That’s higher than for education or employment.
This leads me to ask: “Why do I not see more evidence in the way people live, in the choices they make?”
In our day-to-day decisions, large and small, we take account of the cost (if we’re spending money) and we take account of the possible impact of our choices on ourselves and others.
If there are so many of us who think that the environment is important, I would expect to see signs that, collectively, we also take into account the impact on the environment, on the future.
Certainly, many people do watch their footprint, but not enough to make a difference.
I ask: “Why not?”
Why don’t we travel less, for example?
Why does the demand for airline travel continue to increase?
Why do we see roads getting ever more congested?
And not with low-emission cars?
We do need our cars (many of us), but it’s often possible to leave them behind if there’s another way to get there.
On the motorway, why do I see so many cars travelling at 70mph?
Driving at 60 saves carbon emissions – as well as being cheaper and less stressful – and it makes little difference to the time of arrival.
All stuff carries an environmental footprint.
Yes, we need to buy stuff, but when I see bulging waste bins, I wonder why people bought so much stuff when they knew they were going to throw it away.
Everyone, like me, has good reasons for the environmental damage they do, but if we think the environment is important, we can look for ways to reduce it.
There have been numerous helpful books and articles.
Governments have been reducing their use of fossil fuels.
Worldwide, renewables have overtaken coal for electricity generation for the first time in a century.
Industry keeps developing and applying new technologies.
It seems that most individuals and families, in contrast, have continued to increase their environmental footprint, even though they say that the environment is important.
So many questions.
In future Green Focus columns, I shall look at various possible answers.
