I liked your post cologne, not because I agree 100%, but because you have presented a well thought out post that should give us all something to think about, which I did while I tucked into my dinner. Everything on the plate and in the glass was either home grown or came from France. A lot of it had traveled no more than 100 kms, and there was nothing in the way of packaging that could not be recycled. I have since had a look at what we bought from the supermarket today. Without thinking about it everything that we have bought is produced in the country, and that is because that was what was on offer. Some goats cheese has a wrapper that does not appear to be recyclable, but even searching ingredients on labels I have found nothing that has traveled from outside the country. Our rubbish bins in the village have tiny amounts of real waste, but the recycle bins usually have plenty of plastic water bottles. Not mine. In order to get to the supermarket or anywhere else you have to have transport, but thinking about the cars here only the district nurse has a newish one. If dealers relied on us they would soon go out of business, but that might change as everywhere free charging points are appearing for the new electric cars. Travel is generally confined to local trips with maybe a trip for some on an annual holiday. Trains are well used and prices affordable. If you are 60 years old you will generally find a 20% reduction in fares. It is no wonder that most of the UK railway system is owned by foreign companies as they can make much larger profits there. Thinking about who lives here I doubt that 50% have ever been on an aircraft. All in all I find myself very proud of the efforts being made here, and I think a lot of it is happening without people actually realizing it. As I see you going into election mode there are things that come to mind which could be clearly better in Germany, but some have come about through over ambition to produce clean energy as I read it. I maybe wrong on that, but the suggestion was that renewable sources of energy were not as productive as forecast. Yes while some production is questionable, much of it comes down to people believing they cannot live without the latest model of something. Advertising can be as powerful as some of the tabloid press in shaping peoples views. Should both be curtailed in some form? My main reason for being anti-Brexit is more to do with people believing that they should have it all, and not try to come together for the benefit of the greater populations around the world. If some of the production in the developed world was used to bring people out of poverty it would be fine in my book, but then of course they would eventually be got at by the sellers of products they do not even consider at present.
Many aspects of French rural life are to be envied Frenchie, particularly their eating habits. Unfortunately many on the left here in Germany have the feeling they have to be Worldly internationalists and the idea of buying local, or buying German is not so deeply entrenched here - this is partly to do with the past. The idea that environmentalism means that local communities will try to be as self sufficient as possible - possibly even with local currencies does not go down well here - it was done in the past by the Nazis. They even ruined folk music here for all time through their abuse of it. So, many Germans try to be seen as being as 'internationalist' as possible. As you can expect from a country with such a powerfull car industry the car is status symbol number 1 here, even home ownership pales by comparison. In the past they ran down the entire public transport system to encourage people to buy cars and it has still not recovered - so naturally their next step is not to think of reversing that - but rather to add electric cars to their list of products and call it environmentalism. But, as you say, I am in election mode and, for the first time I will be voting as well. As a Green Party member I am also on the streets canvassing - which is not easy because they have the linguistic advantage and although my German is fluent I still have an English accent - which means they automatically try to gear the conversation onto Brexit which I am pissed off with.
On an island such as this one, there isn't much that is produced locally, so most things are imported. It seems that the market for what is produced locally has shrunk as, due to the economies of scale, the imports are relatively cheaper. One exception is milk, as it is protected under Jersey law - the only milk that can be imported is that which is not produced by the dairies on the island such as soya milk.
Anyone with any concerns for the environment and with 40 minutes to spare? Australian ABC program Four Corners broadcast this report on Monday - a report about India's multinational conglomerate the Adani Group & the environmental damage they are causing in various locations, their riding roughshod over local laws, as well as their corrupt dealings with politicians at home and abroad. My interest in this comes from their mining operations in Queensland - likely to be funded against tax payer wished by both State and Federal governments after Australian banks have reused to do so - operations with the potential to cause untold & permanent environmental damage to my home State. Gautam Adani strikes me as being a one man Tory party... http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/digging-into-adani/9008500
Oh wow - did that cause a bit of a stir among Guardian readers... Not too sure that I agree with him. I don't eat a great deal of meat, but think I'd draw the line at laboratory-produced cheese...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...rnment-bans-fracking-scotland-paul-wheelhouse The Age of Enlightenment - Scottish government bans fracking after public consultation. Brexit you are next...
I have been reading that Shell are starting to install electric car charging points into a few UK service stations, and to get a 30 minute boost will cost between £20 and £50 depending on the type of car and battery you have. We have these charging points popping up in the most unlikely places, nearly all the small towns have one at least, and the main village in our commune,population 167, has just had one put in. I am not sure if it is a government funded scheme, I suspect it may be as to charge the car is free. Quite a difference in approach from a country that is looking to push for a cleaner means of transport and one that allows private companies to use the situation to swell their bank balance.
There are a million cases of fly tipping in the UK each year costing an absolute fortune to tidy up. Although I appreciate that you will not get through to all the thick heads, councils are not helping. While I was in England I helped take a load of garden waste to the recycling centre, and was surprised to see the charges being imposed. £5 per car tyre, £30 for electrical items such as old cookers, £25 per cubic metre or part thereof of rubble. They had a sign to say that 87% of materials had been recycled, so surely it does not cost so much to dispose of these unwanted items, enough I would have thought to put some people off being a bit more responsible.
I doubt if many councils charge for using the local tip. The worst offenders for fly tipping are travellers. There are some currently camped on the industrial estate in Hemel, they are brazenly tipping junk in the brownfield site next door. My daughter duly reported this regular dodgy practice to the council, gypos still doing it weeks later.
If it's not ok. to use derogatory words describing eg. darker skinned people or people from Pakistan then why do you consider it ok. to use them about our Romany friends. And......how do you know that 'travellers' and 'Gypsies' are one and the same thing ?
I would expect most who come into contact with these people would not describe them as 'friends', many are parasitic on our society, not contributing, financially or culturally. There is an enormous amount of damage done to the UK countryside by these people who freely dump their trade and personal rubbish without any concern for the environment.
Olympic Park left covered in rubbish as travellers turn it into illegal Travellers leave behind 'lorryloads' of rubbish after setting up camp at Pictured: Tonnes of rubbish dumped by travellers in front of ... Travellers caught dumping rubbish during Kew invasion | On The Spot ... Travellers dump 500 tonnes of rubbish as cleaners face 100 metre ...
From the reports listed above it seems that people are paying these people to take their rubbish away. Why? Surely this can only be because it is a cheap option. 67% dumped is household waste that could go to a recycling centre, yet gets left on the side of the road. Maybe it would be cheaper for the council to collect things such as fridges, cookers free of charge rather than have to clear up later. The council I quoted that makes charges has let the recycling centre out to a private contractor who wishes to see a return on his investment.
Who are the 'people' you are talking about ? Differentiate between 'travellers' and real 'Gypsies' and I will start taking you seriously. Or are you conveniently lumping them all together and describing anyone who appears to lead what you think of as a gypsy lifestyle as being really a gypsy (ie. romany). It would also be more to the point if you focused on your own lifestyle, and how environmentally damaging that may be rather than pointing the finger at other people. If it is not ok. to use the 'N' word to describe people from Africa or Jamaica then it is not ok. to use derogatory words to describe any other racial grouping.
The many travellers that dump rubbish around the UK countryside are lowlife scumbags and should be deported to Cologne where they seem to be tolerated and excuses made for their unsociable behaviour.
I don't know quite who you are talking about. If you are talking about the Gypsy population of the UK. then let me enlighten you on a few facts firstly, the vast majority live either in houses or on permanent legal sites (mostly private), secondly, they are indiginious having been here for around 500 years, and thirdly they are underrepresented in Britain's prison population. The travellers, as you call them, are in no way ethnically related to the Roma - who had their origins in Rajastan in India. The 'travellers' as you call them are a mixed bag - partly of Irish origins, partly English who have simply adopted the lifestyle. You are trying to put the 2 groups together to suit your own racist ends. Nobody is going to be deported anywhere because the vast majority are British. One day you will return to the realm of humanity when you stop classifying people onto some kind of hierarchy ie. more and lesser worth, or desirable and undesirable - until that time keep your racist **** to yourself.
Whether it is the Roma migrants dominating the pickpocket scene in London or travellers from wherever they came, the authorities should concentrate on sending them back a.s.a.p. We have enough rubbish of our own without importing it. Dopes like you should be made to live amongst the filth they create.
Cut the insults out SH. No rubbish has been imported - the vast majority of 'travellers', as you call them, are British nationals - and so, cannot be 'sent back' anywhere. You have just tried to tie up Rumanians, Roma and travellers as all being one and the same, in the finest racist traditions. Do you actually know that the majority of Roma in places like Rumania do not have passports or ID cards and so would not be able to travel to the UK ? I have said it once and I will say it again - keep your racist **** of these boards - and that is not an insult for you personally (before you start whining), but rather the rubbish you have written.
