Catch 22

LISTENING to the current Chancellor’s last budget the other day as well as following the subsequent fallout in all parts of the media I was struck, not for the first time, how contradictory so many aspects of modern life are. It really boils down to the fact that most are ‘no win’ scenarios. There are no perfect solutions to any of them. Telling us that we all need to be greener and punishing those who are (apparently) unwilling or unable to comply probably serves only to make the Chancellor himself feel better. The rest of us may be more able to weigh up the ‘for and against’ and realise there will be a price to pay whichever way it goes.

The following comparison may seem a little strange perhaps, but the debate over what steps we need to take to limit further damage to our planet reminds me of an old and well documented argument. Is drinking decaffeinated coffee and tea really that much more harmful than indulging in the regular stuff? Some will advocate that it definitely is, whilst others are less certain when they learn how the process of extracting the caffeine actually works. In a nutshell it involves a procedure which is both complex and costly and depending on the particular method used may end up imbuing the beverage with more toxic materials than it extracts.

There is, of course, no doubt in my mind that protecting the environment is vital if we want to leave a legacy to our children enabling them to have a good future, but since there is no one right solution, we must decide how we are going to, at least, find the correct balance.

So, we are dissuaded from flying more than, say, once a year. But how will this affect the airlines? More considered use of cars, particularly 4 x 4s is advocated with the result that the already burdened car industry is likely to feel even more threatened. We are encouraged to travel more by public transport – buses and trains, that is, not planes. Where are we going to find the extra time from in our already hectic schedules? We also know that time is money.

We are told to install solar panels on our roof to trap what little sunshine we get in this country and hope it will generate enough heat to keep us cosy over the winter months and provide us with a constant supply of hot water. But, what about the cost and bother of installing said panels? We should have a wind turbine in our back garden and sell back to the national grid the electricity we get from it which is surplus to our requirements. What about all those ensuing sleepless nights when we lie awake listening to the constant whirring and whooshing coming from outside? Whole wind farms could one day be dotted across our green and pleasant land like a major outbreak of the measles. No longer will we be able to let our eye roam unobstructed over an undisturbed and beautiful landscape. Just like many moons ago, when miles upon miles of electricity pylons snaked their way across the countryside like a weary, disorientated army of soldiers our view, in the future, will be similarly interrupted..

All this is well and good until we come to ponder the effects some of our ‘green’ initiatives will have upon the economy and on inter-continental relations. Are the high flyers of the business world really going to be penalised each time they jet across the Atlantic for a meeting? Any organisation, whatever its size, whatever its success would find excessive charges like that difficult to sustain over the longer term. Sure, the countries we do business with share our interest in damage limitation from climate change. We can but hope that they will be just as concerned as we are to find an answer to how we can best maintain global trade links. In other words, by asserting our determination to protect the environment from further devastation we are, at the same time, potentially taking several steps back when it comes to supporting the economy.

In the end, I guess, the ‘green’ issue will remain controversial for a long time to come, perhaps even forever. It’s all about compromise and finding a balance we can live with.

26/03/07