Remember the environment

In the rush to save the banks, the Government seems to have forgotten that we need to save the planet. Fortunately some of us still feel that protecting the environment is nearly as important as protecting our wallet.
I was interested to attend a hustings meeting where people had the chance to question candidates. All the main parties were involved. It was interesting to see that Labour has selected the previous MP’s son to represent them. Keep it in the family, I say.
He explained his party’s pledges to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by 30%. Having targets is very eye catching, but has a poor record, and is no sustitute for taking concrete actions. In Kyoto in 1997, the developed nations agreed to a 5% emissions cut by 2012. But by 2007 these emissions had risen by 11%.
In Great Britain it is calculated that around 24,000 people die prematurely from breathing polluted air. We have agreed targets to reduce this. Unfortunately we have not met our targets on Nitrogen Dioxide or Particulates. Not to worry, the American Journal of Epidemiology estimated that victims of air pollution only die 9.8 years early.