is to re-create the old Union but in a modern form without any one country dominating the others. The alternative is to be divided and ruled by the EU.