Random Thoughts: politics, budget, green issues

Disclaimer: This is written far too late on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and I suspect there is some serious circular reasoning throughout this post.

This week was an interesting week on the political front. I had my first opportunity to listen to a British Labour Government's budget speech. I am still a bit too uninitiated in British politics to make a very strong judgement on this budget. One of the obvious (and in no way unique) concerns I have is on the level of borrowing (brought out brilliantly by a little skit at the end of this programme). I am not yet a citizen of the UK. I do pay my taxes now. While there are many areas where I do not have the same security as citizens (I have no recourse to public funds), I am very aware that I will in effect be benefitting in the next two years from borrowing that I might not be responsible to pay for if I find myself in a different part of the world 10 years down the line. (Although there are problems with this line of thinking: I may still be here 10 years down the line. If I find myself in a different part of the world I will find myself paying for borrowing that that part of the world did at a time that I did not live there.)

As I listened to Darling's budget I had the impression that if I could advise any young person to position themselves in a sector that will provide the best opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment, it should be in the fields of green energy or broadband (infrastructure development) or web development. From my novice eye, there seemed to be a strong emphasis on these two issues in the minister's speech.

Then I listened to the Green Party's response. They feel that the greenish tinge to the budget is rather disingenuous as it really does not do much to encourage truly sustainable development. They are particularly critical of the £2000 subsidy that the government is offering to owners of vehicles that are 10 years or older when they trade them in on new vehicles. The energy involved in the manufacture of new vehicles combined with the fact that the new vehicles will also not last much more than 10 years really make it an non-sustainable investment. On reflection I think that their critique is quite valid. I use one example from my own experience.

I have been thinking for a while that I cannot be too proud about my own carbon footprint. I do try to do a few things to reduce my carbon footprint. I try to walk my daughter to school (approximately 2.5 miles) in stead of driving. When I can I walk to church (about 1 mile). But I still use my car quite frequently. Many of my church members live out of town. My work requires that I travel between Banbridge and Larne on a regular basis (two or three times a week). The journey is approximately 55 miles in one direction. I drive a small 1.4 litre petrol car and often I am the only passenger. I have often thought of using public transport to do my trips to Larne. This would require that I take two busses. The cost of a return trip would be approximately £15. There would be advantages and disadvantages to this. The trips would take quite a bit more time. But I would be able to spend the time reading or doing something that I would not otherwise be able to do while I am driving (I get to listen to budget speeches while I drive). I often do not leave Larne before 22h00 in the evening and then public transport becomes quite hard to find. So it is probably not practical. It costs me approximately £15 in petrol to drive to Larne and back. If I factor in road tax, insurance, maintenance of the vehicle this cost will probably be closer to £18. One problem is that my work requires that I own a car. I need to pay road tax, insurance and maintenance costs regardless of whether I choose to use a greener form of transport from time to time. When I have a passenger or two, it becomes far more economical to travel with the car.

So if I was to suggest something to Mr. Darling, I would suggest that he finds ways to lower the cost of public transport so that it would be less expensive for me to travel with public transport than with my own vehicle. I think this is a particularly relevant suggestion in the light of the controversy this week surrounding the proposed fare hike for Translink bus services in Northern Ireland.

In the mean time I'll also keep dreaming of a time when I could actually afford to buy a Toyota Prius. (Probably round about the time that the national budget becomes authentically green).

Now I wish I had some of those imported South African Grapes in my fridge to nibble on before I go to bed.