Follow my good example out of enlightened self interest!

CUT YOUR EARTHLY CAR MILEAGE TO JOIN THE BILLIONAIRES EXPLORING SPACE - they only travel the distance from Perth to Glasgow, after all (60 miles)!

I am very concerned about the Covid, climate, ecological, nature emergency and am doing this:-

At 73 yrs, I've had a fantastic lifetime of hillwalking all the big hills in the UK and Ireland.  It is well time for me to make a concession, a small prize lost to help win the much grander prize of leaving the state of the planet in a slightly better state, perhaps.

Since 2020 I have resolved to lead by example and to cut my total car mileage by 50% on my 2019 figure of 14,000 miles when I drove to Scotland six times to climb their hills.  In 2020, I travelled only once and drove 6,000 miles.  This year, I have done two trips, car camped on nearly all the nights and, so far have driven only 5,000 miles in my attempt to climb, in my lifetime, every single summit listed in the SMC's 'Munro's Tables'.

Last week, I came back from a fantastic 14 nights, with only two of them in a hotel and visited nine summits.  With my diesel car, driving at 60 to 65 mph on the motorways and dual carriageways, I achieved 85 mpg according to the car computer.  Therefore, my deadly greenhouse gas emissions were really low!

I went on fewer occasions but stayed longer and cut my carbon footprint.  I was cycling from my car base camp to the start of the hill on each of the nine days to take in a 'Graham' hill.  I had a great time in mixed weather and showed to the new generations of walkers what can be done.

In losing car mileage and cutting greenhouse gases, I have explored local/regional countryside and found some most wonderful walks in exploring areas I had never before dreamt of going to.  Again, parking up, cycling, then walking before returning to the bike to get to the car.  All this gained, instead of bombing off into Wales from Halesowen or to some far-flung corner of England to use up our precious finite fossil fuels with their deadly greenhouse gas emissions.

Will others follow my example?  Especially, those of my age in order to leave a planet in a better shape for the youngsters?  BE A GOOD ANCESTOR!

Basic socialist/humanitarian/ecological principles

Thanks for the email.  Please don't take my candidacy as a declared Independent, too seriously.  It is simply a campaigning device to get the real politicians to do what I want them to do, in line with LU policy that I so like and agree with.  More radical than the Green Party, my former home and, I just love Bob Whitehead's FFPT, his careful research on it and his help, for me, over antisemitism in the Labour Party.

I think, I'm unlikely to waste £5,000 but being a declared candidate does have an advantage.  One reporter, Mark Cardwell wrote something, 'The Commitment' contacted me yesterday and FoE has included me as a result of my 'declaration'.  I may be taken a little more seriously and my questions over my many concerns are more likely to be answered.  I also get better access to decision-makers for a short period.

In particular, I want them to understand the basic socialist/humanitarian/ecological principles of:-

• from each according to his ability; to each according to his need;
• build out obsolescence to make things last;
• use what you have instead of tearing down and rebuilding;
• don't destroy railway lines but use them for their intended purpose;
• finish what you start - unless it's extensions for HS2, Metro or Sprint diesel buses!
• retrench instead of regeneration in the light of the Covid, climate, ecological, nature crises;
• much more sustainable lifestyles urgently promoted instead of 'live it up today and to hell with tomorrow';
• live simply so that others - poorer nations and future generations - may simply live;
• diplomacy instead of the militarisation of diplomacy;
• UN and international bodies taken seriously and co-operated with;
• over-consumption and over-population are the two main drivers of global destruction;
• our very rich, resource-rich and fatal addiction to finite resources is deadly, dangerous and will be our ultimate undoing.  Prepare now!

LISTEN AND ACT ON THE DIRE WARNINGS FROM ATTENBOROUGH AND THUNBERG - at opposite ends of the age range!