Tuesday 17th February, 9.25am and there is a phone-in on BBC Radio 5. The host, Nicky Campbell, who I find infuriating, is asking whether being environmentally focused is possible during a recession.
A man phones in (in the extremely unlikely event you are reading this – sorry I didn’t remember your name) and puts forward the following:
The government currently subsidises the cost of installing solar panels in a house to the tune of 10%. The man suggests the government changes the subsidy to 90% of the cost and recruits and trains an army of installation engineers. And that’s it.
In one policy move he suggests the government changes the subsidy to 90% of the cost and recruits and trains an army of installation engineers. And that’s it.
The host Nicky Campbell (did I say I find him infuriating?) is a bit lost for words
The point is, with this one policy move we could:
- Train and employ a skilled workforce, helping with unemployment
- Save hard-hit families thousands in fuel bills, helping stimulate the economy
- Treat our addiction to fossil fuels
- Contribute dramatically to the challenge of climate change
- Improve the psyche of the nation at a stroke by creating a mood of action, rather than one of helplessness
Will this idea ever happen…? Almost certainly not.
Why…? (a) there are probably 20 ‘reasonable reasons’ not to do it (b) we live in a culture of incremental thinking and (c) it is not the phone caller’s job to devise policy.
At this time, perhaps more than any time, we need radical thinking to tackle fundamental issues. Individuals, families, communities, companies and even countries could, in my not very humble opinion, learn a lot from this. Here endeth the sermon.
Tags: action, community, economy, fossil fuels, government, recession, solar panels, unemployment
I totally agree!
As do I
I had an interesting email conversation with a printer the other day offering their sustainable print services. My immediate reaction was that all our print buying is done purely on price in the current economic climate… cheapest one gets it and we dont care if their print press runs on coal or solar panels (assuming “green” is more expensive also)! But Sara from Green House in Basingstoke (www.greenhousegraphics.co.uk) told me: “It’s tough at the moment but fortunately we are finding our green credentials are opening doors more than anything else”. Very encouraging indeed and it turns out they do actually have solar panels that run their print works! At the very same time an opportunity to take on some work for the 2012 Games came our way and part of the criteria is to have a “sustainability print policy” in place… looks like one of those “strategic partnerships” us marketing guys encourage in such times is on the cards!! So the answer is yes - you can be environmentally focussed in this recession (indirectly perhaps!).