Letters

Dungeons and Dragons

I’ve just read Greening the Dragon: China’s search for a sustainable future [September 2006]. We have to keep this China thing in perspective.

I’m now teaching in Guizhou Province and could tell you much more about environmental issues here on the ground - the solar water heating on top of the accommodation blocks, the solar-powered traffic lights, the sound-activated light bulbs in the stairwells. All this, in spite of the fact that it’s one of China’s poorest provinces.

Everyone in the West seems to want to knock the one-child policy as well, because it goes against our liberal sensibilities. It has been excessively enforced on occasions, but has also delivered really significant reductions in the number of potential polluters in the coming century.

“China has, and is creating, problems. But climate change is the fault of developed countries, primarily the US which, in spite of its wealth, shows much less willingness to do anything.”

China has, and is creating, problems. But climate change is the fault of developed countries, primarily the US which, in spite of its wealth, shows much less willingness to do anything.

If the US really dealt with the issue of global warming, China would follow. If America doesn’t, why should China?
Mike Shearing, Guizhou Province, China

I’m as much in favour of positive reporting as anyone. However, to read the whole of Greening the Dragon and see only a few glossed-over references to the human rights situation in China leaves me feeling uncomfortable. As if I’ve read one of those little country supplements that come out in The Independent now and then, which I assume are designed to attract investment and tourism; but which are at least labelled ‘advertisement’.

Yes, I note that Clifford Coonan recognises that some people have protested against the Three Gorges Dam, and that the single-child policy is “notorious”. But they are little blips buried in a generally cheerful overview, when compared with, say, the Amnesty International annual report on China.

“Success in China comes at a very significant cost, and the country still has quite a way to go to learn to navigate between social discipline and massive repression.”

Part of the reason China is successful is that there is enormous political will and social discipline in what they decide to do. That comes at a very significant cost, and China still has quite a way to go to learn to navigate between ‘social discipline’ and ‘massive repression’. Given the history of human rights in that country, I would have thought that it merited at least a little side box noting that not all is for the best in this, the best of all Communist success stories.
Patti Whaley, Forum for the Future

Village virtues

Your article ‘Village People’ reflects the sort of story we have achieved in All Cannings, Wiltshire. Here, we have put a village shop in place again after a three-year gap. We even make a small surplus, which allows us to make some provision to benefit villagers (a £5 Christmas shopping voucher available to all village old age pensioners last year). It is unlikely to be sufficient to give us the security to borrow funds from institutions in the short- to medium-term, so we remain dependent on grants and fundraising.

“You may be right - village shopping could be in the van of the green movement!”

We’re also enormously dependent upon the goodwill of our villagers who give their time and energy to us - volunteer shop staff, painters, decorators, fencing specialists, electricians, marketing experts, stock advisers and general handymen. The village is, in effect, its own saviour.

Our initial temporary planning permission expires in 2008, and we are consulting with villagers on how to pursue local, sustainable and, wherever possible, green approaches to village shopping. We’re now considering a range of development options, all of which involve re-use of materials - and one even uses straw blocks.

The long and the short of it is that you may be right and village shopping could be in the van of the green movement!
Tim Moore, Wiltshire

Expensive taste

I really like the knitted chair featured in GF62, so I took a visit to the website. And it costs $6,000! Perhaps you weren’t aware of that - but, for me, this brings in a whole other dimension to just how sustainable it is.
Lynne Elvins, London

Holiday special

I compile www.saveoursnow.com and the Ski Club of Great Britain’s green resort guide, and I thought ‘Race to the bottom’  [GF62] was a truly excellent piece - and agree with the conclusions.

The only thing with Aspen is that, while the SkiCo itself is one of the world’s best, it does have an incredibly high number of private jets flying in to the local airstrip. And one of their chief execs was recently quoted in the local paper saying they might capitalise on the poor snow in the Alps by trying to attract more skiers long haul from Europe. Whistler is already doing that.

You also mention Dubai’s indoor ski area opening by 2008. That will actually be the third one; the first one opened over a year ago.
Patrick Thorne, Save Our Snow

“We saw more of the Spanish countryside on our 12-hour train journey than anyone flying to the Med would be likely to see in years.”

In a really horrid January, Green Futures has lifted my spirits and made me feel positive! I particularly liked your ‘Slow is beautiful’  article [GF62]. A couple of years ago we took a 12-hour train from Barcelona to Granada and Seville. We saw more of the Spanish countryside in that time than anyone flying to the Med would be likely to see in years. Winding through the Sierras was quite an experience - and it was exactly on time. It wasn’t expensive and we only had a week to do it. I would recommend it to anyone.
Myra Miller, by email

Insulation, insulation, insulation

Yes, Martin Wright, insulation is not iconic [‘And Another Thing’, GF62]. But it is vital, because our existing building stock won’t be replaced for another 1,500 years. I am planning to add 200mm of insulation to the outside of my home. When we do build new to the right standard, your house and mine may become exemplars.
Tony Marmont, Loughborough

Stamp it out

I was interested to read the references to Royal Mail in your last letters page [GF61, ‘Letters’]. You may be interested to know that we were recently sent marketing material by Royal Mail in the form of large several blank, white card sheets, representing different sized window envelopes to promote marketing opportunities via the company. I presume it was virgin paper, as there was no reference to recycled content or to the Forest Stewardship Council.

I suppose someone came up with this idea as a good marketing strategy, but for those who are genuinely concerned about resources and environmental issues it does make us wonder how serious Royal Mail is regarding its commitment.
Sally Hall, by email

Electric emissions

‘Ten of the best… green cars’ [GF61] was a good read. I think electric cars are great. But wasn’t your ‘no emissions’ tag perhaps a bit simplistic? You wrote that “if your power source is renewable, they’re the closest to guilt-free motoring”. But how much CO2 would 10,000 miles of electric motoring create from a conventional non-renewable source of power?
Jason Ball, by email

Green Futures welcomes letters for publication. Please mark your letters ‘for publication’, and send to:
 letters@greenfutures.org.uk; Green Futures (Letters), Forum for the Future, Overseas House, 19-23 Ironmonger Row, London, EC1V 3QN

9 March 2007