On Aug 7, 7:47 am, JD Cooper
sour.net> wrote:> Dink wrote:
>> On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:29:05 -0500, JD Cooper
sour.net> wrote:>
>>>(this amuses me because just the other day I saw a piece speaking of
>>>lower sales at Whole Foods (here in the USA) and other 'greenie'
>>>shops... plus another piece telling of sales increases at 're-sale'
>>>clothing stores and drops at higher end stores.)
>
>
>>>Suddenly being green is not cool any more
>>>As the credit crunch bites, environmental policies are being ditched.
>>>But oddly we are doing better at saving the planet
>>>Alice Thomson
>
>>>Julie Burchill can't stand them. According to her new book, Not in my
>>>Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy, she thinks all environmentalists
>>>are po-faced, unsexy, public school alumni who drivel on about the end
>>>of the world because they don't want the working classes to have any
>>>fun, go on foreign holidays or buy cheap clothes.
>
>>>Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, agrees. In an interview
>>>with Rachel Sylvester and me, he told us that the “nutbag ecologists”
>>>are the overindulged rich who have nothing better to do with their lives
>>>than talk about hot air and beans.
>
>>>So the salad days are over; it's the end of the greens. Where only a
>>>year ago the smart new eco-warriors were revered, wormeries and
>>>unbleached cashmere jeans are now seen as a middle-class indulgence.
>
>>>But the problem for the green lobby isn't that it has been overrun by
>>>“toffs”: it's the chilly economic climate that has frozen the shoots of
>>>environmentalism. Espousing the green life, with its misshapen
>>>vegetables and non-disposable nappies, is increasingly being seen as a
>>>luxury by everyone.
>>>Background
>
>>>Only a year ago, according to MORI, 15 per cent of those polled put the
>>>environment in their top three concerns. That figure has dropped by a
>>>third to 10 per cent this month. Now that people are fighting for their
>>>own survival rather than their grandchildren's, they put crime, the
>>>economy and rising prices at the top of their list.
>
>>>According to Andrew Cooper, director of the research company, Populus:
>>>“There is a direct correlation between how people perceive the economy
>>>and the importance they place on the environment. When times are tough
>>>people resent paying more to salve their conscience.” This means that
>>>fewer people are now buying organic chickens from smart supermarkets
>>>when they can pay £3.99 at Lidl. With all food prices rising, the
>>>organic market is being credit-crunched. Demand for it grew by 70 per
>>>cent from 2002 to 2007; now it has stalled, according to the consultancy
>>>Organic Monitor.
>
>>>The vast new organic Whole Foods Store on Kensington High Street in
>>>London is so quiet you can hear the cheese breathe in the specially
>>>designed glass room. Meanwhile the demand for takeaway pizzas and
>>>McDonald's has risen as people find the cheapest way to eat.
>
>>>When David Cameron became leader of the Conservative Party he said that
>>>green issues were at the top of his agenda. His slogan for the local
>>>elections last year was “Vote Blue, Go Green”. But in the past few
>>>months he has realised that voters have lost the appetite for their greens.
>
>>>He has only given one environmental speech since Christmas. Once he used
>>>to talk about putting a £3,000 windmill on top of his house. Now the
>>>message is not about conserving the planet but preserving his bank
>>>balance. He wears catalogue clothes, grows his own vegetables and
>>>holidays barefoot in Britain because it is less extravagant, not because
>>>he is trying to reduce his global footprint.
>
>>>In fact, when the Tory leader's bicycle was stolen a week ago, the
>>>message of the story was not how green he was for riding his bike, but
>>>how broken our society has become when a politician finds his bike
>>>nicked from under his nose.
>
>>>Boris Johnson was the first to realise that the tolerance for green
>>>taxes may have peaked. When he became Mayor of London, he dropped plans
>>>to charge a £25 congestion fee on gas-guzzling cars.
>
>>>The Tories have quietly been reviewing many of their green policies. A
>>>range of measures designed to penalise motoring and other polluting
>>>activities has been put on hold in case they alienate families
>>>struggling to pay their bills. A proposal to tax the highest emitting
>>>cars up to £500 more than the greenest vehicles has been quietly
>>>shelved, as has the plan to raise taxes on short-haul flights. Instead
>>>George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, has promised to cut tax on fuel
>>>when oil prices rise.
>
>>>Gordon Brown has also stopped discussing his solar panels and compost
>>>heap in Scotland and is trying to dissociate himself from local council
>>>rubbish taxes - even though they have been driven by central government
>>>plans to put up landfill charges.
>
>>>Both parties are looking at ways of rewarding people for being green
>>>rather than penalising them for throwing out their yoghurt pots with
>>>their teabags. Mr Osborne, in a speech last month, admitted: “When
>>>people are feeling the pinch, we need to make it pay to go green.
>>>Instead of being fined for not recycling, households should be paid for
>>>recycling.”
>
>>>When Barack Obama first decided to run for the presidency, he embraced
>>>the green cause. Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, about global
>>>warming had just become the biggest grossing documentary in history and
>>>Mr Gore had won the Nobel prize. But recently Mr Obama has been talking
>>>more about thrift than trees. Instead of showing off his recycling
>>>skills, he explains that his children don't receive Christmas or
>>>birthday presents.
>
>>>It's not just the economic downturn that has harmed the green order.
>>>People have become wary of environmental causes that can turn out to do
>>>more harm than good. They don't want wind turbines marching across
>>>Britain's moors when nuclear power stations can do more to reduce
>>>greenhouse gas emissions. They worry that washing and bleaching all
>>>those non-disposable nappies may be damaging the ozone layer, that the
>>>massive incentives for biofuels have distorted the world food market,
>>>and that green taxes are actually stealth taxes.
>
>>>But paradoxically, just as Britain is turning its back on the
>>>environment, the country is finally becoming greener. Fewer people are
>>>moving house so they are buying fewer new white goods such as washing
>>>machines and fridges. They may not be queueing up for £9 organic Poilâne
>>>bread, but for the first time in a decade they are discarding less food.
>>>They buy less impulsively and think more carefully before their weekly
>>>shop. Children are wearing hand-me-down uniforms rather than new ones
>>>made in sweatshops.
>
>>>Bottled water sales have fallen. Garden centres have reported a 10 per
>>>cent rise in the sales of vegetable seeds in the past 12 months. People
>>>are saving money by growing their own potatoes and carrots. They are
>>>turning off their central heating for a few more months of the year and
>>>ditching their second car rather than buying an electric runaround. And
>>>instead of carbon-offsetting their holidays, they are simply going on
>>>fewer of them.
>
>>>It's the downturn that has made greenery look unappetising - but it may
>>>yet prove to do more than anything to save the planet.
>
>> Good nuze for Obamessiah. The price of his arugula should drop.
Does that make Bush the anti-Christ?
:)
Ylem
