Some people have no regard for animals. One guy in a pub we visited on holiday, a local there, had a lovely cooker spaniel. We were standing at the bar near it with our dog and it just wanted to greet us and our dog. The guy kept yanking it's lead, dragging it back so hard it yelped every time. The guy was positively shouting at the poor thing. One of the women in the group, I assumed wife or partner, told him off. That was a bit too meekly and I had to move away because I was getting angry. Mistreatment of animals I hate.
I've seen and heard cruelty to dogs over the years. From kids killing their pet dog to get maggots for fishing to little dog beaten so badly it got serious brain damage permanently affecting its sight, it saw things a foot or so to one side of where it really was. I've seen rescued Australian shepherd dogs that were so used to living in a tiny cupboard that they could not settle in a big kennel cage and had to be shut up in a tight area out back of the run. Then they still squeezed in behind the plastic basket and the corner of the space.
I do not see the UK as a nation of animal lovers. From the obvious cruelty cases like this guide dog incident to the "animal lover" with 30 dogs in a tiny house. Or the people with huskies in cities who only walk them half an hour along roads, who bought them for looks not suitability for lifestyle. Or the people still buying squish nosed dogs. Or the kennel clubs who define dog breeds so closely to an exaggerated degree that breeders create deformed dogs to win at shows. No we're not animal lovers.
To me, I think the problem is the market. Because there is a rush to 'go green', people are bringing products to the market that may or may not be the way to go. I said way back that this isn't like Betamax or VHS - we can't afford to have a stupid decision based on 'popularity' win out. We've all seen that marketing and big money behind certain things can make something look more attractive than it is in reality (Brexit anyone?) - when the issues and knock-ons related to the product aren't explained.
Doesn't this need actual planning? Not just the 'market will sort it out'. It needs the route mapped, changeover periods catered for, long term effects explored - and not just for the UK, but globally. Or else in 100 years, we'll be looking at the next set of unexpected knock ons and wondering what to do about them. Apparently electric cars were put forward in the Victorian era (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-40302072) - that's not an unknown. But which way did the market take us?
I'd say we should be looking at certain other countries such as Scandinavian countries or Germany for direction on reducing carbon emissions and pollution.
For example it's being reported that Norway will have sold their last petrol car in 2022, that's three years ahead of schedule. I read somewhere that air source heating is more common in places like Finland despite the colder winters. They use a more efficient system I once got told by a finish national.
I would not trust our government to come up with the best option personally. The market might be a better decision maker!
Would you not expect that the further north (or south), the better the insulation on properties (as it's needed to maintain whatever temperature - to warm or to cool) and the more temperate the climate, the worse the insulation (as the temperature difference is less)?
Do the Scandinavian countries also have a different base model? To understand that data would you also need to know about housing stock, heating model, access to fuel types?
Most countries have a different energy mix - the UK is very heavily reliant on gas compared to most of our European neighbours. Our housing stock is also very old and poorly insulated compared to most of our neighbours. There is a strong connection between those two issues. Norway's domestic energy is dominated by hydro-electricity - their standard unit cost for electricity is half ours. It's not surprising that having newer, better insulated homes and cheaper electricity results in a higher uptake of electric heating. The degree of difference is stark, even so
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Posts
This is not a curmudge but I confess I'd really like @raisingirl 's take on this: https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-news/2021/save-our-boilers and this seems to be the place.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I've seen and heard cruelty to dogs over the years. From kids killing their pet dog to get maggots for fishing to little dog beaten so badly it got serious brain damage permanently affecting its sight, it saw things a foot or so to one side of where it really was. I've seen rescued Australian shepherd dogs that were so used to living in a tiny cupboard that they could not settle in a big kennel cage and had to be shut up in a tight area out back of the run. Then they still squeezed in behind the plastic basket and the corner of the space.
I do not see the UK as a nation of animal lovers. From the obvious cruelty cases like this guide dog incident to the "animal lover" with 30 dogs in a tiny house. Or the people with huskies in cities who only walk them half an hour along roads, who bought them for looks not suitability for lifestyle. Or the people still buying squish nosed dogs. Or the kennel clubs who define dog breeds so closely to an exaggerated degree that breeders create deformed dogs to win at shows. No we're not animal lovers.
For example it's being reported that Norway will have sold their last petrol car in 2022, that's three years ahead of schedule. I read somewhere that air source heating is more common in places like Finland despite the colder winters. They use a more efficient system I once got told by a finish national.
I would not trust our government to come up with the best option personally. The market might be a better decision maker!
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”