Applying the “politics of and” within as well as between policy areas
January 19th, 2010 | This post was written by Fiona MelvilleI do find it depressing to continually read headlines basically hinting that Tories don’t care about the environment. It’s simply not true. It is getting boring to regularly write on here why, even if you don’t believe climate change scientists (and – let’s be fair – many of their recent antics have undermined their authority), many of the ways in which we can act against climate change are also beneficial in financial terms.
Given our current economic malaise, though, we do have an amazing opportunity at the moment. It’s not the answer to all our problems, and it won’t cut our emissions by anything like enough, but as they say in the ads, every little helps.
There are two key points here – firstly that the Tories are thinking in very serious terms about how to encourage green growth. And secondly, that being energy efficient and thereby reducing your carbon footprint has the fantastic side-effect of reducing your bills.
None of this is rocket science. Being a bit greener does not mean living in a cave. New technologies are only expensive to install at the moment because they are not used widely enough to make them more efficient both in operational and in installation terms (ie the more people use them, the better they are and the easier it is to use them – a classic virtuous circle). Reducing your energy consumption will (generally) reduce your energy bills.
So I do wish people would return to the previously much-vaunted “Politics of And“. In this area in particular, it’s there, it’s sensible, and it works.
Look at this initiative from former Governor Jon Hunstman (R-OH – yes, a Republican governor of Ohio). It’s a fantastic, multi-stranded initiative: by encouraging state employees to compress their work into a four day week (so instead of working 9 til 5, they work 8 til 6 and have Fridays off), by carpooling, and by tripchaining (ie making one trip with several stops, rather than going backwards and forwards from home several times a day), the programme has cut a million miles of travel and saved over 50, 000 US gallons of petrol.
But another key benefit is that state workers are reporting higher levels of job satisfaction, better family relationships, fewer sick days and greater availibility of state services (partly because the state offices are open at times when people can actually get to them).
This dual purpose is what the “Politics of And” is all about. Quality of life, environmentalism, reducings costs… It’s what we can and should do here.
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Tags: Green, Living in Britain, Making a Difference, Money, New Politics
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January 19th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Absolutely right Fiona and brilliantly put if I may say so.
To talk about going green in a positive way – rather than always as something restrictive and penal – is by far the best way to come at this.It also has the bonus of actually being true as well!
In thios connection I do think David Cameron speaks well on this whole matter and invests the whole “going green” concept with his blend of sunny optimism and realism. Listening to him it comes across as a ” win- win”
situation for us individually and as a Country.
In that respect it is also important that some of our colleagues do no give hostages to fortune with the language they use and thus give rise to the sort of headlines and misleading statements on Conservative policy which you so rightly allude to.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
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