High Tide For Green?
Alice Thomson, writing in The Telegraph, notes the sudden cooling of British politicians for "green" issues - regardless of party. A rather large number of green tax ideas have quietly been shelved and the politicians are running for cover from irate taxpayers struggling now to make ends meet.
But the problem for the green lobby isn't that it has been overrun by “toffs”: it's the chilly economic climate that has frozen the shoots of environmentalism. Espousing the green life, with its misshapen vegetables and non-disposable nappies, is increasingly being seen as a luxury by everyone.
Only a year ago, according to MORI, 15 per cent of those polled put the environment in their top three concerns. That figure has dropped by a third to 10 per cent this month. Now that people are fighting for their own survival rather than their grandchildren's, they put crime, the economy and rising prices at the top of their list.
According to Andrew Cooper, director of the research company, Populus: “There is a direct correlation between how people perceive the economy and the importance they place on the environment. When times are tough people resent paying more to salve their conscience.” This means that fewer people are now buying organic chickens from smart supermarkets when they can pay £3.99 at Lidl. With all food prices rising, the organic market is being credit-crunched. Demand for it grew by 70 per cent from 2002 to 2007; now it has stalled, according to the consultancy Organic Monitor.
The vast new organic Whole Foods Store on Kensington High Street in London is so quiet you can hear the cheese breathe in the specially designed glass room. Meanwhile the demand for takeaway pizzas and McDonald's has risen as people find the cheapest way to eat.
Funny, now that Thomson mentions it, a lot of our politicians are being awfully quiet about those issues of late, too. But there is a political drumbeat calling for increased offshore drilling. If the Republicans are smart, they'll keep pushing on that issue hard.
Economy, Environment, Politics | Gaius Thursday, 7 August , 2008
By Mockinbird, Thursday, 7 August , 2008 @ 4:31 pm
Great post! The quick turn off of emphasis on the "green issues" due to the gas price, combined with the lifestyle hypocracy of Al Gore and Laurie David, et al, makes me equate the environmental movement to the seriousness of college girls squealing over some guy’s pet rock.
By N. O'Brain, Thursday, 7 August , 2008 @ 5:24 pm
Rich countries care about environmentalism.
By David Moelling, Friday, 8 August , 2008 @ 6:37 am
I work in the electric power business, starting out in the 70’s on the nuclear side. I’ve always thought the general publics aversion to nuclear was not very deeply held. Rather it was if they didn’t think it was necessary, why do it. Now that necessity is generally understood, the opposition fades.
Only those in the higher income brackets still feel they have to indulge such extreme greendom. They are behind the curve.
By syn, Friday, 8 August , 2008 @ 12:06 pm
I wish McCain was not an evil Greenie otherwise I would not have to drink five martinis to help me get to the voting booth to vote for our troops and their mission.
By Eric Furness, Friday, 8 August , 2008 @ 6:39 pm
Like I’ve always said, folks get hungry enough they’ll eat Panda sandwiches.