Re: UK FUEL

On Mon, 26 May 2008 17:51:47 +0100, PeterT
<peterthomas8899@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 26 May 2008 17:03:30 +0100, Scott
<spiced.porkandham@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 26 May 2008 16:38:04 +0100, PeterT
<peterthomas8899@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 26 May 2008 15:39:48 +0100, Scott
<spiced.porkandham@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 26 May 2008 14:19:05 GMT, "Jeff Gaines"
<jgaines_newsid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 26/05/2008 in message <ekdl34hmpgapk1fl1njsl1sppu39hrhcpf@xxxxxxx>
PeterT wrote:

What do you suggest I do?

You don't need to do anything. If the green brigade get their way we will
all be back in caves living off leaves in a few years.

I think that might be more likely if we do nothing actually.

I think you really need to sit back, and take a few minutes to ponder
obver the actual figures and the reason for the propaganda from both
the greem lobby and a government that is desperately short of cash

And the increase in world population, and the growth of the economies
of China and India, and the increased demand for raw materials of all
sorts especially oil, and the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere, and
the melting of the ice caps, and the rise in temperature.

I think these are questions for the experts. I cannot work out all of
that confidently. Maybe you can of course.

If you can, I would be interested to know what the total oil reserves
are, when you expect them to run out and what fuel we should use when
that happens. When you have these answers could you also give us your
predictions for changes in the polar ice caps over the next 50 years
and the consequences.

As you seem to know better than the experts ....

Me, know better than "the experts" - definitely not. However, you seem
to miss the point - which is that for the vast majority of people,
icreasing fuel dutuy, or VAT on domestic gas and electricty, will have
negligible effect on the "carbon footprint". I will still purchase the
same amount of diesel i do now as i have to travel to and from work.
It may make the dinner party set of various parts of London feel
better, but it will have little or no effect overall other than to
drive up costs to the poorest people in our society, who will be able
to shiver whilst watching indai and China increasing their "carbon
footprint". perhaps we need to be thinking about heating our homes
with electricity produced by nuclear power?

I agree with the last part. So far as price is concerned there is
what the economists call elasticity of demand, meaning that an
increase in price will have an effect on demand (unless demand is
totally inelastic). I cannot believe there are no discretionary
journeys and no situations where a price rise would pust people into
using public transport. It follows that an increase in price must
either reduce demand or reduce the increase in demand.

I take your point about needing to get to and from work. That is the
situation you are presently in. But if the price of fuel rises over
time people will take this into account in purchasing decisions about
housing, jobs they take, modes of transport and shops they use. What
I am saying is that society can adapt to changes and this is a change
we will just need to adapt to.
.