I have to jump in here SH. by saying that most of the material on here is going to be about the UK for obvious reasons - that way we can all contribute something. We all have some interest in Britain. The same does not apply to eg. Germany - if I were to list on here the criticisms I have of Germany then it would create little response from anybody because I can presume that most on here know little about the place, and would be bored by it.
I'm sure your unique knowledge of Germany in a balanced manner would be most welcome. Constantly knocking the UK for the sake of it is not welcome and is boring.
Seeing as I was agreeing with you SH, I can only assume that if I was knocking the UK, then you must have been doing the same thing.
Well SH. I'm going to produce a text which will be music to your ears (at least initially). The UK. has a better record on Co2 reduction than Germany has ! It is not generally known that Germany actually has the worst Co2 record in the entire EU - and, has actually gone up a bit ! Why is nobody concentrating on this - because we are all so distracted with this bloody Brexit thing. So - Britain has fallen into the role of Europe's black sheep and Germany (secretly) is happy at the distraction. I say secretly - many Germans do not actually realize that this is the case. Germany was able to give the impression of holding the moral high ground on environmentalism because of dismantling nearly all of the old industries of the GDR - which made their Co2 reduction figures look good for a while, and also because of the closure of nuclear power plants. Many Germans still believe this myth of Germany being something of a pioneer in battling climate change. But the reality looks a lot different. 30% of our electricity is still produced from power from open cast lignite mining (brown coal) - the biggest hole in Europe is located at Garzweiler (between Cologne and Aachen). We have a chancellor who is in the lap of the car industry and the farming lobby - and even many of the Greens here think we can continue to produce and consume, as before, but with different technology. We are the only country with roads without any speed limits - and many Germans think that the freedom to drive a big car at unrestricted speed is like a human right. Everything not related to exports is a little bit low key - the rail service is average (at best) and public transport was scaled down in the past to benefit their poxy car industry - which we can still see the results of now. Internet speeds are amongst the lowest in Europe and there are still many black spots (this has to do with the environment because it enables many people to work from home). We have a government which has blocked more climate initiatives than any other in Europe. So - do you feel better now ? Having said all of the above - and that Co2 emissions per ton, per head, are 2 tons higher than in the UK, this is no reason for complacency because both are too bloody high. Germany's export/import inbalance is also a problem for the rest of Europe besides being also a means whereby Co2 emissions are lost to the statistics - emissions on the high seas being difficult to pin on one particular country.
And just to complete the picture the British are better than the Germans at Rugby, joke telling and 70s rock music - Germany could never have produced a Led Zeppelin or The Who in a million years. So that's all for now - I have now earned the credit points to continue slagging off Bojo etc. with a clear conscience.
In France there are problems within the environment concerning water pollution from public wastes, air pollution from industrial and vehicle exhaust, agricultural runoff, forest damage due to acid rain, and wildlife protection. Water pollution is a particular problem because of the amount of agriculture as a part of the economy. There are ways to clean out this water but not all of it. Air pollution is caused by a variety of reasons. In the case of France, the air pollution is caused by industrial factories and buildings giving off chemicals into the air as well as the automobiles that people drive giving off fossil fuel gases that pollute the air. France’s air quality was definitely not the greatest ranking eleventh in the world for industrial carbon dioxide output. Acid rain damaging forests and wildlife protection is a problem as well. Acid rain becomes a problem partly because of pollution in the air that sets it off. When there are lots of air pollutants up in the atmosphere near water vapor, acid rain is going to happen. Especially if there are a lot of air pollutants. Air pollutants like sulfur dioxide can interact with this water and mix creating water that is acidic. The wildlife in France is not doing as well as people might like it to. But steps are being taken by reserving land for the animals. 13 of 93 mammal species are close to being endangered, of 269 bird species 7 are threatened, 3 out of 32 reptile species are threatened as well. 2 of the 32 amphibian species are threatened and 3 of 53 freshwater fish are close to being endangered too. France’s plants are the closest to extinction though. 86 out of 4,000 plus species are endangered. Despite knowing about these problems France accepts that pollution doesn't stop at national boundaries, therefore it has to be a European effort to improve the situation. I suspect that the environment is really one of the issues that is well explained here, and many people are really concerned about it.
Well we're now awaiting the contribution of SH. giving us a rundown on the environmental record of the UK. There are a few unspoilt village duckponds with dragonflies still flying around. Still a few of the old hedgerows and still the humming of the bumble bees (getting quieter all the time). Still a few meadows left (like 1% of the original). And still a few national parks (not as many as in France) which look relatively unspoilt at the first glance. But it's all getting less and less and is not part of the everyday experience of many British people.
Agriculture and water pollution are a problem here Frenchie, but in our locality there is an added problem. As you can see we are not so very far from the Ruhr here and the main industries here were forestry, textiles and mining. The last of these is the problem. Engelskirchen was used for the mining of zinc and lead in the past, along with minor materials such as copper, siderite and pyrite. When a mine is disused then water is no longer being pumped out and the water level rises. This absorbs many nasty elements and is eventually pumped out and treated. In Engelskirchen at the rate of 110 litres per second. Stopping this water getting into streams and rivers is a nightmare in all ex mining areas - our local stream is contaminated by cadmium and zinc - which flows into the Agger, and henceforth into the Rhine. We are not unique in this - in England, Scotland and Wales there are hundreds of streams and rivers which are contaminated in this way. In extreme weather conditions such as intensive flooding the operation becomes unmanageable. Or if an old shaft collapses. Theoretically this should be the financial responsibility of the mining company which was active here but it was the Vieille Montagne Zinc Mining company which has long disappeared. I imagine this to be a big problem in parts of Durham, the Pennines, Wales and Cornwall.
I do see things happening in the countryside around me that sometimes gets me angry, such as hedges being grubbed out, or hillsides disappearing for the stone, but it is not all bad. I see new hedges being planted, sometimes several kilometres at a time, and old gravel pits being turned into nature reserves. There is a disused railway line that hasn't seen a train for decades now maintained as a cycle route, and wherever I go there are signs indicating the best routes for walking. Of course all these things cost some money, but they are part of what people want. It is about quality of life, preserving the fauna and something that most people can see the advantages of.
Some great posts here about what steps are being taken... And so important to rise above the nation state and party politics. This is so important. A news item yesterday that worst case scenario water levels across the world could rise by 1.1 metres by the end of this century.. Some of our grandkids being born will have to live with the consequences..
I was speaking to three 'frequent flyers' last night at my mother-in-law's care home. The Eastern European care workers go back as often as they can to see their husbands / children etc. They usually go for a few days when it fits into their shift pattern, I'm sure they would not appreciate a deliberate action which effectively curbed their family visits.
A 'frequent flyer' tax is unfair, unworkable and undesirable. No country in the world has adopted the idea yet.
I think we would need to know just how often these care workers are able to go home to know if they are in fact frequent flyers. With most of the people doing this work very poorly paid, just how often can they afford to fly? Why aren't UK nationals doing this work? Just because something doesn't exist at present doesn't mean it should never exist. In some places collecting garden waste incurs a council tax. Other places see it as something that actually can be used to good effect and don't tax the collection. No country has adopted restrictions on unnecessary flying yet, but it is being talked about in many places, including UK government discussions. It needs to be looked at if we are to protect our grandchildren, and we should really think is our journey necessary.
Instead of just criticizing maybe you could give us some of your ideas about combatting Co2 emissions. In the EU. emissions from aviation (private and freight - not including military) increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006 and are still increasing at a rate of about 4% per year. There is no end in sight in this. Due to low or non existent taxes on aviation fuel, air travel enjoys a competitive advantage over other forms of transportation. All I am asking for is realistic prices here. It should not be cheaper to fly from Cologne to Berlin than it is to go by train. Something has to change but what ?
Hard to disagree with this reasoning. My brother in law who has run a Watford based holiday business involving coach travel to places in Europe for 40 + years has always complained about the unfair financial advantage air travel receives. He has a point. His company also had the contract for Watford FC away travel for 25 years.
