The Future of Politics: Eco-Scandals?
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada 
on 08.22.06
We all know that politicians have to be careful about their personal lives if they don't want the media or their political opponents to create scandals. What they usually worry about are things like how much they drink, do they pay their taxes, who they associate with, do they have extra-marital affairs, etc. But as the citizenry and media becomes greener, could we witness the birth of the eco-scandal? It is nothing new to point out hypocrisy, but is it possible that, in the not-so-distant future, all politicians will have to make certain that they are spotlessly green (hiring teams of eco-consultants)? Maybe this little gaffe by Sir Menzies Campbell, the British Liberal Democrat leader, is a preview of what is to come: "He warned that everyone had a personal responsibility to contribute to the fight against global warming [...] Mr Campbell singled out changing the light bulbs that people use as an example of the sort of personal choice consumers should be making. But then he admitted up that every light fitting at his home in Scotland uses the standard filament bulb designed over a century ago, that emits 20 times as much heat as light. He promised that in future he will substitute energy-saving bulbs." :: Lib Dem leader admits he uses wasteful lightbulbs, ::User Tips for Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, ::What About Mercury From Compact Fluorescents?
A few readers pointed out in the comments this other eco-scandal. Thanks!
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Not as bad as David Cameron cycling to work to show off his eco credentials while his aid followed him in his lexus.
Wow. Do you have a link to that story?
The following Lexus story is common greenwashing: this time with technology props-- just the sort of made for TV stunt you'd expect of politicians accustomed to having their way with media dupes (oops, did I say dupes; I meant reporters).
THen there's the use of celebrity props, hoping to be judged to be like the company you keep in front of the camera.
Career bumps will be inevitable among those who ;loudly opposed commonsense and scientifically sound policy choices and created a public record in doing so.
I mis-read the headline on that post.
I thought it said "The Future of Politics: Eco-Sandals?"
I'm sure David Cameron has a pair.
;)
The link for the story about David Cameron's cycling hypocrisy is http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4953922.stm
Quick, semi-related question: Is it better to replace perfectly usable incandescent bulbs with the CF ones, adding usable goods to dumps? Or is it better for the energy efficiency to just get rid of the oldies?
I would say it's better to let the old incandescent bulbs burn out before replacing them with with more efficient ones. I haven't done any calculations (I wouldn't even know where to start) but my gut says we're better off using a few more Watt-hours than unnecessarily throwing more light bulbs in the land fill.
My strategy, Christy, has been to replace old incandescents with cfl's whenever the incandies blow out. I've got kind of a hodge-podge of cfl's in various fixtures now, but am about 80% switched over.
Personally I'd change the bulbs for CFLs immediately, but wouldn't throw out the incandescents. I'd just keep them as a supply of spares for the places were CFLs don't work.
Or, MGR, you could purchase your CFLs from 1000bulbs.com which seem to have bulbs for EVERYTHING, including CFLs that dim, are floodlights, and can be balanced to daylight. Every wattage, every size.
I just ordered my first 10 (surprisingly affordable), they'll be here any day now.
Sweet.
Good point, kvh. There are CFLs to fit all sizes now.
What I meant by "do not fit" is more like a light in a cold storage room or in a room that usually gets turned on and off for a very short amount of time, very rarely. CFLs can be a bit overkill for that, and the off-on-off can shorten their lives.