Does not make much sense to me - WARNING - Heated Climate Debate in Progress.

[allotmentlady]

Ok ok ok maybe its just me but what do you think?

All year we get told about our carbon footprint and emissions etc etc...cut down on this and that, switch off lights etc....help to stop global warming yet............every Bonfire night (my birthday) hee hee , Christmas and New Year what do people do, we light up streets, buildings, offices and homes with lights! On all night long and during the day, then they have TONS of fireworks going off, imagine London alone. I refuse to contribute to this and we dont have lights and even tho my birthday is bonfire night, I refuse to have fireworks, just doing my bit.

What do others think about this?

[PAULW]

Mount Etna produces more carbon dioxide a day than all the cars in the UK do in a year, bonfire night/xmas/new year lights, drop in the ocean comes to mind.

[allotmentlady]

yeah we dont help though do we? mount etna is a natural source of pollution, we, man, create harmful pollution x

[happybunny]

I know, it's a bit stupid. Also the fireworks have already started here. And we've had our 'fireworks safety presentation' er fun, not.

[janeyo]

Ok ok ok maybe its just me but what do you think?

All year we get told about our carbon footprint and emissions etc etc...cut down on this and that, switch off lights etc....help to stop global warming yet............every Bonfire night (my birthday) hee hee , Christmas and New Year what do people do, we light up streets, buildings, offices and homes with lights! On all night long and during the day, then they have TONS of fireworks going off, imagine London alone. I refuse to contribute to this and we dont have lights and even tho my birthday is bonfire night, I refuse to have fireworks, just doing my bit.

What do others think about this?

I think you're a big old stick in the mud - turn them on - it's only one night, then you can sit in darkness the other 351 days lol

[Incy]

I'm afraid we do sometimes have fireworks AL. My boy loves them and OH loves setting them off. Tend to get the ones you just light once and get a whole display from for safety reasons though. I really don't think a few fireworks makes much difference.

[HeyWayne]

Add to the fact that's it's Diwali around now too and we might as well all pack our bags for Mars now.

[Bex]

I'll be dancing round the bonfire at my new Lottie - burning all those big bad weeds, might as well kill two birds with one stone.

I don't do fireworks, we once had one smash through our living room window years ago that some kids had let off in the street, I'm a bit scared of em now if I'm honest.

[HeyWayne]

I'm a bit scared of em now if I'm honest.

Kids or fireworks?

[Bex]

Kids or fireworks?

LOL fireworks, saying that though my kids can be quite scary at times.

[bluemoon]

I'm a bit obsessed with my carbon footprint; we use the car only when we have to, never fly, don't have tons of unnecessary electrical appliances (computer excepted) and, of course, our veg and now our eggs come from the allotment rather than the supermarket. We shop locally and try to minimize the packaging on the products that we do buy. I bake all our bread. I look at it like this, my fireworks and my Christmas lights probably produce considerably less CO2 than a couple of goes with a tumble dryer; by doing without the dryer (and without a dishwasher, T.V., hairdryer, etc, etc) I've 'earned' my fun. I love this time of year, it starts with my birthday and goes on through Hallowe'en right up until New Year. This year I have a new grandchild to look forward to too, so it's going to be really special (especially as last night my daughter phoned and asked me to be present at the birth as she's not 100% confident that her OH will remain upright). My own grandparents made Bonfire Night and Christmas special for me and my brothers, so I want to do the same for my grandchildren. I do worry continually about our carbon footprint, but even allowing for the occasional celebration it's probably considerably smaller than most people's.

[jackie j]

Bonfire night is my bil birthday so we usually get together at my nieces and have fireworks soup and hot dogs its great fun and the family are together

[organic]

allotmentlady
Considering the base level of carbon emissions from volcanoes is so vastly more than anthropogenic carbon, I think it's madness to suggest that we have any impact at all, let alone able to do anything. If the entire human race went carbon zero this very second, it would just take a single belch from a single volcano to put more carbon into the atmosphere than we saved by cutting the sum total of human activity to zero carbon.

It's like trying to use the Thames Barrier to make the North Sea dry up!

The planet has been warming and cooling for as long as we can tell, and only the last fraction of it has been post industrial-revolution (and that "Hockey Stick" that Mr Gore threatens us with is BUNKUM). Suggesting that mankind is warming the planet in a damaging way (if at all) is a real sign of just how arrogant a certain sectors of society are becoming... suggesting we can STOP warming by reducing the quite frankly paltry amount of carbon we emit in spite of the truly huge natural emitters of carbon is even worse.

Really though, none of it is about "climate". It's about political power, book sales and ideology.

I know this post will really upset some people as it's a topic where many people just get upset when people disagree with them and that's a shame. I make no apologies for my views on this and am careful not to be personal with my arguments.

As for bonfire night... most of what's burned is wood, which is carbon neutral anyway. Fireworks are annoying with the constant explosions for about 2 to 3 weeks either side of bonfire night, but I think it's only going to be the most hardcore of carbon-nuts who consider it a worthwhile cut.

(For the record, I'm very environmentally minded. Organic food, full year-round sewage treatment and so on... I just think the carbon hysteria is a bad joke we'll cringe about in the future.)

[janeyo]

I'm a bit obsessed with my carbon footprint; we use the car only when we have to, never fly, don't have tons of unnecessary electrical appliances (computer excepted) and, of course, our veg and now our eggs come from the allotment rather than the supermarket. We shop locally and try to minimize the packaging on the products that we do buy. I bake all our bread. I look at it like this, my fireworks and my Christmas lights probably produce considerably less CO2 than a couple of goes with a tumble dryer; by doing without the dryer (and without a dishwasher, T.V., hairdryer, etc, etc) I've 'earned' my fun. I love this time of year, it starts with my birthday and goes on through Hallowe'en right up until New Year. This year I have a new grandchild to look forward to too, so it's going to be really special (especially as last night my daughter phoned and asked me to be present at the birth as she's not 100% confident that her OH will remain upright). My own grandparents made Bonfire Night and Christmas special for me and my brothers, so I want to do the same for my grandchildren. I do worry continually about our carbon footprint, but even allowing for the occasional celebration it's probably considerably smaller than most people's.

I will not do without my household appliances - the more labour saving I can do then more time I can spend with my children.

[SarzWix]

The noise pollution of fireworks bothers me more than any other considerations. We go to a big Parish Council display, I refuse to add to the irritating bangs and pops that go on for weeks!
No problem with bonfires, we just burn the stuff on the lottie that we would be burning some other time. This year I've chopped down a huge flowering currant and tons of brambles, so it should be a big one
Christmas lights, well, I think a house covered in them is a bit tacky, but we have tree lights and a star in the window. I like them, plus, I wouldn't put the kids through the trauma I had being the odd one out with no tree/lights/decorations.

Anyhoo, how much fuel does it take to fill your Porsche tank, and how much is left in it when you get back?!! I suspect it has a bigger carbon footprint than a Smart car f'r'instance?!