This is no time for a conservative Conservative

This post has been inspired by two things: the first, more positive one, being a quote shared by Jasmine Conley (do follow her, by the way) and the second being Lord Lawson’s small-minded, small-C-conservative attitude — mainly inspired by the mercenary requirements of pimping his book, I suspect, despite the longevity of the campaign. Maybe it’s out in paperback shortly or something.

Of course in doing so he has abandoned any pretense of positivity; and completely ignores any related problems we can only really address by lowering our dependency on carbon. Moreover by refusing to come up with a positive solution, or even the framework for a positive solution, he has reverted to the worst type of Conservative: unimaginative, reactionary, and curiously sacrificing his economic principles for the sake of a quick quid.

Now I’m not going to get into the debate about climate change, although in the interests of fairness I will outline my position. Far better minds than mine with a far greater understanding of the facts have concluded that human-caused CO2 emissions are contributing in small but subtle ways to climate change. I see no reason to dispute their scientifically derived theories. Scientific theories are testable and tested: scientists hoping to prove something try their hardest to prove the opposite, and, most importantly, provide the means and methods for their results to be independently verified or refuted.

And to all those who have argued that our recent cold snap “proves” that Global Warming is a hoax (including, shamefully, some MPs): go and learn some science and stop embarrassing yourselves. Halfwits. It makes me so angry to see this ignorance so willfully and gleefully paraded. You are the British equivalents of Sarah Palin.

OK; deep breath. And remove the swearwords.

Anyway, back to Lord Lawson. His main argument against acting now on climate change is, from what I can determine, that it would be expensive and we can’t be 100% certain yet that it’s necessary. For someone who ran our Economy (not particularly well, admittedly) I find it wonderfully ironic that he completely ignores the Stern Report. Of course being a Tory politician of the old-school, mathematics is beneath his dignity; but surely he could have compared the cost of doing something now against doing something later? It’s really quite a simple risk calculation.

And his abandonment of free-market principles! This is the perfect opportunity for some “creative destruction” from the Schumpeter school of entrepreneurship (Mark I in particular). Investment into new technology is going to be the key (although that is admittedly more Mark II). And there’s so much to invest in.

One of the main problems with our current, outdated, national grid is that it is designed to work with a relatively small number of large power stations distributing power, and isn’t designed to cope with a large number of small power stations contributing a little. Changing this would be a significant boon anyway. Hell, even coming up with a new way of transporting energy using our current infrastructure would have a huge impact: our distribution system is highly inefficient (hence why the voltage is so high. A-level Physics that) and a shockingly large percentage of power is lost through resistance, escaping as … heat.

Then of course there is the power-generation itself: all “alternative energy” technologies are in their infancies and require investment. There is more than enough room for both State- and private-sector investment: it’s noticeable that Oil companies are re-launching themselves as energy companies, although I would love to find out whether there is any substance to this. And let’s think not be scared to think big. After all, we’re never going to get to Mars on a coal-fired rocket.

To abandon this … well, as someone who is young enough to have to pick up the tab for his generation’s profligacy, I’m nauseated. After having created this mess, they not only refuse to clean it up but they are actively trying to prevent someone else from cleaning it up.

I hope that the current generation of Conservative leadership stick to their current principles and don’t allow themselves to be cowed by this dinosaur into a cowardly, small-minded response. A recurring theme of my posts has been leadership: particularly that I think David Cameron is starting to grok* it, even as Gordon Brown flails around in increasing desperation. This is another leadership challenge, and a test perhaps of the positivity of his Conservatism. It’s also (potentially) a legacy-defining moment. Ignore the haters and do something about it before it’s too late.

*grok: to completely and intrinsically know something; to understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with.