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HomepageIan Gallon
It is easy to think up ways of being green. Cut down on electricity use. Reduce the use of your car. Install solar heating. Install photovoltaic panels. Stop using plastic bags. Grow your own vegetables. Cycle to work. Don’t buy imported food. Buy local food. Install a wind turbine. Install a wood-burning stove. And so the list goes on. What is not so easy is realising the unintended consequences. This is the true significance of the Global Village- we are all connected, and whatever action we take or don’t take, spreads ripples, not only locally, not only nationally, but also across the whole world.
Along with the intended results, there are inevitably those we did not expect and many of these are insignificant. But there have been dramatic ones. The drug Thalidomide, thought at first to be one of the safest drugs ever produced had the terrible side effects that we know so well. Dr. Beeching’s rail cuts half a century ago saved some money but destroyed a transport system the envy of the world and led to the exponential growth in road transport. The idiotic tampering with the appearance of fruit and vegetables, requiring standard sizes and limited varieties resulted in orchards in Kent being cut down and the consequential disappearance of some favourite apples together with the loss of livelihood for a number of farmers. The universal use of spray cans making use of a greenhouse gas as a propellant, now fortunately banned.
If the use of wood- burning stoves results in trees being cut down to supply the market, this would effectively increase our carbon footprint by removing a carbon store and emptying it! There are instances of the unintended consequences being realised, but unfortunate as they may be, the benefits far outweigh the bad effects. The large wind turbines that seem to turn so lazily have blade tip speeds in excess of 100mph. This has resulted in the death of a number of birds trying to fly through the blades.
Mobile phones, computers, and all digital technology make use of plastic, incorporate highly toxic substances, and are imported largely from China. They are amongst the least green objects on Earth! And banning them is not an option! It is even difficult to see how their use could be reduced!
These thoughts were triggered by the news that the EU decision to make low wattage light bulbs mandatory has resulted in a rapid growth in demand. China has responded by allowing the unregulated production of these bulbs, which entails the handling of mercury. A large number of workers are now suffering the severe effects of mercury poisoning. If you want to see how bad this can be, Google ‘mercury poisoning’.
Such a simple, obvious way of reducing power consumption, such a terrible cost.
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