Here’s an autumny tree I saw on the trail…
A surprising thing I learnt from a meeting last night was how bad buses were in generating carbon dioxide per passenger mile. (Sorry I wasn’t taking notes and so I don’t have the figures). But I’m still going to use buses, and this is why… The figures we were quoted last night (not sure of the underlying assumptions and what towns/nations were surveyed) were poor because buses often run nearly empty. If I get on a plane, there’s a good chance I’ll bump up demand enough to cause another flight. If I get on a bus outside the rush hour, there will be no extra cost in fuel burning. The more people use buses, the better buses will be in terms of emissions per person. Also it gets cars off the road, with their associated emissions. Also, with the resulting lighter traffic, buses are a better option because they are not held up (ever tried to get from Stalybridge to Hadfield on a 237 on a Friday afternoon?). Also, buses cost me nothing now, a privilege that needs to be extended to more people, maybe even everyone.
Why drugs are bad
Much of the debate about decriminalising street drugs is around the medical effects of addiction and the criminality that comes from drugs being illegal.
But there is a deeper problem about drugs. It may sound odd, coming from someone as unsociable as me, but people need people. That is the foundation of our life as human beings in society. Look in the Bible, and you’ll see, right through the from the beginning to the end, from the prophets to Paul, that living right with one another is a fundamental part of living right with God.
And if people stop needing people, and turn instead to needing a substance, then it undermines the basis of all society.
This applies to all drugs, including alcohol – although in the case of alcohol and some others there can be times and social conventions by which the drug can bring people together.
Notes
1) Am I right in thinking there was a Doctor Who about this? ISTR a hypercongested highway and people selling happiness patches from booths.
2) Among the most scary moments I can remember are the ones when it’s a summer afternoon and I’m on my pushbike waiting for the lights to change. A car draws up beside me with its windows open and it stinks of cannabis. And I’m thinking to myself – “I have to share the road with these clowns!”