Sunday, March 08, 2009

S***page*


Funny old day. April showers a tad early.

So instead of being out in the garden, my favoured weekend haunt, I was mooching about the house, with the TV on.

So it was I came to watch the Politics Show on the BBC. And, being in the region, there was a section on the West Midlands.

One of the topics was about the auto industry (of some interest here), and concerned itself with why we in the UK were not engaging in 'scrappage' (no link on the site, but I'll add one if and when it becomes more reported.

Basically it's an incentive to buy a new, 'more eco' car, by being given upwards of £2k to get rid of your old(er than 9 years... 'excuse me!) one. Very big in Germany, apparently, and hence why not here, as it's a win win for all, and the planet?

I am not so sure, and this is summarised in what I wrote:

A wee while ago I found myself in need (wife not great with black ice) of a new... replacement car. We had a perfectly good '97 Volvo, well maintained to 80k and with the potential of 80k more. On insurance we got £1650 to write it off. As environmental campaigners we took the opportunity to put the money towards a new..er ('02) exact same model... LPG.

Please explain how it is helping the environment and my taxes for me not to have waited for my £2k from the government and buying a 6litre new Jag owned by Tata?

Not sure what more I can say. Until I get an answer this seems more like a punt by those with a few vested interests, and not very well challenged by the BBC, that is hard to reconcile with a green agenda at least, though I can see an economic one. But that is a different story.

*Just lobbed that in as an homage to the Junkk sites rather over keen swear filter, which takes words rather out of context and deletes them even if innocent.

Sometimes it's best to let others, and facts, speak for themsleves

But then..

Telegraph - Prince Charles: 100 months to save the world

Telegraph - Britain has only four days of gas left in reserves

Telegraph - Climate change rhetoric spirals out of control

Telegraph - Climate change: When evidence battles with belief

Doesn't make it any easier to come to a conclusion, though:(

I fear in just these four I see all the problems, of message, messengers and media writ large.

With folk like me feeling ever so slightly none the wiser.