Defra Wiki

Well David Milliband has caused a furore. The Defra wiki has been under the scrutiny of the citizen. As a result the "admins" have had to lock it down.

So what has got people stirred up? A collaborative development of an Environmental Contract, that's what. This has invited an interesting mixture of ridicule and comment.

Among the comments that caught the eye:

Anti-carbon hysteria is supporting the rise of a new ‘green fascism’ the aim of which appears to be a prolonged bout of national collective self-flagellation that will return the UK to the economy of the middle ages - to a ‘year zero’, in fact. Interested parties who value freedom who can get past the daily propaganda blitz and take the time and trouble to investigate the climate modelling on which much of this hysteria is based will soon discover for themselves the limitations under which these programmes operate, how crude the models are, what gaps in knowledge exist about how the climate ‘works’, and the assumptions that are made by the modellers. How this branch of sophisticated computer gaming can be called a ‘science’ is beyond me.

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are measured in parts per million. Currently it accounts for 0.038% of the atmosphere. Of this, it is estimated that anywhere between 4 and 10% of annual emissions are of anthropogenic origin (it depends on your source of information). At the higher end of the estimate this means that the contribution of mankind is 0.0038%. The UK apparently contributes 2% of global anthropogenic emissions, i.e. 0.000076% per year. I will really feel I am making a difference when the government takes my car off me and only allows me to take one bath a week.

This whole thing is a scam

What! Some facts amidst the media hysteria? Is this true?

"Citizens will:" "In return government will:" ????

You are there to reprsent, not rule. You do not instruct the population, we instruct you. It would appear you have forgotten this

Ah ha! A timely reminder that this sleazy bunch of ne'er-do-wells actually work for us, and are employed by us... not the other way round. And building on that thought:

The whole concept of an Environmental Contract is misguided.

The people of this country need to first have a contract with the Government itself properly defined.

We will let the Government meet, pass some laws, and collect taxes, but the scope of Government interference into our daily lives needs to be limited.

Even with supposedly such high-minded ideals such as 'saving the environment', it seems that this Government is intent on controlling more and more of our choices and learning more and more about our lives. It has to stop.

To sum it up:

The arguments behind this idea are simply fraudulent. A lot of people are making a living peddling the snake oil of environmentalism, which is now a greater threat to human progress than even the Labour Government. A contract requires free choice on the part of those contracting so your terminology is mere spin (or "lies" for those who still speak English).

This government is using environmentalism as an excuse (just as it is using terrorism as an excuse) to justify ever greater incursions into the private lives of citizens. Just shut up, stop preaching and do the jobs you are paid for - including providing proper recycling facilities outside the home.

Gorse Fox thanks the anonymous "Guest" for these pithy, well-reasoned, and articulate comments. If only he had any faith that they would be listened to, and acknowledged.

[File under: Defra, Environment]