Long before we are extinguished by global food shortages or raised sea levels, I predict, we are fated to die of boredom, struck down in our prime by the devastating virus 0157eco-smugness. Doctors will be powerless to stop as the bug invades our minds, causing nervous paralysis leading to eventual seizure. We are doomed, for sure, to terminal ennui brought on by environmental righteousness.
This is the terrible paradox of the environmental movement. The paradox that, if society proceeds down the true path of eco-purity, we may well save the planet; but will simultaneously discover that life is too dull to be worth living on it any more. Women in particular, I fear, will find themselves returned to the Dark Ages.
How can it be otherwise? No skiing, no cars, no travel, no exotic foods, no extravagance, no Hollywood, no wasteful labour-saving devices, no clothes made of anything but recycled plastics and hemp. No more Luxx magazine filled with beautifully engineered, sleek, accessory porn. In their place we will chant a litany of carbon offset, recycling and composting, the buttresses of a new religion that makes radical Islam resemble Methodism.
What is becoming so fascinating about the new puritanism is not just that we are all being brainwashed to accept the inevitability of hair shirts, but also their unquestioned moral worth. That somehow or other, this life of sackcloth and bicycles is going to benefit our souls and make us all better people.
This has been made apparent by the reaction to David Bellamy, the grand old man of botany, who declared recently that the extended spring ski season in Scotland - deep, extensive snow cover, the best in a decade - could be proof that global warming does not exist quite as painted. He pointed out that the global high-temperature record has not been broken for a decade, and temperatures are now flat or falling.
Indeed, the impartial observer might see the harder weather - together with the recent bitterly cold winter in China and the Arctic - as a joyful thing: a sign that maybe things aren't that bad after all.
But oh no. This kind of heresy must be crushed. And Bellamy, the author of a paper called Climate Stability: An Inconvenient Truth, is a dangerous man, an anti-Christ to the prevailing orthodoxy, who must be dealt with as quickly as possible by the eco-thought police.
We should not be surprised when global-warming policy officers and climate-change academics rush to declare that the evidence for pending disaster is “overwhelming”. Nor when they announce, in as menacing a tone as Abu Izzadeen, that we ignore what is happening “at our peril”. These people have, after all, to justify their job titles; the industry of which they are part is worth billions of pounds a year; and for everyone in it to grow and prosper and pay their mortgages, the snow must continue to melt and the seas continue to rise. Just as the makers of aspirin wish you had a headache, the eco-alarmists rather love high temperatures.
My real problem with the eco-alarmists is the pleasure they take in austerity; their evident desire to strip away pleasure. Deep down, they disapprove of skiing, even on a Scottish scale. They dislike colour, excess and fun. They really do want to see us imprisoned in a narrow, grey, scratchy world of recycled car tyres and hemp lingerie (and no, I didn't make that up).
Hence their gleefulness in the economic downturn, because it will mean that people are poorer, and will be forced to do things their way. Slowly but surely, the roundheads will take over the Earth. In their ideal world we will not travel, except by bus; we will read gloomy books like A Short History of the Future (on recycled paper); and luxury will consist of a wind-up MP3 player.
What amuses me, wryly, is how this new religion is following in the path of all traditional ones in its impact on women. Climate change is indeed a feminist issue. Who will be the victims of the eco-smug; of this pious gospel of make-do-and-mend? Why, women - who will have to forgo their washing machines and their dish washers, carry supermarket shopping on the bus, and return to the horror of reuseable nappies.
A group of environmentalists have posted a tuition video called How To Darn A Sock on YouTube, where it has received nearly 8,000 hits. Its popularity has been eclipsed by the short film, How To Sew A Button On, which has been seen by 90,000 people. Funny, isn't it, how women spent centuries escaping from this kind of slave labour, and now it is being sneaked back in under the guise of saving the planet. Women will always suffer in a poorer world.
The environmental movement has become, if not quite a man-made hoax, then at the very least a fashionable bandwagon for very dodgy facts and sharp marketing. How do they know, except by the wildest guesstimate, that British cars emitted 69.9 million tonnes of CO2 last year? How can anyone claim that a £20 “ecobutton” for a computer (the latest gadget for the faithful, to power down the machine when not in use) will save me 135kg of carbon every year? These figures are patently cobblers, just as pictures of lonely polar bears on shrinking icebergs are manipulative sentimentalism.
Meanwhile, we should lift our hats to carbon-management firms, surely the most surreal triumph of modern capitalism, which have created a trade in hypothetical waste; as whimsical as fantasy football. Were we all so clever as to dream that one up.
If we may dream at all. Frankly the thought of life in this smug, dull, joyless, labour-intensive, recycled, fair trade, waste-free world makes a woman yearn to be already dead and buried in her eco-friendly coffin, fertilising some field for methane-free cows. At least that way one can be sure of a rest.
Amazing how short memories are. In the 80's these same people announced that we were going into an ice age and the only thing that would save us was to stop using fluorocarbons. That worked so now we are going into a tropical age? Let's just reintroduce Freon and problem solved.
Jim, Jakarta, Indonesia
As a man, i guess it would be nice to stay at home and do chores such as cook and laundry. Let the women go into the fields to harvest, to the woods to hunt, if the bunny kissers of the world still allow the eating of meat. We are of couse, as humans, designed to be omnivorous and predatory.
Christian Schmidt, FAYETTEVILLE, United States
does anyone actually realize that hemp clothes are more comfortable than cotton clothes?!
Thaissa, raleigh, US
Frankly, I would be less alarmed by the loss of washing machines and dishwashers than by living in a grossly sexist society that assumes the use of such items is "woman's work." Shopping? Nappies? Who says it would be women doing the darning? This rant is close-minded in more ways than one.
Emily, Lamoine, United States
You may be sceptical of the 'impending disaster' that middle class people in the western world like you may soon face, but to deny the images you see in front of you of people's homes being destroyed by ecological disaster we have caused or seals drowning as 'greenwash' clearly shows your character.
Sundal, London, United Kingdom
I make the most beautiful, luxurious bed linen from hemp, I am planning an indulgent blanket/cover made from cashmere and hemp and I have seen samples of silk/hemp mixes and soft hemp knits that any woman would feel sexy in. Please don't assume that eco means losing beauty and comfort.
Jilly Cholmondeley, London, UK
I'm always impressed by the ability of some to conflate the wilder claims of some on the eco-fringes to damn the entire idea of a lower environmental impact way of life. At least J Clarkson gets a laugh out of it.
Suggesting that the environment is feminist issue (it's a return to darning!) simply turns it into the kind of thing that would have Tebbit roaring with laughter. Wooly heads in wooly hats indeed.
Pete, Cardiff, Wales
I agree entirely with this, except for the idea that 'being poorer' will oblige us to do it 'their way'. Being 'eco-friendly' is a luxury. Solar panels cost £10,000 to instal, for a saving of £150 a year. The Ecologist magazine promotes 'ethically sourced' clothing at five times the cost of M&S. And so on. A lot of the woolly-haired environmentalists of Islington may have to trim their aspirations when hubby's job in the City is downsized. Who's now for a Tesco £1 chicken?!
Martyn, London,
I do ALL the sewing in our house. What amuses me is the thought of all the impractical unadaptable wastrels having to do this stuff at some time.
David, Bromley,
What is most alarming is that, like the belated recognition that nuclear power is essential, Times writers take over a decade to realise that many people in green pressure groups have no knowledge about the subjects on which they express an opinion.
On the night of April 5, 1815, Mount Tambora, located on the island of Sumbawa, erupted with a volcanic force unmatched in recorded history. The debris in the atmosphere brought temperatures down several degrees. It was called the Year with no Summer. We and other species survived. That is life.
Paul , northwich, england
Excellent article. It is always to see Reason stand up and stake its ground against blind faith. Thank you!
Constantino, New York City, USA
Yes long before YOU are extinguised by global food shortages, you are fated to die of boredem, a relatively comfortable way to go. Not everyone in the world is so lucky of course.
I don't think anyone except the most deluded are under the impression that we will ever walk the path of "eco-purity", certainly not by the absurd means of carbon trading, but being a little in touch with the consequences of our actions is no harm at all. At least you can take solace in the fact that by the sounds of it you won't be changing for anyone.
John Blakeney, Kyoto, Japan
At the end of the day we know nothing or even certain in the knowledge that we know nothing. Carpe Diem! Leave environmental issues to the weird beards & sandals, as Jeremy Clarkson would say.
Ian, London, UK
The Greens fanatics are finished. At least they can now be blamed for world starvation. Would you trust them in government! No thanks!
Henry, Oxford,
You want to learn about modern slave labour, read "Made in China: Women Factory Workers in a Global Workplace" By Pun Ngai, or Ngai Pun as English speakers would insist on calling her. It's when we insist on throwing perfectly good clothes away instead of sewing a button back on that the factories full of dagongmei thrive, and it is on the back of their slave labour that we now have our cheap (often therefore taken as disposable) clothes, shoes, bags, CD players, etc. I read part of Pun's thesis while she was writing it, and I could not sleep that night.
S P Lee, London,
Stupid article. I do not see why women should be the main victims of development (stage and direction included in the analysis). We all have to deal with the problem and the responsibility of choosing what we really need and discarding the unnecessary surplus of things. Do not mix excess with fair needs, fancy clothing cannot be comparable to washing machines.
Trasdent Bacal, Berlin, Germany
So the planet can support an ever increasing population and an increase rate in consumption of finite resources?
You can spout as many ad-hominems as you like, but you cant change reality. The era of cheap food and cheap energy is over, there is massively increasing international demand for declining production, the last few years of growth have been fuelled by banks printed money in the form of credit which is helping to drive the massive inflation we are seeing now. Our leaders and media are not being honest with us. Russia and Saudi Arabia will be consuming all the oil they can pump internally in 20 years time. We are reliant on food and energy imports and cannot compete financially for them as we have inflated away our currency and destroyed most of our industry.
Its blue pill / red pill time.
Matt, U.K,
so many of the eco alarms are being sounded by' bought and paid for scientists' and politicians who have latched onto all this as an excuse to raise taxes and invent new ones.
save the planet -do away with the supermarket plastic bag and use long life lamps ?
environmental tokenism at best !
david c, purbeck,
I read such diatribes as this from writers like Ms Read and J Clarkson with school playground jibes (eco-alarmists, eco-mentalists, etc.) and wish they would stop using the term 'environmentalist' - it's become as diffuse and meaningless as terms like 'middle england'!
There are sound economic and engineering reasons for 'eco-alarmism' such as peak oil and CO2 induced global warming (the cold snap is explained by La Nina in the pacific). We need to implement technologies such as 2nd generation bio-fuels (e.g. algae based), hydrogen fuel cells, solar, wind/wave, and nuclear, ASAP.
Setting up a lentil chewing, hemp wearing, hippie 'environmentalist' straw man to knock down doesn't help.
paul newbold, sheffield, UK
6.5 billion world population, set to double again this century at present birthrates. Rapidly diminishing non-renewable resources with no viable alternatives on the horizon. A usable atmosphere thinner than your average drive to the supermarket which we've been pumping rubbish into for 200 years.
Millions upon millions of people could starve to death - even if global warming isn't a fact (and most scientists say that it is), the FACT IS that we're running out of growing space for food, fish in the sea and other life sustaining resources - and Melanie worries about hemp undies and an anti female conspiracy based on the possible return to disposable nappies? Pathetic.
LindonBSwindon, Paris, France
Wow Melanie, what a constructive article. No mention of possible alternative fuels, green technology, green homes..?
Nope, just a moan about the 'eco-purists'. What a childish viewpoint.
Owen, London, UK
This is an interesting article and while I agree that we always have to make sure not to allow environmental views to interfere with sexual equality, but that said, Melanie's point is completely off the mark. Before we start complaining about not being able to go skiing or wearing fancy underwear we should remember that as Americans we have access to these kinds of luxuries that the majority of people in the world are denied regardless of what the green movement is up to. I just think that when there is as much global inequality as there is right now, then we can't keep using boredom as an excuse to continue maintaining lifestyles that are not only destructive to the environment, but use up far more than our fair share of the world's resources.
Andy, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Perhaps we are getting a little carried away here. Certainly there is a band wagon but when it comes to the cut the general Public will only sacrifice so much. And women bearing the brunt......I think someone has been smoking their Lingerie!
Keith, Dublin, Ireland
Hemp lingerie? The title may not be Melanie Reid's, but the present issue of Permaculture Magazine (No. 56) has a long article on green, ethical clothing, including "Sexy, frilly knickers made from a hemp-silk mix." I will leave it to others to test & report on them. Hemp is in fact one of the most valuable & underused fibres; it does not mean canvas underclothes!
More importantly, the fashion & clothing industry has the highest carbon emissions of all (greater than aviation when all the transport is included), many clothes are made in sweat shops, and conventional cotton uses more pesticides per acre than food crops, leading to serious illnesses for cotton farmers & workers. Synthetic clothing is oil-based, & oil will become scarce & expensive.
We may not like what is coming - I don't - but our present consumer life style cannot be sustained for long with a growing world population trying to emulate our life style - the resources are not there.
Dave, Wrexham,
How refreshing to see an article not pandering to the band wagon of eco eccentricity. Its just fasion which brings people to jump on this band wagon, and once on it the immense smugness ensues. I just hope that the content of this article becomes a band wagon too so we can get back to living life how we want and not being bothered by all these 'green' policies etc. Im not against recycling rubbish and sensible things but its been taken to far and its tempting to stop recycling just to be dissassociated with eco nazis!
Colin, Basingstoke, UK
"Hemp clothing? Give us a break. Will they be classified as drugs after people start burning and inhaling them?"
Unfortunately hemp has little or no THC, the active ingredient of Marijuana. You can burn and inhale all the Hemp you want and not get the tiniest buzz, probably just a headache.
Gian , Doral, Fl
So on the one hand, the global warming "industry...is worth billions of pounds a year", yet it is so detrimental to economic growth that there will be "no clothes made of anything but recycled plastics and hemp."?
A lesson in basic economics: Fossil fuel energy is expensive. Environmentally friendly energy (i.e. renewable energy, used efficiently) is cheap. As EVERY luxury good and service requires energy, then turning to environmentally friendly energy will reduce the bottom line and make such goods and services cheaper and thus more widely available.
You're article, while entertaining, is just wrong.
Brendan, Dublin,
Cutting down the vast majority of the planets trees and burning hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere is bound to have consequences. All for what?
"skiing, cars, travel, exotic foods, extravagance, Hollywood, and wasteful labour-saving devices"
You know what? People had been surviving for a long long time without all that crap before somebody worked out they could make a lot of money (and thus gain a lot of power) convincing selfish greedy idiots like you they are required for happiness.
Progress is a lie. When will you finally comfortable enough? How much destruction does it take? When will you be content? How much stuff do you need to consume, to be left unsatisfied, before you learn that there is another way?
That you cannot bear to live without the pointless, wasteful, empty crap consumerism has convinced you that you require to live an acceptable life is quite the reflection of what it has made you into.
Adam Godwin, Oxford, UK
If I were a wealth hating totalitarian thinking of how to limit the "excesses" of the successful and the talented in order to make me feel better and justify my supossed moral superiority, I would invent global warming.
I would then create a self sustaining industry where sensibel protests are shouted down and called "deniers," and accuse them all of being in the pay of the oil companies.
I would also call for a whole series of ineffectual token measures that are designed to harm the rich with little regard to their actual affectiveness. Putting a punative tax on car makers who had an average of over 140g/km in their range would mean bentley and porsche owners would suffer.
A £25 congestion charge on big cars and no residency allowance would be great. Taxing flights when they make up 2% of total carbon emissions would also suit my puritanical bent.
I wouldn't bother to fund research into carbon capture though because that might stop my success hating bandwagon.
Matt, Cardiff,
The only people trying to return to the dark ages are those like you who assume that, if a button is to be sewn back on, it must be a woman who does it.
Ian, London,
Tee-hee. I love the comments - putting the cat among the pigeons indeed. Eco nutcases, just like anti-smoking ("oh my god, a puff of smoke is advancing towards me, I'm going to drop dead") nutcases, seem to be the most vocal, intolerant and aggressive people in society today.
I'm tolerant of everything except intolerance in all its forms, and for as long as society is free, the nutcases can say what they like. After they win, only they will say and do what they like.
Sarah, London,
Global warming may be happening or it may not be happening - we all have different opinions but the fact of the matter is that nobody knows for certain.
What we do know is what the cost and consequences of trying to stop it even if it does not happen are billion times preferable to the prospect of not taking any action and it indeed happening
Let's all contribute what we can to stop global warming
Montserrat Perez , London, UK
It's sad when an old man starts making gradiose and innaccurate statements about a field not his own, eclipsing the good work he did in his field by consorting with junk science pushers.
Frankly, even refering to "global warming" rather than "global climate change" at this point clearly reveals a blatent bias. Realclimates frequent debunking of the nonsense pushed out by well funded "climate deniers" is worth reading.
Your real [roblem is that you lump anyone who believes in global climate change in with a few nuts who believe it as a religious mantra, the vas majority follow the scientific evidence for it, and want reasonable measures taken.
That is; nuclear power, comprehensive sorting and recycling of rubbish at recycling centers and energy saving lightbulbs. Not your overblown and ridiculous hemp underwear.
Leon Wolfeson, Oxford, UK
Global Warming, like Global Terrorism is touted by those in power - governments, police and security forces - to instill a state of fear in the population, keep people scared and you keep control.
Dave, Paris, France
Someone asked why we don't hear people going on about the ozone layer.
The answer is that the world signed up to an international treaty banning the gases which caused it and it is now repairing itself.
If we get a similar treaty on greenhouse gases, then I'm sure people will shut up about global warming too.
Matt, Tonbridge, UK
Greens lie - people die
Craig, Liverpool, UK
You shouldn t believe all you write. In the Dark Ages women didn t wear lingerie. Its all part of the never apologise never explain regime, aka democracy, in which we live. The particular marque of Sods Law to which this belongs says that you don t present major issues for public debate unless they are trivial in terms of relations to basic policies. Have you ever heard climate change mentioned in any discussion of the Iraq war, or the order for aircraft carriers, or service flying, such as Chinook weekends? I haven t. So the answer is as usual to ignore the Press and press on.
Henry Percy, London, UK
It's all about balance.
I am not ever going to stop driving my car or going on planes, but I do recycle plastics, cans and glass as much as I can. I also sew buttons back on. Big deal.
There's no need to be wasteful in this world. At the same time, I am not going to feel guilty about having the heating on at home, the dishwasher, driving my car etc.
As I said, it's all about balance!
Amy, Southampton, UK
I am naturally worried about global warming. I was however also worried about the Millenium Bug (remember that) and global cooling in 1973. Correct me if I'm wrong but as yet nothing of statistical significance has yet happened.
Can we have the truth (or likely truth) please and less polemics from the intolerant, the sad and the self righteous.
nick, Oxford,
"Hemp clothing? Give us a break. Will they be classified as drugs after people start burning and inhaling them?" - Cassandra Brown, England.
Fail. There's no psychoactive element in hemp (cannabis ruderalis) only in the indica and sativa strains. There are already many hemp items on the market, none of which can be inhaled to get high. Don't be so silly.
NickDee, Birmingham, UK
"The bottom line is that the more populous the world becomes and the higher the standard of living, the more important it becomes to control the world's population.
There is no way the present population can enjoy life and preserve the environment. Life will be very restrictive - no cars, no flying, overcrowded cities etc:
Land shortage is causing horrible reactions in places like Kenys, Zimbabwi etc:"
Zimbabwi, that is hardly the best example because the economy is pretty much destroyed, the problems have nothing todo with overpopulation, the resources are merely badly allocated.
As the population increases there will be more brains to think of new ways to use scarce resources. Before the industrial revoltution the UK could only support 6 million people and it had stayed at that level for centuries before. There's loads of resources on the planet, it's just that some are more difficult to get and in time new processes will be developed to use them. The world isn't static.
Simon, Cheltenham,
I'm not eco-puritan, just catastrophy-apathetic. According to the old saying, a candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. To paraphrase a line from a source with slightly less gravitas (the film bladerunner:-)) we have burned so very, very brightly.
Whatever else happens, the earth can't get bigger - even if the population does. With the resources available to us, it seems little more than a pipe dream that we might ever find another planet to which we can spread our human disease.
My advice is to utilize that other well developed human sense - the ability to self delude (search terms: 'god', 'purpose to life' and 'humans are special', etc) - and just enjoy ourselves with the time we have left because another sure thing is that our local star - the sun - has a life cycle and it'll be all over in a few more billion years anyway!
Lee, Paris, France
I find it quite amusing that you, as a self-proclaimed feminist, assume that doing the laundry, doing the dishes and changing nappies is all women's work.
Bart, Antwerp, Belgium
The scientific evidence for anthropogenic climate change is overwhelming. Cherry-picking data from a single climate study does not alter this. Those who disagree are welcome to come discuss the matter with scientists here at the University of Michigan, where we have the world's premier sustainability center in our School of Natural Resources and Environment.
This article is discouraging because of its hyperbole. No respected ecologist or environmental scientist is suggesting we foresake all material comforts and wear 'clothes made of recycled plastic and hemp'. And to conflate the notion of reuse and recycling, whether darning socks or turning out the lights when you leave the room, with issues of women's liberation is positively ludicrous. It is a cheap sensationalist ploy, and we expect better from the leading lights of British media.
The goal here is not to return us to the stone age, but to raise awareness and promote responsibility at all levels from personal to public.
Adam Dorr, Ann Arbor, USA
There's something ironic about pointing out lone scientists who stand out against global scientific consensus as evidence that it's all 'cobblers' in much the same way the Creationist movement uses obscure scientific papers to try and disprove the inconvenient theory of evolution. As the climate changes some places will get warmer and some will get cooler, the desperation of some to point out every blip in charts as meaningful is getting tiresome.
Environmentalists don't want to stop you going skiing or make you travel by bus, they just want our economy to function in a way that doesn't externalise environmental damage. Part of the answer is technology, part of it is reducing waste. If you were recklessly racking up credit card debt to buy the latest gadget you would be called irresponsible, why is it any different when what you're borrowing against is our ecosystems & environment?
Alex Graul, London, UK
At least you're doing your bit. A column 100% recycled from stereotypes and blustery prejudice!
Jason, Brighton,
Just because something inconveniences you doesn't make it untrue. I recommend some investigation into the science before making such nonsensical claims.
Patrick, toronto, Canada
Cassandra Brown
What exactly is "environmental geotechnics"?
(as opposed to geotechinics - the application of scientific methods and engineering principles to the acquisition, interpretation, and use of knowledge of materials of the Earth's crust and earth materials for the solution of engineering problems)
Peter, London,
Articles like this are much needed, to counter the hysteria which alleges that global warming is man-made and that we (only in the West, of course) can make a difference by living a more austere lifestyle. The effect of any changes mankind can make is infinitessimally small compared to the power of the sun, the true cause of the warming. Solar scientists say that these days the sun, at the bottom of its 11 year cycle, is hotter than it used to be at the top of the cycle. This would explain why "global warming" has been identified on Mars too.
Austin, London,
Good grief Jay, what does stuffing the planet chock-full of your unrecycled waste have to do with your belief that humans have no impact on climate? Oh, but of course, with your nice expensive car I'm sure no one will be able to build a lovely new landfill site anywhere near your backyard....
Margaret, Royston, England
In California, we have a Governor and Legislature who have a plan to save the world and yet cannot even govern Caifornia. Our budget is in deficit by over $15 billion. That's real money even using devalued dollars.
A. Fucaloro, Upland, USA / Ca
Oh please! I'm 15 and even I know better. First of all (although I have not even bothered to read most of your wonderful article), how the hell does your version of environmentalism specifically target women?
Secondly, I agree environmentalists do take it a step too far, but then again it's probably the only way to generate enough publicity and attention to the matter. On a practical scale, their message is all about the little changes - literally going a minute out of your way to recycle an old magazine, or rinse a can of baked beans, and pop it in a green box.
Nobody's honestly asking the world to turn off all it's lights and revert to coal fires, but it's quite a simple fact - we need fuels, and we need plastics, paper and all the rest of it. And the only way we're going to have it in the future is to reuse/recycle it in some way. Otherwise we really will go back to the dark ages.
Im definately not a tree hugger, but please stop being so bloody narrow minded.
Bhaveer, Croydon, Surrey
Just for the Record Hemp can be spun into the finest silks and died any color, My local Hemp store has some hot lingirie for sale you must be shopping at WWII Mart.
Daniel, Portland, Maine
Peoples' responses to this issue seems to reveal more about their personalities than the realities of the problem. From Panglossian optimism to gleeful groveling in gloom, it's much simpler to go to one of the extremes than to try to figure out a rational response. However, let's not shed hemp underwear without due consideration. I hear it pairs well with a hair-shirt and that some find it quite exciting.
Tim Kearley, Laramie, WY
I must admit to the fact that I have not read this article in-depth, as I found it simply too boring.
However I cannot find where you actually explain why eco-fundamentalism would lead women back to the Dark Ages?
Please point out for me where it says that women in particular should have to suffer more than men due to a withdrawal from "modern" pleasures that are damaging the environment?
Personally I have no problem with enjoying some nice home-grown food and living within walking distance from my workplace!
anon, Paris, France
Brilliant. article about the new puritans: losers, who, unable to build successful economic relationships with other people, try to control them by scaring them silly.
Thank you for standing up to these people and questioning their economy with the truth. Every claim I have heard from them seems, on deeper investigation, to be flawed. Even the famous picture of the polar bears is not what it seems. The "eco" lobby needs to be held to account. Well done Melanie.
Chris, London, UK
The Pilgrim Fathers who went to America were the perhaps the first 'eco warriors'. To consume, wear make up, to be ostentatious, all of these were sinful punishable by hell & damnation. it was though a very dreary lifestyle and in the main has been rejected.
The new 'eco warriors' are just as judgemental. There are alway problems to solve, but they will not be solved by the 'hell and damnation approach'.
I consider myself most fortunate to live in an age of modern medicine & mechanisation. My life is far less severe than the Pilgrim Fathers. Why, because of the constant striving of human beings to better what has gone before.
We must though not kill off wild species and habitats in our search for betterment.
David Turton, Rushlake Green, UK
Fine article. On a less humorous note, I think the eco-lobby is a serious threat to the gains that women have made in the past half-century. Women have been able to enter the workforce and, more significantly, to pursue high-level careers, because of the freedom afforded them by the car, washing machine, microwave, etc.
Take baby and toddler to the nursery on a bus, pick them up again at night, along with groceries for the family? Or decide communal travel's impractical, but it's too expensive to drive? Work late for that promotion, or worry about the last (safe) bus home? Wash dishes and hang laundry? Or prepare the big sales proposal? Stay in a dead end job because it's near the bus? Prioritze for *his* work commute, or hers?
As Melanie says - women are always worse off in a poorer world - all the more shame when this poverty is a construct of the eco-lobby - the only "non-renewable resources" are the time, talent and energy of 100% of our population.
Marie, Stockholm,
JW, Boston, UK,
Sadly, climate change isn't as easily identifiable as whether we can grow oranges in the UK or not. Actually what is more likely for the British Isles is that if more ice at the poles melts and dilutes the salty sea water then it is likely the Gulf Stream will be compromised, resulting in a much colder sea surround us, not warmer - no more oranges here I'm afraid.
Planet Earth has such a complex ecological system that the exact outcomes of climate change are impossible to know for sure; often unexpected results emerge. We should be heartened by Bellamy's observation, but only fools would ignore the warnings in other areas of the world.
Moreover, carbon-based resources are finite, we will be running out them - for sure. It will be a much smoother transition if started now, than if we wait until the 11th hour. This doesn't have to mean puritanism, or the oppression of women, just small sacrifices made by everyone, and collectively we can make a difference.
Ella, London,
Nice comparison with religion. At the end of the day, religions ALWAYS get hijacked by alpha-male types with power problems.
mount, dorset, gb
I think if we take a reductionist view at the world, global warming exists, and that's as far as I need to go with my argument. The evidence is overwhelming. Bellamy is not a climatologist, he studies plants, thus rendering his "scientific" view of this situation null and void. It alarms me that we still live in a day and age where people question such extensive scientific research and the facts that it has given us.
It's not fundamentalism, it's common sense. Wake up people!
Scott Rhodes, Birmingham, Uhited Kingdom
The Great Global Warming Swindle, British documentary - find it on DVD.
Thatcher has a lot to answer for!
TG, christchurch, NZ
"What amuses me, wryly, is how this new religion is following in the path of all traditional ones in its impact on women. Climate change is indeed a feminist issue. Who will be the victims of the eco-smug; of this pious gospel of make-do-and-mend? Why, women - who will have to forgo their washing machines and their dish washers, carry supermarket shopping on the bus, and return to the horror of reuseable nappies."
surely this is scraping the barrel for arguments a little bit! My partner does all of the above chores while I am the full-time worker. there's no point claiming these unfashionale and smelly ecowarriors are plotting to reverse the lsat half century of social progress. as for the rest of the article, it comes accross as so spoilt that i sincerely hope it's more tongue in cheek than i thought.
leona, canberra, au
I can't understand the idea that the changes to our economy and lifestyles that are required by climate change are bad. Even if climate change wasn't happening, most of them would still be desirable.
More fuel efficient transportation is bad because... ? (It'll save us money)
Better air quality is bad because... ? (Are you or your children asthmatic...?)
Recycling is bad because... ? (Our resources are going to run out with or without climate change)
Renewable power is bad because... ? (Google has invested $100M in making renewable power cheaper than coal. I think they get a return on that investment)
Electric cars are bad because... ? (electric cars are already achieving better performance than ICE driven vehicles)
Also, why does the author consider hemp clothing to be more environmentally friendly than, say, clothing made from organic cotton, linen or leather? Or is the problem just that she loves cheapo polyester?
The "oh look, but it's been cold" argument is simply pathetic
Rob Chant, Cambridge, UK
I dont know about wearing the stuff - but If the smoking of hemp was allowed more widely the rate of global expansion would be halted almost overnight due to the effects of mass stonedness - think about it people - as an ex-stoner myself I know that nothing effects productivity like smoking hemp :-)
Mark, Clapham, London, UK
while i agree with the general sentiment of the article...
...i would like to say that hemp is a great material. To see the many uses for hemp - visit the Hemp Hotel in Amsterdam - where you can sleep on a bed - where the mattress covering is woven hemp, stuffed with hemp, the bed linen is woven hemp... as are the curtains... the shampoo, toilet paper, soap - even the beer and vodka, and muffins available in the bar have hemp as an ingredient. The one thing they dont do - is sell Cannabis.
Industrial hemp has no use for smoking - indeed you would need to smoke several acres of hemp plant to get high...
the Centre for Alternative Energy did build a building for research using baled hemp, this along with straw bales makes excellent building material - super insulated, and very cheap building material.
Mark, Bacup, Lancashire
Well done Melanie! At last someone clearly speaks out about climate change. It's time journalists added their significant expertise to this debate. Let's here more of you say phooey to these climate scientists! Never mind that the overwhelming majority of them, using proper scientific methodologies, agree that global warming is happening. Let's all look out the window at the weather today and make a far more rational assessment. And please stand up for our inalienable rights to waste resources on useless things, go on holiday as many times as we want, drive the biggest most ridiculous cars and wear silly, shiny underwear. It's these values that manke Britain the wonderful place it is. Down with science! Long live Melanie!
Ricky, Bakewell, UK
There are over 6 billion on this planet.Over half live in mud huts. It was not me that campaigned for equality, but that is what you are going to get.
Climate change is an irrelevance. Over population is not.
Work things out. 4.5 billion years to reach 2 billion in 1900
3.5 billion in 1968. 6 billion in 2000. It is exponential, and unstoppable.
ged, manchester,
I believe the vast majority who say climate change is happening. What does concern me about the whole debate, though, is how panic over ecological issues seem to be displacing concern about social issues that we can change now - such as abuse, torture in other countries or even unfair working conditions here. I am bothered about the way the word 'ethical' has subtly had its meaning changed to mean 'eco-friendly' instead of 'fair to other people'. For this reason, I was dismayed when Al Gore and the IPCC got the Nobel Peace Prize. They should have their own ecological Nobel Prize. The Peace Prize should go to those who fight human injustice - it should have been awarded posthumously to Anna Politkovskaya.
K John, London, UK
As you say, it's all cobblers. At least it keeps people happy because they can 'save the planet' (amazing conceit!) by buying stuff. What a comforting, if deluded, thought - you can buy hemp undies AND feel smug AND kid yourself you are saving the planet! I am pleased to see some common sense in The Times, because it had joined the Guardian and the Independent among the doomsters, so it's nice to know that there are at least some sensible people working there. And as Ben D points out, we can all drive Toyota Priuses and it won't make a blind bit of difference - partly because Priuses actually have a pretty bad carbon footprint (the factory is very CO2-intensive) and partly because cars only produce 15% of man-made CO2 anyway. And if we all scrapped our cars and took the bus, the 15% from the cars would disappear, but the number of buses would of course have to shoot up, so the net decrease could only be of the order of 10%. And that's going to save the planet? I don't think so...
Alan, Exeter, UK
I'd back David Bellamy any day against these eco findamentalists. Well said Melanie - climate change is a theory put about by men to force women back to the kitchen. How about men learning the make do and mend side of things. I can't imagine many men would be willing to do the washing by hand - let alone the washing up. As one person at least has already said - I presume it was the woolly mammoths and the dinosaurs who were flying planes and driving cars which affected our climate in the past. The earth has had ice ages and hot periods before now - even before human beings were invented. Eco warriors just want everyone to live in mud huts with no mod cons, so that they won't feel so out of place. I am just so fed up with having climate change rammed down my throat and it's about time someone remembered that it used to be possible to grow oranges in this country - it definitely isn't now!
JW, Boston, UK
Come now, I haven't seen such childishness in ages. Half of you should be ashamed, you make your critical reading teachers weep.
Global Warming is real: Fact. The world has warmed ~0.6C in the past century
This will cause calamity: Myth. There is little to no evidence that this will cause the end of the world in any concievable fashion. Some will benefit and some will not. However, the IPCC (a POLITICAL association, not a scientific one) has declared that this will be overwhelmingly negative. Several authors have objected to concensus, and more than one had to have their name removed from the final report.
Massive carbon reduction will cause calamity: Fact. Making significant carbon reductions is going to be tremendously painful on our lifestyles. Replacing all cars and trucks with Toyota Priuses wouldn't make a dent in the carbon emissions. Eliminating all air travel would have a near-negligible effect. The descriptions above are not inaccurate as to the magnitude of cuts.
Ben D, Houston, Tx, America
If everyone on this planet had the same lifestyle as Melanie Reid it would need 3+earth size planets. Someone is paying for your lifestyle.
I was going to say about Prescott placing people of lowly birth and little education in high office must cause strains. All power corrupts, politicians, pop stars journalists. Power must be tempered with mercy.
I worked for a terrible man who destroyed people, when shop stewards complained he said I don't know why they have trade unions. They have unions because of bosses like you. Then the unions became corrupt and had to be destroyed. This company gave everyone a pint of milk to stop bladder cancer. the plant was rebuilt no need he said. I wont tell you what he died of and how he suffered. The milk was a sop, but I think if everyone sat down at the same time to drink a pint of milk, it might calm people down.
Born in the 30s we had the best childhood, best driving, best holidays, and best care. From now on things can only get worse.
ged, manchester,
I applaud you for a welcome antidote to all the global warming hysteria that renders any of us who question the accuracy and consistency of eco claims as heretics.
Such claims are all too often founded on shallow research and billions of pounds’ worth of agenda-setting. These accounts (such as the reduction in polar bear numbers, or the recent controversy over ‘Warming Island’) are the result of manipulation of data that is poor to begin with, and systematically ignores all historical considerations. This achieves nothing but fear-mongering and an atmosphere of intolerance that is becoming more and more palpable.
Thank you for proving there are still some out there who are prepared to stand up to the ‘eco-smug’!
Katherine Embiricos, London,
The eco fundamentalists are the new puritans for our age, people who suspect that someone somewhere might be having a good time.
The facts of global warming have never stacked up however much they howl down people who point this out. This is why the language was subtly altered to climate change. But the climate has always changed. It is what climates do.
The media is at least partly responsible because they buy into this nonsense of gloom and doom. The BBC is a particularly egregious purveyor of the myths and exagerration but it is not alone.
It's interesting that whenever we have an incident of unusual weather it is always instantly blamed on climate change, last year's floods for instance until an inconvenient report concluded it was nothing to with global warming but was just weather. Yet when temperatures drop this is always dismissed as being an aberration.
For ten years now temperatures have stayed the same or dropped. The hot air is coming from the eco maniacs.
Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK
Recycling is a separate issue from climate change - there really is only a limited of amount of space left in land fill sites to cram in all of the rubbish we throw away.
Ignore the eco-nutters regarding your carbon emissions if you like... but recycling is worthwhile for the good of the island we live on.
Andrew, London,
The one point I'd make is as follows: Where is the harm in doing these things?
Noone is forcing you to choose to wear hemp lingerie, or buy sandals made of recycled tyres. Here in the USA, noone is forcing anyone to trade your V8 SUV in for a Prius. The problem that exists is that today THESE THINGS are unavailable- these programs which reduce the harm that we humans can do to our planet are mostly unavailable. Noone is asking you to give up your way of living. We're merely trying to develop the ability to live in a lower- or non-impactful manner to this planet.
When we started clear-cutting and strip mining, we said "Hey, the world's so big, it'll never matter." Now, we have to reserve state parks where people can enjoy nature. When we first dumped into the oceans, we said "Hey, they're so big, it'll never matter." Now, people are afraid to feed their children tuna because of the mercury levels, and dumping into oceans is illegal. What will it take to outlaw atmospheric dumping??
Dan, Grapevine, Texas, USA
To suggest that all environmentalists are eco-alarmists who exist “to justify their job titles…. and pay their mortgages†is unfair and unfounded. Are you suggesting that the Nobel committee are part of this conspiracy? If the global warming is a fantasy cooked up by vested interests, why aren’t the big oil companies (with their monetary might) not being able to challenge them with the ‘facts’? On the contrary, TV commercials by Shell appear to be sympathetic to the cause of ‘saving the world’! What you have not taken into account are the two emerging economies of China and India with a combined population of 2.5 billion. If they were to achieve the living standards anywhere near what we enjoy in the west, it would almost quadruple the emissions to the atmosphere. Also, just as one swallow does not make a spring, one cold winter in Canada and Scotland does not mean the polar icecaps are not melting. The fact that they are melting can be seen by satellites from the space.
Vejain, London, UK
Finally - somebody speaking some sense about the whole eco-debate!
I'd like to be more 'Environmentally Friendly' but when its being constantly rammed down my throat, and is clearly a means for a lot of people to make money/tax us into oblivion then I for one refuse to change in anything I do!
We need to start standing up to all these Eco-fundamentalists and restore the balance before they destroy our modern way of life!
Luke Clevely, Wootton Bassett, UK
Time and time again I have tried to ask the question - "what cars and planes and other man made pollution caused the 'global warming' to end of the last ice age millenia ago?". Time and time again I have been met by complete silence by so called 'global warming eco warriors'. The reason? Because man made global warming is a complete myth. All we are facing is a totally natural solar cycle that we can do nothing about.
Consequently I absolutely refuse to recycle and I take as many planes as I can possibly afford. I drive a nice and expensive car and use it at every available opportunity.
So well said Melanie.
Jay, London,
Oh dear, are there still people out there who believe global warming is some kind of hoax, a conspiracy created by governments to make us pay more tax. It is arrogant beyond belief that people think they know more than the 99.9% of climate scientists that say that global warming is real.
The reality of the situation is that the planet can no longer sustain our consumptive lifestyles. That is a fact. Environmentalists are simply telling us how it is and showing the way forward if we are to have a future on this planet. How can we possibly justify our unsustainable, throw-away lifestyles when it means that we deny an environment fit for habitation to future generations or to the other species that share our planet whose numbers are falling dramatically as each year passes?
Anyhow, why does Melanie assume that a sustainable lifestyle has to be boring and joyless. There is more to life than shopping and Hollywood. Come on open your eyes people!
Catherine Jenkins, Woking, Surrey
Looks like this article's touched a raw nerve with some of the more sensitive eco-loons.
Good work, more please.
ps global temperatures HAVE gone down over the last ten years. Global warming, huh?
Steve Norton, Rotherham, UK
The idea of a scientific orthodoxy crushing alternate views presented here is quite neatly paralleled here in a film called, "Expelled: No intelligence allowed" on the subject of evolution vs. intelligent design. There proponents of ID are presented as being shut out of the 'debate' because they disagree with 'big science' and the evolutionary biologists need to prove the worth of their jobs, like the climate scientists here.
It's a nice conspiracy theory, but surely (in both cases), the unorthodox have a more personal agenda - for ID that their belief systems don't give an accurate picture of the world, and for global warming that, well, their belief systems don't give an accurate picture of the world and they might have some personal responsibility to curb their own consumption.
But of course as an engineer working in sustainability I would say that wouldn't I?
Pete, London,
The plaintive tones of those who thoroughly enjoyed post-war rationing and austerity had just about faded away and there was a brief horizon in which you Brits had the chance to throw off your cloak of misery and love of the ugly and dingy. But you love the wretchedness - spam, shortages, scrimping. Now here's another chance to wallow in bittersweet morass of self-denial. Ahhhhhh, that's better!
Shirley, London,
Melanie,
You're not supposed to smoke the lingerie, but wear it. I can see, though, that it could inspire you to write some funny stuff about us eco-creeps.
Well, ta-ta, off to a button-sewing party with some mates.
Denny, bridgeham,
Of course it is a man-made hoax. I have studied environmental geotechnics at an advanced level and find the smug ignorance of these eco-warriors very amusing. They just keep repeating half facts and of course the government is all too ready to jump on the bandwagon for one reason only: TAX. Eco has become a new marketing gimmick used to target the uninformed. Whatever happened to the huge hole in the Ozone layer? Not taxable I guess.
Hemp clothing? Give us a break. Will they be classified as drugs after people start burning and inhaling them?
Cassandra Brown, London,
A refreshing viewpoint, well put! I watched a Green MP on Andrew Marr's prog this Sunday, reviewing a newspaper article about a shoreloine in southern England neednig protection from rising sea-levels, & a campaign by an army officer to get things moving, & the Green MP blurts out that this is so impotant "now that Climate Change is starting to really bite"! The fact that southern England has been sinking since the end of the last Ice-Age, & Scotland has been rising with the weight of billions of tonnes of ice being removed, seems to have slipped past the scientific/geological fact file in the Green memory banks. Much easier & simpler for their tiny brains to blame mankind. Oh how silly it all is when real science gets hi-jacked by loony Greens for politcal control. I suggest that all Greens hold their breaths permanently to reduce their CO2 output!
Alan, Exeter,
Eco-fundamentalism is rightly defined as a religion, and the point about religions is that they should never be compulsory.
Nature has got it wrong on several occasions - the Spanish Flu just after world war one was natural and killed over 20 million people. Let's have a little more common sense and a little less devout acceptance of nature.
Kevin Elliott, Oxford, UK
The bottom line is that the more populous the world becomes and the higher the standard of living, the more important it becomes to control the world's population.
There is no way the present population can enjoy life and preserve the environment. Life will be very restrictive - no cars, no flying, overcrowded cities etc:
Land shortage is causing horrible reactions in places like Kenys, Zimbabwi etc:
William, London, UK
I should have thought silk lingerie was perfectly environmentally friendly.
Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK
The worst of the eco-brigade are indeed misanthropic luddites who'd like to take us back to a life of mud rickets and hypothermia, but I really don't see what's so awful about turning your computer off.
Hemp pants on the other hand...
Neville Walker, London,
As a Greenish author I enjoyed this a lot - thanks, Melanie. Why shouldn't we have a chuckle at the Puritanical excesses of our crunchy brothers and sisters? There are some daft ideas out there, and some horribly self-righteous pundits. Many people struggle with the new economy of carbon, and women are right to be wary of anyone advocating a return to the simple life of the past.
But this tirade is a bit out of date. This isn't the 70s any more. Greens are becoming quite stylish these days. They're designing interesting stuff and launching funky businesses and enjoying themselves on the festival circuit. And they have something the old-fashioned Greens tended to lack: a sense of humour.
So keep us laughing, Melanie, we're with you all the way
James Rssell, Bristol,
how can anyone not know how to sew a button on? Honestly melanie, are you trying to say that if a button falls off your coat you just throw it away? I think The Times must pay you too much!!
hannah, Sheffield,
Thus may end Western civilisation, as it finally succumbs to ecochondria and enviro-guilt, decaying into austere Third World-dom, and content merely to subsist, at the mercy of the elements. Perhaps, in future decades, wealthy Asian tourists will wander among our eco-hamlets, amused and revolted in equal measure by our treadle pumps and compost toilets. They may find it a moving experience to witness the faded grandeur that once was Europe and the West, a sobering testament to the impermanence of all things.
Alex Cull, London, UK
This is a typical example of extreme "black and white" selectivity, using the example of a tiny minority of those with extreme views to attack the reasonable middle-of-the road majority.
For a few garments, (jeans, shirts) hemp is a lot better, nicer than cotton, but I certainly prefer silk or cotton lingerie. Cotton requires massive amounts of pesticide and is the subject of all sorts of protectionist support from the US industry, to the detriment of many other poorer countries. Hemp is almost a weed that grows anywhere but because of the hysteria associated with one distant variety that links it to cannabis use, hemp is a totally underexploited resource.
I for one would gladly buy hemp jeans if I could get them easily, and I suspect most of us would.
RS
Richard, Altendorf, Switzerland
"How do they know, except by the wildest guesstimate, that British cars emitted 69.9 million tonnes of CO2 last year?"
I've no idea if this is right, but would think that the amount of petrol & diesel purchased & used in a year is found from government statistics & is probably accurate to 99.99%
ken, Liverpool,
Oh dear how old are you? 23?
Have you ever left London? You do realize that there is more to life on this planet than you're next Gucci handbag?
S Morton, Praha, Czech Rep.
Methane free cows ! - All those pulses that Veggies eat- baked beans will soon be licensed. A fart free world - Vote Green - save a planet!
wills, soton, uk
Sewing on a button is not slave labour. I don't think you know the meaning of the words 'slave labour'. Sewing on a button means rescuing a loved item of clothing so you don't have to waste money on replacing it. I have also darned socks because they were my favourites and darned expensive, too!
The ability to do just a bit of sewing means you save money - money which you could spend on other things, thus stretching your financial resources.
Tina, Dusseldorf, Germany
A good article, certainly an addition to the debate about global warming, but a bit wide of the mark on sewing on buttons. For such a simple procedure to be eschewed because it is promoted by some loony Youtube posting is a step too far. When a button comes off any article of clothing, I sew it on myself - my mother taught me how to do it . The most onerous part of the rask is finding the correct colour thread, and threading it.
Darning socks is another matter. By the time my socks are ready for darning, it would require such an amount of thread that it would be both uneconomical and unecofriendly - the blessing of durable synthetic textiles!
Bill Q, Derby,
There is of course a conspiracy ; )
The global warming is real enought ,
but to stick it to the human CO2 is drawing a long bow ,as for the apocalyptic scenarios ,
in the past warm periods have been associated with luxuriant vegetation growth and abundant rains , Siberia and Canada would benefit considerably , so would the sahel.
many countries would be better , some would be worst off
why the theories of man made disasters are given such official drum beat ,without it , warming would be a marginal theory at the far edge of Academia but for a staggering press campaign
Here is my two cents worth , there is an energy crisis coming
the poor countries will be devastated as usual , but they are used to misery
For the rich " West " tightening the belts with no hope of improvement can lead to unrest ,a long recession is pretty hard to manage with speeches and committees of
inquiry ,
the global warming is the alibi to go back to the fifties and the women to the kitchen
jeannick, Sydney, australia
global warming is a tax con dreamed up by the NWO. esteemed scientists across the world have been hammmered for not following the official lines. it is a total joke aimed at relieving us of more of our hard earned money and putting more profit and power in the hands of the privileged few.
i do believe it is good to be conscious of the well being of the planet though and our own personal well being. i hate waste. so much gets thrown on to tips that could benefit others elsewhere in the world. i buy fresh food on a daily basis and waste nothing. my dogs eat the leftovers.
i buy solid wood furniture, old pieces that will never need replacing. i grow my own veg in my garden (the best tasting!). i walk when i can like i had to when i was a kid. these are things that are deemed uncool these days but in the past they were part of our everyday life. better than jumping in the motor for a packet of veg riddled with pesticide and sitting at a plastic table wondering why i bothered cooking it.
dave jones, manchester,
Very bizarre article. You challenge scientifically validated claims in a playground argument: it can't be true because I don't believe it. And then you somehow manage to turn the green movement into an anti-feminist movement without even the slightest hint of logical connection. Tell me: what makes you assume that it was women watching the YouTube videos? That seems like a prejudicial leap to me.
Whether you believe the evidence for global warming or not, the simple fact is that hydrocarbons are running out, and the western, exciting lifestyle cannot be supported by any other current technology. Keep living the profligate way you do, by all means, but don't expect your children to be able to do so.
Martin, Bristol,
If you want to see why temperatures records haven't been broken, look up La Nina. Wait till El Nino (probably around 2010) before seriously questioning global warming.
Meanwhile, look to Science and Engineering to help out. Nuclear power, off-shore wind, solar power in hot countries, micro-generation, biofuels from algae, electric vehicles - the answers are there. And don't forget GM foods to alleviate food shortages.
Alex, Tunbridge Wells,
Things are a bit rough in your house, Melanie. At my place my husband sews his own buttons on, or at very least fastens his own safety pins.
If yours isn't up to it, perhaps you could sit him down before one of those YouTube tutorials. Contrary to the beliefs of some young women, men are generally quite bright and can turn their hands to many simple tasks about the home.
Like Paul, I detect a little fudging in some of your assertions. Full dishwashers and washing machines require less energy and water than their manual equivalents and are recommended by most environmental agencies as a good choice. And the death of nylon knickers may mean a return to sane prices for their silk equivalents, a consequence devoutly to be wished.
Emma, Sydney, Australia
But Paul in Birmingham, if we are to believe that CO2 levels are higher than they have ever been – tell us why are we in the midst of the coldest spring weather in the history of climate records here in Western Canada.
And believe me Paul, when a Canadian says it's cold, you can take it as gospel. The weather has been a positive pain in the butt, with no sign of let-up.
Peter, Vancouver, Canada
Eco-alarmism is akin to religious radical fundamentalism and old fashioned communism. These attitudes are based on a fear of the new, of the future and of modernity. We all like some degree of familiarity and "community" as these help us create and maintain our identity. We all resent to some degree the relentless intrusion of marketing into all aspects of our lives and the way it plays on some of the baser human characteristics - greed, envy, lust. We all worry a bit about what the future holds. Eco-alarmism neatly addresses all of these for some people. Personally, I still have greater faith in Adam Smith's classic work "The Wealth of Nations" than I do in Al Gore. Change is difficult to handle but I'd sooner count the benefits and trust an open and fair market mechanism to find solutions than rely on the doctrinaire prescriptions of others.
John Stobart, Oakham, Rutland, UK
Why fight the Talebans when we have so many here in the West. In fact, let's trade our eco-Talebans for the other guys, how could they possibly be worse!
David, Amstelveen, Netherlands
Too late these loonies are dictating policy on every aspect of our lives. Just look at the rubbish pumped out by the anti smoking brigade. Its a pity we dont have educated people in government who can think for themselves and tell these zealots to go out and find a proper job.
Cromwell, Leeds, England
Darning a sock or sewing on a button slave labour? Come on. Agree about the new Puritanism and eco-fascism - but the answer is simple, viz., don't vote Green at elections and just ignore these people insofar as labour saving devices are concerned. Increase in prices of fuel will diminish travel. But I still think that that shouldn't stop us from sewing on buttons when they come off. And hey, this guy sews on the buttons on his shirts - jackets/blazers are different; they go to a tailor who happens to be a male.
Ian Burgess, Bristol,
Great stuff - an article which neatly expands on the central tenet of puitanism. This, as someone wiser than me once said, is the suspicion that someone, somewhere might be having fun.
James , Canberra, Australia.
Easy solution: build nuclear power stations. Lots of electricity and no carbon emissions.
Plus no dependence on Arab and Russian oil.
Mark, Melbourne, Australia
I hold no brief for the environmentalists - in fact I agree with most of the article, but I guess figures for UK gross petrol and diesel sales are readily enough available - on the bases that what goes in at one end of the engine must come out the other and that a given mass of petrol produces an straightforwardly calculable mass of CO2, I should have thought that one of Ms Reid's questions was easily enough answerable.
Paul, Birmingham, UK
Well said Melanie! It's about time more people with a forum like the Times used it to try to restore the balance before the eco-fundamentalists destroy all the comforts of modern life that distinguishes us from our predecessors. Ireland, too, is slowly going down the tubes thanks to our Green Party being allowed to punch way above their weight in Government. It is time for the voice of reason to be heard - keep it up!
Tom, Dublin, Ireland
And what do women do with the time that all those labour saving devices free up for them, for the most part? Watch reality TV and soap operas, as far as I can tell from female colleagues and my own friends.
Me, I can darn a sock, sew on a button, cook pretty much anything from scratch, manage my own DIY and decorating, hang my clothes on the line to dry, grow my own veg and make my own wine. I don't see much in the way of TV, but its funny, I seem a lot happier than the women I know who throw a shirt away when the button falls off.
If the eco-worriers make a few more people realise that consuming endlessly and watching TV do not make for a healthy mind and spirit, then I for one will think it worthwhile, the truth or otherwise of global warming notwithstanding.
elrohana, Leeds, UK