Assault on the Green Belt 

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER - THE UNITED NATIONS REPORTS

Set against this are global concerns regarding Climate Change and the mass extinction of animal and plant life that are a result of the indulgence of developmental pressures. The United Nations Environment Programme Report Audit from top scientists indicate a stark warning to the governments of the West. from science and researchers demand that we take urgent measures to protect a rapidly diminishing resource, 

After taking a sharp intake of breath the response of the government broadly to such warnings is to camouflage "business as usual" as good eco practice and up the development, ie, use the warnings as an excuse to target the Green Belt like never before with a series of low efficiency but carbon neutral developments in the countryside. These will all require new access roads, and allow deregulation of protected countryside. It seems a cynical strategy to exploit environmental disaster to inflict more of the same. For a take on this visit the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/oct/31/carbonemissions.transportintheuk   

Instead of biting the bullet and simply accepting that road traffic has to  be reduced to essential journeys, and that would be at most about 50% of current volume, governments respond with a heightened commitment to green belt destruction, along with the same commitment to roads. . They discuss the latter  being be mainly used by electric powered vehicles - which of course demands a full on stream of new generation nuclear power stations. The so called clean energy of course will really be Nuclear Power, because other sources whilst excellent for opening up the Green Belt with new roads, sadly are not energy efficient, and not remotely so in proportion to the environmental destruction. 

There is no real will on the part of countries and governments to respond to the hard facts and cut  car and air emissions where these in the main are luxuries and not necessities. The current kind of government spin does not belong to the real world of real tough decisions that have to be made in the face of environmental wipeout, quite the opposite . However they may hope it will fool enough people enough of the time, even including perhaps themselves.

Views and Positions

Natural England

CPRE

Green Wedges?

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