Headline – Car usage down by 70% in 4 weeks.
What has happened?
Has oil run out or the price of petrol gone through the roof?
Or perhaps trouble in the Gulf has disrupted supplies and petrol is rationed?
Maybe we have finally taken seriously the dangers we face from global warming and in response to the climate emergency have changed our travel habits?
Of course the answer is that we have left our cars in the garage because the government has told us to – we have done what we have been told, to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic. Clearly, unambiguously, in straight forward terms the message is repeated on a daily basis: “Stay at home; protect the NHS; save lives”
For the first few weeks we were just given some gentle advice – hand washing, avoiding close contact (if we felt like it)– but that was all. So life continued very much as normal, the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival went ahead in front of crowds of tens of thousands of race goers closely packed together; Athletico Bilbao came from Spain with their fans and played in front of a full house at Anfield; people flew off on their holidays around the world; theatres stayed open; people met in churches for worship; and then the order came “Stay at home; protect the NHS; save lives” and when the threat was made clear to us and the orders given, people did what they were told and car use has fallen by 70% in a matter of days.
The Corona Virus is a serious, serious problem. As I write this the death toll around the world is 191,000 from 2.72 million cases.
But the world faces another serious problem.
One of the victims of the virus is Sir John Houghton, physicist, climatologist, Oxford University professor and Director General of the Meteorological Office. He was one of the first scientists to appreciate the danger the world faces from global warming, and he endured opposition and ridicule until gradually the science could not be denied.
We now have an acknowledged Climate Emergency.
In sharing the news of his death, Sir John Houghton’s grand-daughter said: “When I was younger, my consistent memory of him was warnings over the devastation waiting us if we didn’t act on climate change. And I remember thinking how glad I was that scientists like him were in charge. But of course it isn’t the scientists in charge.”
Over 95% of scientists now agree with Sir John about the devastation that is waiting for the world if we don’t change our ways. As just one example from many, sea levels are predicted to rise by 0.5 metre by 2100. In Bangladesh, seven million people live less than a metre above sea level. This situation is repeated in Southern China, Egypt and many inhabited islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are parts of the United Kingdom at or near sea level and vulnerable to rising oceans. The scientists are clear about what needs to be done but as one of the governments scientific advisers said at a press conference recently “Scientists advise, politicians make decisions.”
Rather than gentle advice from our leaders about what we ought to do in a few years time to combat climate change, perhaps people would respond if we were given clear instructions about the action that needs to be taken and clear information about the consequences of not doing as we were told.
“Cut carbon; protect our world; save lives.”
Then this needs to be backed up by action from the government to show the way. The climate emergency is just as life threatening as the Corona Virus.
And what has this to do with the bus, as this is a Busblog?
Transport produces 35% of our carbon emissions.
People can travel less, the last three weeks has shown that. And when we do travel, the bus is a much cleaner way than the private car. The Green New Deal that responsible politicians are proposing needs to include capital investment in zero carbon buses and revenue spending on a network of services that meets the travel needs of those who still need to move around.
Perhaps if we were given a clear message, unambiguously, in straight forward terms, we would do as we were told.
“Cut carbon; protect our world; save lives.”
