Thoughts on coronavirus as a dress rehearsal for climate catastrophe

“Since the lockdown: Venice's canals have become crystal clear. Italy coasts have dolphins coming nearer and nearer. Japan now has deer roaming free in the streets, and Thailand: the same with monkeys. China has record breaking pollution cuts. The Earth has already began showing signs of amazing things that are happening from the absence of human pollution. What if - and hear me out..- what if the entire human population used this as an opportunity to restart society on a greener, more environment conscious foot. What we're seeing in the span of a couple of days is amazing."

Exactly. We need to end this mad tearing around the planet at great cost to finite fossil fuels and a terrible escalation of greenhouse gases as the most unfortunate consequence.  

We live in a materialistic rat race where we think we must have ever faster, finer and flashier ways to transport ourselves around the place. HS2 and W Midlands Metro both come to mind. Both duplicate existing trains and buses that are too mundane and ordinary for us so sophisticated earth dwellers. I think we are biting off more than ailing life support systems can chew. We need to be content with less, be happy with what we have and start exploring the local scene instead of the international world. The prospect of a premature demise from a pestilent virus is cutting Greta's and the scientists greenhouse gases.  Not so much a pipe dream but a nightmare coming down the tube.

Wrong decision, wrong priorities from a nation that should know better

MORE MONEY SPENT MEANS MORE GREENHOUSE GASES, WORSE CLIMATE CATASTROPHE, EXTINCTION BROUGHT FORWARD - otherwise, we are doing very nicely, thank you!

1. Ten years of Tory austerity has allowed the country to have our High Status Symbol 2 train for £106 billion by 2040 and billions already spent in its first eleven years, from its start in 2009 under Gordon Brown and a Labour transport secretary.
2. Ten years of cut backs for the NHS, social care, education and, housing for the less wealthy, to allow for extravagance for the rich - and Crossrail 1 for £18 billion to help out London.
3. Ten years of government austerity has allowed the construction of tram lines as the second most expensive transport mode after High Status 2.  Even more expensive than most maglev train projects in China, Japan and South Korea.
4. Ten years of austerity and four election wins for the party that brought in austerity to bring the crises in health, housing and benefits - much less money for all three but plenty to give us £7 billion for two massive aircraft carriers AND real rises above inflation for the armed forces to support their actions in the Middle East.
5. Over £100 billion to replace our independent nuclear deterrent over the next two decades so that we can continue to sail the high seas as the monarch of all we survey.
6. Ten years of cut backs for local authorities throughout the UK but great largesse for regional devolution and a new layer of bureaucracy to run regional government.  Mrs Thatcher did away with the West Midlands Country Council in the 1980s.  The New Conservative Party has brought it back, at the most enormous expense, as the West Midlands Combined Authority.  All paid for by cut backs in core services that the less wealthy, MOSTLY rely on.
7. Ten years of many billions for brand new high status, high speed train lines for London and England and, £15 billion to 2040 for mainly slick, swish, smart looking trams for the Black Country and Brum.  Trams both underground and overground to replace dull, boring buses and overcrowded commuter trains.
8. Since December, the people's government knew all about the deadly coronavirus that, with globalisation and popular air travel, was bound to spread.  Yet, they slept at the wheel and made no plans to increase supplies of tests, PPE and ventilators in case they would be needed for the UK.  No action in January or even February.  Nothing until 16 March with Johnson's TV talk to the nation.
9. Crises with Covid-19 and the climate, both worsened because of austerity in health and social care and wrong priorities to get flash, prestigious projects to impress and to make people exclaim, 'Wow' at all the vanity projects at the expense of basic, core services.
10. Crises in health, social care, housing and education but no shortages to get trams replacing even intercity railway lines or to get High Status 2 while 24 railway schemes remain closed or unfinished or in need of improvement, modernisation.