… but the real plank in the eye is the continued purchase of Russian oil and gas by "The West", which continues to pay around 25 times as much to the Russians every day, as is given to the Ukranians in all forms of aid. Yes read that last bit again to let it sink in!!! Everyone should be asking themselves, how much they would actually be prepared to compromise their own lifestyles and comforts in order to not pay for Russian oil and gas. But instead, just look at the airports today and the vast numbers of people desperate to travel, which inevitably uses vast amounts of fuel, which then inevitably feeds the Russian coffers. As do most of our car journeys, and I've certainly seen no evidence of our roads getting any quieter recently, as a way of cutting off the funding of Russia.
Food for thought?
For over 17 years, primarily due to climate change, I’ve been trying to reduce my fossil fuel usage. This includes driving a petrol/electric hybrid car and trying to drive it sensibly (I typically average 50 to 53MPG).
Alas due to personal circumstances with a family member, in the last couple of months I have had to increase the amount of driving I do. But this is partly compensated by the reduced amount of driving to work now that the train service is nearly back to normal (most of my commuting to work is by train).
For heating and domestic hot water, my home uses gas. The heating uses a thermostat and a time switch. Both of which are used to limit the temperature. I’ve already doubled the insulation in the loft. And the house already has double glazing. All lights (apart from in the loft spaces) are energy efficient types.
For a while now, I have been trying to avoid buying products that come directly from China, or which are made in China. But this is very difficult.
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine this year, I am also trying to avoid buying products that come directly from Russia, or which are made in Russia.
But yes, I get your point. For many people, they don’t think how their own life has a wider affect. The U.K. imports gas, as output from the North Sea has fallen over the years, and is set to continue to fall I believe.
But our imports could be reduced, if people reduced their energy use. If more houses, homes and other buildings were insulated better, energy use for heating could be significantly cut.
Similarly, we could cut the amount of oil, petrol and diesel consumption if we reduced our use of the car. And if more people changed to either hybrid or electric road vehicles.
And reducing energy usage is cheaper overall, as well as reducing our dependence on fossil fuels (including imported fuels).
And all of this can apply to other countries, not just the U.K.
www.bbc.co.uk
