| Subject: |
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Re: Re: Numberwatching the Lib Dems |
| Name: |
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Dave Gardner |
| Date Posted: |
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Feb 2, 07 - 12:13 AM |
| Email: |
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djgardner@btinternet.com |
| Instant Messenger: |
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http://,1 |
| Message: |
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I'd say that overall the Lib Dems are more knaves than fools when it comes to environmental policy. Their policy is basically designed to capture as much of the 'Green vote' as possible (by 'Green vote', I mean people who regard environmental issues as the primary political issue of concern to them), and they actively seek the approval of the major Green NGO lobbying organisations like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and WWF. The overall Lib Dem game plan is to win as many seats as possible, using any means they can to do this without worrying about things like appearing to be consistent, and then wait for the opportunity to demand that a proportional representation electoral system is introduced in return for their participation in a future coalition government.
In the case of Chris Huhne, I'd say he's more of a fool than a knave. A recent example of his buffoonery is this article on the Lib Dem website:
http://tinyurl.com/2d56yl
In the article he 'uncovers a plot' by ExxonMobil to confuse primary school children in the UK about climate change.
His basic complaint is about the text on this webpage:
http://www.energychest.net/energy_and_the_environment/index.html
"Our environment is changing. The way we live on our planet now affects what it will be like in the future. Oil and natural gas could be in short supply in about 50 years time. The earth is believed to be getting warmer and sea levels appear to be rising. More research is required to assess what is causing these apparent changes. In the meantime, to help slow down this rate of climate change we need to live more sustainable lives."
Huhne thinks the above must have been written by a climate change sceptic because it doesn't use the most alarmist language that it could have used- it includes rather non-positive words like 'believed' and 'apparent'. He attributes the lack of certainty to the influence of the website sponsor, Esso UK (part of ExxonMobil).
The Energy Chest website was set up by a charity called CREATE (which stands for "Centre for Research, Education And Training in Energy" and is based in Wigan). This organisation has produced educational material for about 15 years on topics like renewable energy, climate change and sustainable development, and according to its website has had over 200 clients ranging from village schools to big corporations. It's very unlikely that they will have significantly changed the tone of their educational material as a result of working with Esso. |
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