Growing

Whilst the UN have been dithering on the important topics such as Climate Change and Gordon Brown is complaining about Great British Food wastage I have been busy working on, and taking produce from, our allotment. We have also very kindly been offered and shared produce with other growers and have not had to visit the green grocers for a day or two, other than for fruit.

It has so far been a very successful year in our first attempt as allotment growers; we are still hopeful that next year we will have an allotment of our own.

The ‘Great’ British weather, although good for growing vegetables, needs to change for a while so we can have a few sunny spells enabling us to get out and about on our push-bikes.

Great big melting pot.

Today I read about so called ‘water-wars’ that most of you environmentalists with be pretty savvy to. No sooner have Countries gone to war to secure oil supplies and for long standing diplomatic disputes it now appears that glaciers are in decline and as a result the rivers they produce will also begin to disappear, leaving millions without fresh water supplies. These volatile environmental essential giants are situated, or at least supply further down stream, water to the some of the most hostile of nations in Asia.

Before the shortage there will be more water than most can accommodate as wide scale flooding in Countries such as China.

If you think we are safe in Europe, North America, South America and Africa then think again, the apparently the only Glaciers that continue to rise are those in Scandinavia.

The continuing ignorance most of us show towards preventing global warming will only hasten the environmental and politic catastrophes now being predicted.

I do not know what the long term answer is but I do believe we as guardians of this planet will, like an ant colony, eventually out grow ourselves beyond the point of sustainability. The fate of the human race will depend entirely upon just how tired this wonderful Earth has become with us.

[See report from guardian.co.uk/envirnoment]

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On a much smaller scale I will be investing in a water butt for the garden shed, inspired by my neighbour’s pipes and water container collecting from his greenhouse, to water the small vegetable patch I begun last year and intend to continue with again this year. I will eventually get around to posting a picture or two of the vegetables we are able to grow for ourselves on such a small piece of earth, I wish I had more of it.

Budget, coughing up

You would think, if you were a UK resident, that I would have plenty to moan about with the New Chancellor delivering his first budget but alas I have not. I have just completed an online calculator as to how much better or worse off I will be under the new budget and low and behold I will be better off to the tune of £342.92 next year according to indications.

I doubt if I will feel that much better off but I will still spend it non the less.

On the other hand I was expecting much more in the way of help for making households greener through paying less taxes on fuel efficiency and aid towards insulation and the likes.

The tax changes at the higher and lower ranges of fuel efficiency will not go any where in helping with climate change, you only have to look at China, or what our athletes can expect when they get there. I am sure this picture will outrage the 4x4 drivers in this country that are being penalized.

Then there is the usual increase in tobacco and alcohol. The government believes that the smoking ban in public places has been a success, which I do not agree with. If it is such a success then why bother to put up the tax on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. They wish to tackle the ‘binge’ drinking culture amongst the young and only increase the tax on cider, the favored drink of the off license yob, by a fraction. Non of it adds up, especially if this government were trying to create the same drinking culture that exists in France and Spain [unless we Brits are over there still drinking cheaper lager with the same effect as it has over here]

I have given up smoking cigars, reluctantly through ill health, and I drink very little so I have not been hit too much by these tax increases but the poor sods that work all week and like a tipple and a smoke must feel really hard done to once again knowing that their relaxation aids are propping up the economy once again.

[Image - BBC Day in Pictures 12 March 2008: People standing on the roof of the Beijing Olympic stadium can barely be seen through the smog. China has issued assurances that the air will be safe for the Games.]