Draconian Measures to save the World
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I was going to provide a link but I guess you have all heard the latest on climate change and the fact we have only 20 years to take drastic action before we reach a point of no return.
For myself I couldn't give a damn (I'll be dead) but I am sick to think of my grandchildren dealing with this, as we all should feel.
So, my question is this: What draconian measures would you take to tackle this problem if you ruled the world and what you said became law.
I will tell you the two biggies I would enforce when I have seen if anyone has ideas of their own.
Remember these are draconian measures not just do your recycling.
I am really sorry no one felt this topic important because in 20 years time everyone will wish they had done more. I make no apologies for bumping this myself but if no one wishes to comment that is fine I will tell you anyway what measures I would take if we are truly invested in saving the planet.
- A two child limit throughout the world
- No household allowed more than two cars
- Huge lorries congesting and polluting our roads should be swapped for the old fashioned method of barges on our rivers. Those doing community service being used to make the canals fit for use.
I know of 6 young people who have said they will not have any children at all as their major contribution. Sadly the irresponsible far outweigh the responsible.
Still the former continue to not care, they don't recycle, they don't take any steps to help others or the planet.
As I have often said, it sometimes seems only the poor are expected to take action. The rich will continue to waste energy, jet around the world, use far more resources, drive gas guzzlers, the list is endless.
But hey ho, I am fast approaching a couldn't care less attitude as I feel I am swimming against the tide, and as I said why should I care, I will be dead when the proverbial finally hits the fan.
AlisonBayne yes, I would have liked to be more draconian on that one but I was thinking that if one of the adults in the household was a fireman, doctor, some sort of emergency worker, another member of the household might be using the car. But I guess they could have some sort of dispensation.
not sure I agree with point 3 though. we dont have canals down here. So called huge lorries don't cause that much more pollution than any other road transport. They need to encourage operators to buy newer hydrogen fuel cell trucks and also to cut down on general car use. Of course this wont happen as people value their cars too much. Cutting back on peoples car use is never going to be a vote winner for anyone.
didbygraham exactly, that's why I phrased my topic as I did.....draconian measures and if your word was law, so of course it was merely what could and should be done if people are really invested in saving the planet. But of course only a small minority care about the future for their grandchildren. It is also why stern measures will never be put in p!ace, no party who put them in their manifesto would get votes, otherwise the green party would be in government.
Seems to align with Communist China ideology.
People who don't drive think it's easy for folks who actually drive to only have one vehicle per house. Regardless if someone uses his/her car to drive to work, buy food/water, transport whatever from one place to another, or travel to another location.
You want to live like that, that's your decision.
Sorry only just seen your chat 
I agree with your viewpoint
1.Tackle pollution,including food packaging eco friendly,biodegradable.Apply it to all sectors,takeaway,supermarkets.Invest in cleaning up the environment,oceans being cleaned of microplastics,needs to be heavily funded.
2.Encourage people to grow their own foods,...stop fast fashion,most end up in landfill.Build electronics to last,more reliable.Stop throw away attitude.
Yesterday I was looking out my window when I saw a person walking down the street and throwing a soda can over a wall. This makes me angry to the point of thinking about leaving the country (I mean it). It's a brand new area, all the buildings are new and everything is very clean, so you can't say there's a subconscious mind to see rubbish lying around and do it anyway. It makes me wonder what kind of human beings we have walking the streets and throwing rubbish over other people's walls.
If this person cannot carry a can of soda to the nearest bin (or to her house), I prefer not to imagine how she lives every day, what she does with her household rubbish and how much to worry about all the packaging he buys.
nina090976 and kikogpe thanks so much for your comments. I agree with your points 100% nina, the oceans are a great worry especially for the poor marine life that are ingesting plastic particles and even dying after being trapped in bits of plastic.
So many folk have paving/patios over their gardens these days which not only reduces food growing capacity but does not allow the rain to soak away as readily. I am guilty of this one but as I am getting on and live alone I was finding the garden far too much to handle and bending down was a killer. Next year I am going to have lots of pots around the edges and grow tomatoes and other things that are happy in pots.
I live in a drab area k, a bit of a concrete jungle but it is quiet and friendly with no trouble or hassle since living here the last 15 years. However the roadside verges are very scruffy and every day I see litter outside, on and around my drive. I always pick up and put in my own rubbish/recycling but like you it makes me spitting mad. Although emigrating isn't an option! Some people seem never to have left the neanderthal age.
The Neanderthal's have more or less gone extinct, and now a lot use it as an insult. Smh.
If only they'd knew they would be mocked and insulted by humans.
I would ban the use of plastic of every kind.
I would ban all imported food.
On a related note, our local council are just in the process of installing five ‘robot trees’ in the city. Apparantly, they cost €350,000 per year to run. They are a housed air purifying system that are clad in moss.
Ban imported food? What does the U.K. grow?
Ham from U.K. tastes horrible, and so's the smell. Plus, the U.K.'s best known for its fish and chips which I can't stand and the British breakfast is just the perfect method to become obese.
That said, I love U.K., but the food is garbage. That's why it needs to be imported from countries which actually know to take care of it.
PhilipMarc taste is relative!
We were talking draconian measures. Why import food when local produce is available.
I don't know what draconian measures I would put in and I know you have said it isn't about us just doing recycling but the area where we have moved to we have 4 different recycling bins and the rubbish bin gets emptied every 3 weeks, so it is in a way forcing people to recycle. We have always recycled so it actually makes it easier for us to recycle.
I think something that needs to happen is that the sustainable products which are designed to help the environment need to be cheaper so that more people can afford them and that packing for current products needs to be changed so there is less plastic and eventually no plastic or that the plastic can be recycled as a lot of plastic just now can't be recycled.
Sorry, Lynibis This is the first time I've seen this topic, it must've been pushed a long way down the list by the time I looked. My contribution isn't draconian so much as necessary. It's about time desalination plants found an alternative to the waste 'brine' which is dumped into the sea. I've always been in favour of desalination but they're not as 'life friendly' as people think. If they keep dumping the toxic chemicals and the excess brine then the marine life of our oceans is under serious threat. If we don't look after the bees and the seas then we are finished. 
I agree that the canals should be brought back into use.
I think you must know more about this than I do so I am really glad you have brought it to our attention.
They say we have/will have a water shortage problem so turning sea water into water we can all use is an urgent need, is this what you meant? Surely they can dry the waste, purify into salt? Sorry to be ignorant but it proves the point we should all be self educating ourselves about these things.
Lynibis Yes, we will always have a fresh water problem in countries that have little so I've always believed that, although these plants are incredibly expensive to set up and run, we should've been investing more into a solution.
Perhaps our need for fresh water has turned a blind eye to the resulting industrial effluent that is pumped back into the sea. It sinks to the bottom of the oceans, messing with the oxygen levels and poisoning the ecosystems. I'm no expert but I'm concerned that the resulting damage isn't being reported. It seems to be one more thing that humans have created to solve a problem with little conscience for the negatives.
Get rid of plastic packaging - since when did a cucumber grow in a plastic wrapper! and bring back paper bags for loose fruit/veg.
Put a return deposit on all fizzy drink containers.
Litter pickers/road sweepers could be those signed on doing a small number of hours a week, gives them hope and exercise and reduces time spent indoors using electricity.
Fantastic. I have always felt those on benefits (if able bodied) should put something back into society for what they receive. After all others are working hard to keep themselves and those on benefits. Divide their benefit by minimum wage and work that amount of hours so the do gooders don't start complaining about exploitation.
Those who are on community service should also do more.
The trouble is, most people wouldn't know where to start. If someone put a leaflet through my door asking me to help with things like canal clearing, tidying the streets, cutting back hedgerows etc I would be more than happy to join in. This is what councils should be doing, getting folk motivated to join groups who care.
Lynibis They should physically turn up at 'job centre' weekly/fortnightly and be assigned a job and show they are capable rather than the money magically appearing from the magic money tree.
I would bring forward the pledge to be net zero by 2030 instead of 2050 but sadly it would mean the poor would get shafted.
Truthfully I don't think much will happen as there is too much greed and corruption and leading by example from world leaders and powerful people doesn't exist.
Billionaires/millionaires flying about on corporate jets with 1 or 2 people on board, rather large company sending loads of products to landfills, world leader flying ( yes flying ) from London to Cornwall to talk about climate change, ex orange president saying climate change and global warming doesn't exist and manufacturing medicine instead of growing your own.
Everyone needs to be involved and on board with one rule one and one rule for another gone but sadly I don't see it happening.
You couldn't be more right, greed runs the world and people are loathe to give up their riches. Their attitude is probably let the grandkids sort it out, not my problem!
I would probably ban large bottles of drink like Cola's and instead replace them with concentrates. I just don't see the point of mainly transporting water about when it comes through pipes to every home. Even beers could come in a form where you add half water to them. I just feel a bit of innovation here could save millions of tons of un-necessary haulage.
I would personally limit the benefit system to one child only over a lifetime but would not in anyway prevent people having more children at their own expense but I would also not support mothers etc who expect workplaces to change for them. If a job is 9 to 5 that is the job and if you can't do that then don't apply for it. I totally accept that disabled etc who have no choices should be catered for but not those who make their own choices. Ultimately we need to make it more difficult for people to have children not easier.
I think all shops pretty much should have secure bicycle parking but more limited paid car parking. We need to downsize cars so that most cars are single person vehicles which is the most common journey.
The weight of large electric SUV's wears out road surfaces much faster than conventional cars. This is not a good move for the environment we also need smaller cars.
Inefficient products should be taxed more highly, performance cars, performance computers, performance motorbikes etc.
Shops should be expected to sell secondhand and refurbished goods and the tax system should incentivise this.
Seeds and products to assist growing your own food should be VAT free or even subsidised.
As much land as possible should be utilised to grow our own crops to feed this country. Products sold within a short range of where they are grown should have financial benefits i.e. supermarkets that try to sell food from within 20 miles of that store.
People should have insurance and tax charged by distance. I.e. insurance for every 2,000 miles rather than annually so people who drive a lot pay a lot more not just the fuel. If I only drive 1,000 miles a year my insurance could last 3 years. Others may be paying every 2 months.
Go back to the old rates system where people who live in huge homes pay a lot more tax than people who live in small flats.
Have a buddy scheme where elderly people have a direct person in their community to help them when they don't have their own relatives. It would be a neighbour nearby who gets a small amount of compensation by the state to help them for minor problems. Maybe 3 hours a week paid at the minimum wage to assist with shopping, basic repairs and tasks etc. The elderly person could nominate someone who would have to accept. This would be a much simpler and less complicated and high cost approach than normal welfare channels. You could only be a buddy to one person or couple at a time. Keeping the people local to each other would be very good for the environment.
World change starts with self change.We all need to be a little less selfish and a lot kinder to others. And over consumption.Sometimes less is more.Oh and plant a tree..everyone should plant a tree or grow a dinner
"Selfish this, selfish that."
People these days have overused that word so much that they don't know it's value or definition anymore. It's like calling someone racist. Sigh.
PhilipMarc I can't account for others P but I mean that its generally good to take the I out of life .It's not all about Me its about how we behave in and around others surely.
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