Alternative Fuels, Why no push?
Posted by SteveSussex on Thursday, 18 January 2007 21:02:18
Given the push for environmentalism I am concerned that all parties seem to simply promote additional taxation primarily aimed at transportation; specifically the private car. Without considering alternatives to high carbon fuels. Or at best paying lip service to them as Brown did in his pre budget speech. Any incentives seem merely to hang on the stick with no carrot approach of simply making the use of the present options eyewateringly expensive. A move that will harm those who have no real options such as rural people; particularly the poorer and elderly amongst that group, disproportionately hard. These are people who do not have easy access to public alternatives. Alternatives which are themselves expensive and inefficient or even non-existent. For them a combination of high fuel cost and extortionate road pricing proposals will render them all but immobile. Ask a village pensioner how they will stretch that pension to cover those transport costs to go to the nearest town for essential goods and services or how a young man will support his family if he can barely afford the cost of getting to work.
I would like to ask if the Tories would promote the accelerated development of alternative fuels and an infrastructure to deliver them to the public along with incentives to do so in terms of cost? Fuels that can be used with little or no modification to existing vehicles thereby maintaining their value to the individual and that already exist. Albeit in small quantities at this time. Enabling us as a nation to be mobile and able to respond at a personal level to employment opportunities that require some travel.
Without such a move it appears that the political view behind global warming is that it is not a real issue but is very useful to get money out of the population. Without alternatives and only opting for financial penalty I find it hard to see that politicians are actually taking it seriously and simply perpetrating a confidence trick on the public. If you aren't taking it seriously then why should we? Even alternatives that simply lower emmissions in the short to medium term would be a huge improvement.
transport, Environment