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HOWARD'S WAY.... a weekly column from Michael Howard MP

31 August 2006

 

This week saw the anniversary of the dreadful hurricane which inflicted death and damage on the city of New Orleans, and neighbouring areas of the American Gulf Coast, last year. The images of the hurricane and its consequences filled our television screens for days afterwards.

A year on, it is clear that more should have been done, and still needs to be done, to repair the damage. One of our newspapers said this week that the city has been ‘left to rot’. It is not necessary to agree with that description to recognize that the plight of the city and its inhabitants remains acute.

Would we have done any better here? I’m sure we all hope it is never put to the test. But the aftermath of the failed conspiracy to detonate bombs on aeroplanes crossing the Atlantic does not inspire great confidence. Days after the arrests were made there was still confusion at many of our airports and there is a widespread feeling that some of the dislocation to people’s travel plans which occurred was unnecessary.

Of course it is far better to be inconveniences on the ground than to be killed in the air and most people accepted the consequences with good grace. But there are obviously lessons to be learned from recent events.

One of the other consequences of the New Orleans hurricane is the argument about whether or not it was caused by global warming. That is still a matter of dispute but on global warming itself the evidence becomes stronger with each day that passes.

What is to be done? Much of the remedial action has to be taken by governments. But individual behaviour is just as important.

Here is one example.

There is a great deal of controversy about air travel. Is it a sin, as the Bishop of London recently suggested? Should it be taxed? The truth is that we can all take voluntary action to offset the damage caused to the environment by the trips we take.

If you contact www.climatecare.org they will tell you how much carbon emission your journey has caused and how much it will cost to plant trees or take other action to remedy those emissions. Sandra and I have just returned from a week in the sun in Spain. Our flights to and from Malaga cause .77 tonnes of CO2 emission. We paid Climate Care £5.79 to make good the damage. I think it is cheap at the price.