Taking Liberties

Russell Lewis is a former leader writer for the Daily Mail, a former acting general director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and former director of the Conservative Political Centre. Writing on The Free Society blog about the perceived threat of global warming he says:

Would that George Orwell were alive today. How he would have enjoyed exposing global alarmism, the contempt for ordinary people’s liberties of its sponsors, and the juggernaut of deceit and venal interests which propels it.

Full article HERE. Comments welcome.

Writing on The Free Society blog today, Simon Hills (associate editor of The Times Magazine) warns that "Climate change is a catch-all for more taxes, more quangoes and more government jobs. Just as communism was about the functionary rather than the proletariat, so green politics are empowering a whole new generation of busybodies."

In London, says Simon, "Red Ken Livingstone has become Green Ken Livingstone." Unfortunately, he adds:

Green Ken and Red Ken are one and the same without the need to mention the word – let’s whisper it – socialism. Ken might not be able to stop the City Boys from larging it up at Spearmint Rhino, but by God he’s going to make sure they go there by bicycle. The politics are the same, it’s just the colour that has changed.

Full article HERE. Comments welcome.

"Smoking ban poses new climate threat" screams a headline in today's Sunday Telegraph. Hardly a news story, it's been doing the rounds for months. Pubs, we are told, are likely to pump hundreds of thousands of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of the smoking ban.

The solution, one would think, is obvious. Amend the legislation to allow pubs to have well-ventilated, designated smoking rooms indoors. But no, in today's prohibition culture, that's too easy, or sensible. According to the Telegraph, "Environmentalists say the heaters must now be banned if Britain is to meet carbon dioxide emission targets."

According to those lovely people at Friends of the Earth: "The impacts of the smoking ban are positive, but this should not cause more problems for the environment. Either smokers will have to give up smoking or simply put on a jumper."

Charming.