There are different levels of environmentalist: From those who live off grid as they cook their own faeces, bathe in the grand union canal and heat up their yurts with solar power to the 4x4 diesel spewing yummy mummies who can afford to burn enough electric to power a small city.
Yet, as I write this, I care not one jot about the environment as it stands, and that is due to Rishi Sunak. Who can forget the spectacle of Rishi trying to fill a car he had borrowed with fuel before embarrassingly not knowing how to use his chip and pin card?
Yet, despite his inability to undertake daily tasks that we all do in our sleep he has, in a lame attempt to distract us away from the things that really matter, announced, to some fanfare a ‘U-turn’ on some climate commitments.
He has announced a stay of execution as the sale of new diesel and petrol cars can continue, and that gas boilers would be phased out, albeit slowly.
Desperate for a pat on the back as he attempts to claw back some lost ground with an election looming, he was instead met with fury from car manufacturers who feel messed around, along with antagonising Al Gore and Boris Johnson, with both claiming that, in the long run, prices for British consumers would again be inflated across all industries.
The mantra: ‘People are struggling’ does not do justice to the angst that families are facing right here, right now.
I earn well but we are struggling financially as much as we ever have, as bills haven’t just risen but are now at crippling levels: its not about avoiding the pain anymore but saving lives as families are starving and losing their homes.
Domestic abuse is on the rise and mental health issues, due to the sheer frustration and helplessness felt by the average man on the street, are epidemic.
Shoplifting is now a need for many as water, gas and electric bills are tripled. Mortgages and rents are doubled.
Prices in supermarkets have risen way above inflation and the banks idea of doing ‘all we can to help’ is to send you a text at 7.45am in the morning informing you you are now overdrawn.
No, I don’t care about the environment at present and neither do much of the country Mr Sunak.
We have other fish to (air) fry, and much as we would like marginally cleaner air, our priorities at present are eating, drinking and keeping warm as the winter comes and we battle a cost-of-living crisis that is as cruel as a sweatshop owner in deepest Indonesia.
- Brett Ellis is a teacher.
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