Charles MacFarland, Suffolk Park
One of the discouraging things about the Greenhouse Effect, it seems to me, is that although everybody talks about it, nobody does anything about it in their daily lives.
Driving is a good example of this. People drive as if there were no tomorrow, which, considering the threat of climate change, maybe there isn’t.
But to help ensure there is a tomorrow, we can cut down our petrol usage, and thus forestall the Greenhouse Effect a bit, as well as saving ourselves money.
One way is to try to drive without using the brakes. Of course brakes have to used occasionally, but we can minimise brake use by coasting toward stop signs and red lights, and going gently into roundabouts and speed bumps.
I think people sometimes forget that what makes cars go is petrol, and petrol costs money. If you put on the brakes, that simply wastes the costly speed you have built up with petrol.
Racing up to speed after a speed bump and then jamming on the brakes for the next one is a good way to waste petrol and money, and also brings the Greenhouse Effect just that little bit closer. The same for stop signs and red lights.
For that matter, it might be worthwhile thinking about how many trips we make. Have you ever heard anyone say, ‘Gee, I’d like to go to ———, but I hate to use up the petrol the trip will require’.
To me, that seems the worst thing about the holiday letting in Byron. Many working people can’t afford to rent in Byron because all the places are holiday let, so they have to commute from Ballina or somewhere.
If we really care about the Greenhouse Effect, maybe the first thing we should do is try not to have so many people commuting.
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