SICK of this environmental crap.

[preiffer]

Sorry all, but I can't hold back any further after reading this article.

For clarity, I don't want to get into the 'airplanes are bad' argument, or the 'you're single-handedly ruining the earth' slagging match. HOWEVER, after seeing airline taxes & surcharges go up and up and up over the years, the last two being government enforced green taxes, why the hell WOULD I want to put even MORE money to waste (my perception, not necessarily fact) where the government should have already had it invested?

I mean, WHERE do all these 'green taxes' go? Nowhere, is my guess - so I have to top up the rainforests TWICE now, do I?



Sorry if that sounds awfully selfish and ignorant - but believe me, while I DO understand a lot of the environmental challenges (and agree with Mr. Gore to a large extent), at some point surely we have to realise that someone is taking the pi$$ here??? [:(!]

[fozzyo]

What percentage of all air travel is paid for by business and what percentage individuals? Not number of passengers, but £'s spent.

Air travel is an easy target, businesses paying for it an easier target.

I tend to agree with you. A lot of these silly taxes are rubbish and don't help accomplish anything (even though this one is optional). However, if the article's true in that the money goes to help clean energy projects in developing countries then it could be seen as a good thing. At least VS doesn't seem to be forcing the tax on passengers.

Honey, to which of your taxes do you EVER have any clear line of sight?

More of the same, I'm afraid...and they'll screw around with this ineffectually until the sun's radiation sets their wigs on fire and the sea level rises over St. Paul's dome. And then it won't matter.

Better get to Necker while it's still above sea level.

GJ

[RichardMannion]

I read about this yesterday and then again today in The Times. Sorry but its an absolute joke.

Why almost press-gang a passenger 'during' their flight to pay the carbon offset? Sorry it just isn't going to work. I can see crew now wanting to ask customers during their Upper flight if they would like to pay more 'because' they are travelling in comfort?

Likewise, are they going to ask staff the same when they are travelling?

Say someone is travelling on business, are they want to dig into their own pocket to pay the carbon offset because they are havign to fly soemwhere for work? No. Are they going to be allowed to claim it back as an expense? No as many corproates are already making large financial commitments to 'green' stuff. Are we playing 'Rob Peter to pay Paul' here?

I really hope that this dies away quickly and is just another PR exercise as this will actually worsen the service onboard in my opinion. This is the Times article. I sincerely hope the journalist has misunderstood how VS plan to implement this - trying to embarrass customers? There's a quick way to stupidity.

As Paul has said, let's remember what percentage of road tax is used on road maintenance. FFS.

Thanks,
Richard

Since these ofsetting carbon footprint schemes have been available on airlines I've seen them as a charity.

If staff are going to accost customers onboard they've gone from being the tinrattlers to those annoying clipboard wielding pesterers who come up to you on the street. [V]

Gold Standard Mile High Offset Club !!!

Oh pulease!

[Darren Wheeler]

Woe betide anyone who tries to persuade me to 'donate'. I expect it's rather difficult to walk with collection box where the sun does not shine!!

We now join Lord Richard of Mannion who is in seat 3K, UCS, VS020, at 37K feet altitude. He has just been approached by a member of cabin crew...

CC: Your Grace, a word?

LRoM: Of course.

CC: Just wondering if you'd like to participate in our carbon offset program?

LROM reaches into carry-on and produces a can of aerosol hairspray. He removes the lid and begins to empty its ozone-depleting contents into the air.

CC: It's really quite a good program...

LRoM grabs a piece of coal from his carry-on and sets it on fire.

CC: So, erm, how about it?

LRoM removes small, inefficient internal combustion engine from his carry-on and revs it up.

LRoM: I rather think not.

CC: Thank you, sir.

This has been an artistic production of Bad Playhouse

GJ

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Woe betide anyone who tries to persuade me to 'donate'. I expect it's rather difficult to walk with collection box where the sun does not shine!!

But that's the point, crew themselves will be embarrassed to ask!

What next, ahh Mr. Mannion you had your food reheated so that will be an extra 50p to offset the extra energy used. Maybe they'll put a meter on IFE so it can calculate how much energy I've used watching media and how much it's going to cost.

Here's my carbon saving suggestion, stop loading those crap magazines that no one ever bloody reads. That saves on paper and weight.

[Darren Wheeler]

Originally posted by RichardMannion

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Woe betide anyone who tries to persuade me to 'donate'. I expect it's rather difficult to walk with collection box where the sun does not shine!!

What next, ahh Mr. Mannion you had your food reheated so that will be an extra 50p to offset the extra energy used. Maybe they'll put a meter on IFE so it can calculate how much energy I've used watching media and how much it's going to cost.

Good heavens, don't let Ryaniar see that. You'll have IFE with a slot - £10 note minimum fee, no refunds.

Um sorry to be a pain but I like some of the magazines on the plane. What about not having any booze on board - that would prevent much air rage and keep the weight load down! I jest by the way.

Originally posted by avalon
What about not having any booze on board

Is there any way we can get sweet Avalon a refund on her V-Flyer membership fee? [}:)]

My suggestion for helping reduce global warming is to stop serving those bloody tikkas...imagine the reduction in methane gas! [y]

GJ

I don't have any problem with this if it's purely offered as an extra when booking the flight, but not if it's going to be done onboard.

Lately I've become very disillusioned with the whole climate change thing; it's now just a media and political agenda. In fact, I used to be very active and strongly opinioned about the whole thing, but now anything climate change related is effectively just plain propaganda, without any real ethical meaning.

45.

I was involved in a project about six months ago that never got off the ground. A sister project to which was to be a website called fluidcarbon. Basically, it would be a one stop resource for people looking to, voluntarily, offset their travels. The problem here was that nobody could agree how exactly to calculate the volumes of carbon created and, more to the point, very few organisations were willing, or able, to provide anything resembling 'accounts' of their activities and carbon saved. [V]

For example, the trips I'm planning in the next 12 months would, according to BA generate 6.23 tonnes of CO2 and cost £46.65 to buy offsets for (another misnomer, as I would be donating to a charity and they would be building a wind pump in a secluded village somewhere, I'm not buying offsets - that's what large companiesdo and I'm not that big [:)]). Co2blance.com says it's 12.63 tonnes and will cost £116! [:?] One is an airline trying to make themselves, and me, feel good. The other a charity trying to raise money. The simple fact is that there is no hard and simple rule here and, quite frankly, the VS idea is, to be polite, bonkers.

Added to this, the whole sector is generally unregulated and full of claims and counter claims. But I'm not surprised that various governments, companies and NGOs happily endorse these projects (all of which seem to be outside of the major polluting countries) as it makes them feel good bout their own inability to stop major polluters spewing tonnes of the stuff into the atmosphere. It just makes them feel all nice and warm and fuzzy insideÉ

Seriously its the cows heating up the world. And vindaloos!

There is actually a Chicago Climate Exchange, for high finance entities to participate in...amazing.

GJ

[Darren Wheeler]

Last I heard, trees were causing GW as they release methane too.

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Last I heard, trees were causing GW as they release methane too.

In that case, I just did a grand impression of a redwood [:I]

GJ

Originally posted by avalon
Seriously its the cows heating up the world. And vindaloos!

Then the solution is simple, shut down all fast food outlets, every curry house in the UK and we can all fly wherever we like [^]

Originally posted by daharris

Then the solution is simple, shut down ... every curry house in the UK [^]

Bradford wept.

GJ

[
it's now just a media and political agenda. In fact, I used to be very active and strongly opinioned about the whole thing, but now anything climate change related is effectively just plain propaganda, without any real ethical meaning.

45.

45, I think this has always been the case - purely yet another vehicle to try to whip people up, while at the same time milking them beyond the pips squeaking.....

Oh dear, I don't think I should have read the article. Surely RB (can't bring myself to use the sir bit, he's just a silly man at times) is way off here. The fact that we're already paying endless environment taxes already, plus the cost of the fare - excuse me, but what about the not inconsiderable extra passengers are already paying to fly PE or Uppper. I would no way choose to pay yet more - and I suspect I'm not alone in this. Call me a grumpy old woman, but neither am I any longer swayed by tales of new water facilities in a 3rd world country, or children starving.... before you all think how unfeeling and harsh I am, maybe I'd have less compassion fatigue if things were in a different state in the UK....

I'm not xenophobic, but please - with so many folks here unable to get medical treatment or half decent housing because priority is being given to people who've contributed less than zero to the economy, brought over endless relatives on a spurious asylum claim, why on earth would any of us feel moved to pass over yet more of our hard earned and already hard taxed money to fill the ever expanding black (or should that be green?) hole???

Sorry, rant over....... hit a bit of a nerve there.... feel free to edit....[:#]

I am with you Paul[:D][:0]

All this enviromental propaganda is cr*p. I have lived in several countries now and it is only the UK and their politicians (Al Gore exception)that keep banging on about global warming and offset footprints etc. The idea of paying even more for my rubbish collection in the UK just takes the p8ss, especially as for 48 weeks of the year I do not produce any[:(!]

Now we have tidal surges on the east coast. It will be a Tsunami next off Kent. Get a grip, its a bloody storm with some rain and wind.
God help us when it snows.

Iain

Originally posted by iforres1

God help us when it snows.

Iain

That was one of the things I laughed about most when I moved south from Yorkshire - why does the SE sieze up with 2' of snow! In the north we just put our wellies on and get on with it [:)].