Philobiblon: Contact your MP

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Contact your MP

Just learnt via the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s of a useful website through which you can fax your political representatives.

Write to them will, after you have supplied your postcode, tell you not only your MP, but also your MEPs, local councillors, etc. You can then write a message for the one of your choice, which will be faxed to them (which I suspect might have more impact, still, than an email).

My message was in support of the following early day motion:
EDM 146 - Road Traffic Emissions first put down on 19th May 2005 by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat)

That this House notes the alarming 83 per cent increase in road traffic between 1980 and 2004 and more than a 50 per cent. increase in associated carbon dioxide emissions over the same period with road transport now accounting for 18 per cent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions and rising; further notes with regret that the UK car industry has shown the poorest rate in Europe in improving emissions of new cars with the Institute for European Environmental Policy reporting new UK cars among the highest average carbon dioxide emitters and research by the Energy Savings Trust demonstrating emissions from new UK cars now actually increasing for private car purchases; acknowledges Department for Transport research showing two-thirds of people understand that transport emissions are a major contributor to climate change; and urges the Government now to take firm steps to encourage consumers to consider environmental performance in car purchasing decisions through reform of the Vehicle Excise Duty better to reflect associated vehicle emissions.

My message said:

As a cyclist and pedestrian (and occasional driver of small cars) I find the proliferation of these monsters on our streets horrifying and terrifying, and as a citizen of the earth their contribution to greenhouse gas emmissions utterly unjustifiable.

Banning them would probably be impractical; pricing them off the road is eminently sensible.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home