Act on CO2 Joke Email
Discussion
So, as many PHers have probably done, I sent an email in jest to the act on co2 people:
Hi, I was just wondering what you hope to achieve by asking everyone to drive 5 miles less? The only thing this will do is make everyone angry as they'll be 5 miles away from where they actually want to be.
I also find your constant badgering of motorists particularly annoying. Cars are a necessity in modern life, as public transport is still absolutely hopeless and ridiculously overpriced, and the average motorist pays more than enough tax on buying a car, insurance, fuel duty (which I might add is more than the actual cost of the fuel itself), and then the Government has the cheek to charge more VED on certain vehicles because they produce more CO2. So why the push for more taxes for people who choose to have a car which happens to produce more CO2? And what's more, people who buy so called "eco friendly" cars are given tax breaks. The Toyota Prius is a prime example. No consideration has been taken for the environmental cost in manufacturing a Prius.The processes involve do more damage than building a Land Rover and running one for many years, so why the punishment for having a 4x4? It smacks to me that down to organisations like yours, Britain is becoming a communist country. If I wish to buy a Land Rover, I will do so, and I will not be bullied by any do gooders who believe that I am solely responsible for killing Polar Bears. Not so long ago, a friend of mine had his Range Rover vandalised by a pro-environmentalist, who decided that because he wished to drive a 4x4, he should have a swaskita carved into it. First of all this is criminal damage, and any sane person will agree this is unacceptable. Secondly, imagine the pollution caused by having to have the panel repaired? I rest my case.
Mr D Hawthorne
I used a fake name, and the swastika story actually originated from PH (I can't remember the exact thread, think it might have been the legend of Emsman), I did this ages ago and totally forgot about it, until today when I did my quarterly check of my gmail account, which I set up only for these joke email things. Here's the reply I got:
Dear Mr Hawthone,
Thank you for your email to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) dated 12 April regarding the ACT ON CO2 campaign suggestion that drivers could drive 5 miles a week less in order to help reduce CO2 emissions. Your letter has been passed to this department for reply.
We conducted a review of the transport element of the ACT ON CO2 climate change campaign undertaken at the beginning of 2009 which identified that there is widespread public confusion around the causes of climate change and the role of personal behaviour as a contributing factor; and in particular the role of personal car travel in generating CO2 emissions. Our strategy therefore returns to its original purpose of educating the public about why we need to reduce CO2, why the use of the car plays an important role in achieving this objective and how reductions in car usage can be achieved without a major change in lifestyle. This is supported by separate DfT research (June 2008) that found that while levels of awareness of the concept of climate change are high, an understanding of the impacts of specific behaviours is not as developed.
The “drive 5 miles less” proposition tested positively in initial research with low, medium and high mileage drivers who believed it was an achievable and realistic call to action. If all UK drivers reduced their driving by five miles a week, we could collectively save around 2.70 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The objective of the Act on CO2 advertising campaign was intended to encourage people to consider the individual actions that they could take in order to reduce their carbon footprint.
Thank you for your interest
Yours sincerely,
James Brown
So, the usual BS which is in no way related to anything I said. Normally I'd just glance at it, think "f
k it" and go to the pub. But I drank too much coffee earlier, the pubs are all shut, and out of boredom I feel compelled to reply. And this is where PH come in, I need all sorts of witty suggestions. I feel as though I should start by mentioning this chap:
Has to be done. Over to PH for more suggestions:
Hi, I was just wondering what you hope to achieve by asking everyone to drive 5 miles less? The only thing this will do is make everyone angry as they'll be 5 miles away from where they actually want to be.
I also find your constant badgering of motorists particularly annoying. Cars are a necessity in modern life, as public transport is still absolutely hopeless and ridiculously overpriced, and the average motorist pays more than enough tax on buying a car, insurance, fuel duty (which I might add is more than the actual cost of the fuel itself), and then the Government has the cheek to charge more VED on certain vehicles because they produce more CO2. So why the push for more taxes for people who choose to have a car which happens to produce more CO2? And what's more, people who buy so called "eco friendly" cars are given tax breaks. The Toyota Prius is a prime example. No consideration has been taken for the environmental cost in manufacturing a Prius.The processes involve do more damage than building a Land Rover and running one for many years, so why the punishment for having a 4x4? It smacks to me that down to organisations like yours, Britain is becoming a communist country. If I wish to buy a Land Rover, I will do so, and I will not be bullied by any do gooders who believe that I am solely responsible for killing Polar Bears. Not so long ago, a friend of mine had his Range Rover vandalised by a pro-environmentalist, who decided that because he wished to drive a 4x4, he should have a swaskita carved into it. First of all this is criminal damage, and any sane person will agree this is unacceptable. Secondly, imagine the pollution caused by having to have the panel repaired? I rest my case.
Mr D Hawthorne
I used a fake name, and the swastika story actually originated from PH (I can't remember the exact thread, think it might have been the legend of Emsman), I did this ages ago and totally forgot about it, until today when I did my quarterly check of my gmail account, which I set up only for these joke email things. Here's the reply I got:
Dear Mr Hawthone,
Thank you for your email to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) dated 12 April regarding the ACT ON CO2 campaign suggestion that drivers could drive 5 miles a week less in order to help reduce CO2 emissions. Your letter has been passed to this department for reply.
We conducted a review of the transport element of the ACT ON CO2 climate change campaign undertaken at the beginning of 2009 which identified that there is widespread public confusion around the causes of climate change and the role of personal behaviour as a contributing factor; and in particular the role of personal car travel in generating CO2 emissions. Our strategy therefore returns to its original purpose of educating the public about why we need to reduce CO2, why the use of the car plays an important role in achieving this objective and how reductions in car usage can be achieved without a major change in lifestyle. This is supported by separate DfT research (June 2008) that found that while levels of awareness of the concept of climate change are high, an understanding of the impacts of specific behaviours is not as developed.
The “drive 5 miles less” proposition tested positively in initial research with low, medium and high mileage drivers who believed it was an achievable and realistic call to action. If all UK drivers reduced their driving by five miles a week, we could collectively save around 2.70 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The objective of the Act on CO2 advertising campaign was intended to encourage people to consider the individual actions that they could take in order to reduce their carbon footprint.
Thank you for your interest
Yours sincerely,
James Brown
So, the usual BS which is in no way related to anything I said. Normally I'd just glance at it, think "f
k it" and go to the pub. But I drank too much coffee earlier, the pubs are all shut, and out of boredom I feel compelled to reply. And this is where PH come in, I need all sorts of witty suggestions. I feel as though I should start by mentioning this chap:Has to be done. Over to PH for more suggestions:
Matt Black said:
51mes said:
The average family dog ... has a large a c02 footprint as a family car..
Err .. do I have to buy a smaller dog, and battery powered one... or walk it 5 miles less a week? Or is a cat a better choice of pet in this carbon concious world, or a hamster?
Simes.
Err .. do I have to buy a smaller dog, and battery powered one... or walk it 5 miles less a week? Or is a cat a better choice of pet in this carbon concious world, or a hamster?
Simes.
51mes said:
The average family dog ... has a large a c02 footprint as a family car..
Err .. do I have to buy a smaller dog, and battery powered one... or walk it 5 miles less a week? Or is a cat a better choice of pet in this carbon concious world, or a hamster?
Simes.
Don't be silly. A hamster will never be able to fetch a stick.Err .. do I have to buy a smaller dog, and battery powered one... or walk it 5 miles less a week? Or is a cat a better choice of pet in this carbon concious world, or a hamster?
Simes.
ETA: I've always wondered why I've never seen an Act on CO2 advert which isn't aimed at the motorist.
Edited by fathomfive on Friday 4th June 06:29
Ask them how much CO2 could be saved if the government shut down their offices, switched off their computers, heating, cooling, lights etc, buried all of their company prius's and took all of the staff into the car park and let the royal marines use them as heavy ordanance target practice?
essexplumber said:
Ask them how much CO2 could be saved if the government shut down their offices, switched off their computers, heating, cooling, lights etc, buried all of their company prius's and took all of the staff into the car park and let the royal marines use them as heavy ordanance target practice?
No, in these times we must consider the nuclear option. Perhaps better to move them to an atoll somewhere first though.This was posted by others last year when this 5 miles less nonsense was first aired, perhaps you could send it over...
Number of full UK car driving licence holders 32 million
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/...
9000 miles annual average mileage:
http://www.lowcarbonlife.net/default.asp?page=37
Therefore a good estimate of total UK car miles is 288 billion.
5 miles less per week per full car licence holder gives a reduction of 5 x 52 miles per year for each of 32 million licence holders.
This is 8.3 billion miles.
The percentage change is 2.9%
GLOBALLY
The annual human perturbation to cycled carbon dioxide is 3.4% (IPCC 2001)
The UK contribution to global annual carbon dioxide emissions is 2% (DEFRA)
The proportion of UK emissions due to cars is ca. 16% (DEFRA and other sources)
The total contribution to total global carbon dioxide emissions from UK car drivers is therefore 16% of 2% of 3.4% which is 0.01%
If everybody in the UK with a full car driving licence reduced their weekly mileage by five miles this 0.01% contribution would be reduced by 2.9%
According to Mr A Blair as Prime Minister, if all UK emissions stopped overnight, what would happen?
“If Britain shut down our emissions entirely, i.e. we closed down the country – not the legacy I want – the growth in China’s emissions would make up the difference in just two years.”
[Prime Minister, Tony Blair, speaking at Davos World Economic Forum, January 2007]
730 days to negate the 2% of global emissions due to the UK.
With a change of 2.9% in 16% of that 2% this means economic growth in China would offset the saving of every UK licence holder driving 5 miles less a week all year in about 3 days.
At the same time where would the £690 million that would be lost in fuel tax revenue come from?
(8.3 billion miles @ 30 mpg = 276 million gallons of fuel @ £2.50 tax per gallon)
"Together we can make a difference"
Of course in reality CO2 is not an evil pollutant at all, but rather a naturally occurring trace gas present in our atmosphere at 385ppmv (0.0385%) and essential for life as we know it. Many scientists believe a doubling of CO2 would be beneficial to third world farmers, as crops would grow quicker and require less water, hence why CO2 is pumped into commercial greenhouses. If CO2 drops too low plants would no longer be green, how green is that?
http://www.iloveco2.org/2009/01/co2-climate-facts....
Number of full UK car driving licence holders 32 million
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/...
9000 miles annual average mileage:
http://www.lowcarbonlife.net/default.asp?page=37
Therefore a good estimate of total UK car miles is 288 billion.
5 miles less per week per full car licence holder gives a reduction of 5 x 52 miles per year for each of 32 million licence holders.
This is 8.3 billion miles.
The percentage change is 2.9%
GLOBALLY
The annual human perturbation to cycled carbon dioxide is 3.4% (IPCC 2001)
The UK contribution to global annual carbon dioxide emissions is 2% (DEFRA)
The proportion of UK emissions due to cars is ca. 16% (DEFRA and other sources)
The total contribution to total global carbon dioxide emissions from UK car drivers is therefore 16% of 2% of 3.4% which is 0.01%
If everybody in the UK with a full car driving licence reduced their weekly mileage by five miles this 0.01% contribution would be reduced by 2.9%
According to Mr A Blair as Prime Minister, if all UK emissions stopped overnight, what would happen?
“If Britain shut down our emissions entirely, i.e. we closed down the country – not the legacy I want – the growth in China’s emissions would make up the difference in just two years.”
[Prime Minister, Tony Blair, speaking at Davos World Economic Forum, January 2007]
730 days to negate the 2% of global emissions due to the UK.
With a change of 2.9% in 16% of that 2% this means economic growth in China would offset the saving of every UK licence holder driving 5 miles less a week all year in about 3 days.
At the same time where would the £690 million that would be lost in fuel tax revenue come from?
(8.3 billion miles @ 30 mpg = 276 million gallons of fuel @ £2.50 tax per gallon)
"Together we can make a difference"
Of course in reality CO2 is not an evil pollutant at all, but rather a naturally occurring trace gas present in our atmosphere at 385ppmv (0.0385%) and essential for life as we know it. Many scientists believe a doubling of CO2 would be beneficial to third world farmers, as crops would grow quicker and require less water, hence why CO2 is pumped into commercial greenhouses. If CO2 drops too low plants would no longer be green, how green is that?
http://www.iloveco2.org/2009/01/co2-climate-facts....
Some great ideas guys, keep them coming. I might include the above information as the "serious" part of the reply, I also feel like doing a David Thorne (google him if you don't know who he is, he did the pie chart and spider emails) style response. One of the ideas I came up with was to have James Brown (the dead soul singer, not the CO2 con artist I'm replying to) to have a speech bubble with the above Tax Con CO2 pic in it. I'm ste with photoshop, can someone help me out? Ta.
te with photoshop, can someone help me out? Ta.7mike said:
51mes said:
The average family dog ... has a large a c02 footprint as a family car..
My dog's quite large & farts every time he sits down. Does that mean I have to get a Prius to off set his carbon Edited by 7mike on Saturday 5th June 15:11
eldar said:
7mike said:
51mes said:
The average family dog ... has a large a c02 footprint as a family car..
My dog's quite large & farts every time he sits down. Does that mean I have to get a Prius to off set his carbon Edited by 7mike on Saturday 5th June 15:11
Ask them if they have been on a plane recently ?
My cars lifetime mileage to date (JPMORGAN !!! ClimateCare Carbon Offset cerificate)
Is the equivalent to a single one way trip to autralia.
As I have not been on a plane in 9 years... any activist(al gore, bono, prince charles take note) preaching global warming at me, will be politely told to get lost, until there carbon foot print(not that I believe) is merely only double mine..
I bought it to frame for posterity.
(think tulip bubble, south sea bubble, enron, carbon bubble)
My cars lifetime mileage to date (JPMORGAN !!! ClimateCare Carbon Offset cerificate)
Is the equivalent to a single one way trip to autralia.
As I have not been on a plane in 9 years... any activist(al gore, bono, prince charles take note) preaching global warming at me, will be politely told to get lost, until there carbon foot print(not that I believe) is merely only double mine..
I bought it to frame for posterity.
(think tulip bubble, south sea bubble, enron, carbon bubble)
7mike said:
51mes said:
The average family dog ... has a large a c02 footprint as a family car..
My dog's quite large & farts every time he sits down. Does that mean I have to get a Prius to off set his carbon Actually dogs are already taking their own action on this by transport sharing.
Have you noticed that rather than two dogs making separate journeys, they seem to prefer it if one gets up on the others back and pushes a bit?
I think the MMuGW people would like to try that.
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