Thoughts from an active pensioner who is now somewhat past his Biblical "Use-by date"

"Why just be difficult, when with a little more effort you can be bloody impossible?"



Tuesday 21 December 2010

Snow Clearance - Blame the Global Warming Experts for the Chaos

Not so many years ago, a well know Professor (presumably of Global Warming) announced that children born in Britain from then on would be extremely unlikely ever to see snow in their gardens again. Even if you din't see this ridiculous claim, no-one can be unaware that for at least the past decade, all the Government experts and advisers have predicted global warming , and all around the world, wherever you have looked, somebody is claiming that a particular event has been caused by global warming.

It is these people who are responsible for the lack of snow clearance - if the experts say snow is a thing of the past, why invest capital in clearance facilities?

A local County Councillor told me that they hadn't made any significant investment in snow clearance equipment for quite a few years simply because all the experts suggested that global warming was on the increase. As my councillor friend remarked, "Can you imagine what our electorate would think if we put a significant sum into our budget for snow clearance equipment, at a time when we are being forced to reduce other services. "Any local politician would be mad to suggest such a thing, and we'd lose votes to the Greens if we dare even suggest it".

For once I believe that he has a perfectly valid point of view (and its not often I can say that about politicians). As a politician, you are duty bound to listen to the relevant experts on such matters as well as the electorate, and all would seem to have been in accord for the last few years, "It would be a criminal waste of money to invest in snow-ploughs and the like" is the common viewpoint.
As mentioned elsewhere in the media, most county councils with miles of country roads have also ceased to pay retainers to farmers and other small contractors to keep the necessary equipment available on the basis that it is now unnecessary.

I'm simply surprised that more organisations haven't used what I consider to be a perfectly valid excuse. The railway infrastructure is government owned and our major roads are the responsibility of the Highways Agency - the Treasury surely wouldn't allocate them funds for new equipment in view of the advice given by the experts; just think of what the media would have been saying about waste!
And of course the shareholders in the privatised airports would have been unlikely to think much of the idea if it affected their dividends! Remember, Heathrow is now owned by the Spanish; what do they know about snow?

So, to me, it's very clear who is to blame for the current dire situation, it is all those experts who have been predicting global warming. You can only blame our those responsible in government, councils, railways and airports for having been gullible enough to believe them.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment