Zombie government failing to get a grip

In the summer heat it is not immediately apparent that we are leaderless in a crisis. But that is indeed the case.

As we head towards eye watering increases in gas and electricity prices in October, our zombie government has no strategy to do the most obvious mitigation, namely reducing energy and material consumption. This is particularly embarrassing as our European allies scramble to do just that, whilst we do next to nothing.

So once again, it is left to local authorities, business and individual citizens to take the tough decisions.

At a council level, could the intensity of street lights be reduced? Should the thermostats be altered in council offices? Should 20mph limits be rolled out in all built-up areas and 50mph elsewhere?

Do we urgently need emergency cycle lanes implemented to give safe and cheap alternatives to expensive cars?

At a business level, could the Bath BID (Business Improvement District) arrange a voluntary agreement between businesses to keep their doors closed to reduce energy loss (both hot and cold air)?

And to reduce store illumination when open and turn off everything possible outside opening hours?

And at a citizen level, could we place a renewed focus on food waste recycling? When this waste is ‘composted’ it creates methane gas, which is burned to create electricity.

And my goodness do we need that extra gas at the moment. You could even say it is an act of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Should we be demanding reduced black bin waste collection (3 weekly is standard across the rest of Somerset) to drive up recycling rates and food waste collection?

The above are just ideas. Cutting our reliance on fossil fuels will require all sorts of them.

My point is we need to be acting now, and we can’t wait for our navel gazing national government to get a grip.

Guy Hodgson

Weston