Green Options

Prince Charles made some strong arguments when he shared his thoughts on the devastation of the global economic recession vs. that of climate change, at a meeting of Brazilian business leaders and officials in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s beginning to become a perennial question I ask myself when a celebrity goes on an environmentally-themed speaking tour or does something “green” I’m supposed to appreciate.  Should I care?

This time, I woke up to read news about how today is the first day of Prince Charles’s South American environmental-themed tour. First country up: Chile. Among his activities he will participate in a round table discussion about global warming and also will attend a kick-off event for an energy efficiency campaign, all while along the side of conservation-credible Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. But the fun doesn’t end there.

Prince Charles has been criticized by Labour MPs for the carbon footprint of his South American tour to promote climate change awareness and a low carbon economy, slated for next month.

Gazing into the future of a carbon market, two things seem certain: a fundamental change to the economy and sweeping land reforms.

There are two well known and highly charged sayings about land:

—–agriculture is the foundation of economic growth
—–all land use is inherently political

The fast approaching world of a carbon market could see how we use land becoming the most important issue in stopping climate change becoming a disaster for mankind.

Ever the dabbler in architectural criticism, The Prince of Wales has criticized the green building industry for relying on eco-gadgets like wind turbines and solar panels while ignoring inefficient buildings.

Bonnie Prince Charles, in a symbolic gesture, has converted his 38 year old Aston Martin rag top to run on ethanol, derived from English Wine.   Aides said the action was due to the pattern of Royal trips set by the Foreign Office.

Prince Charles Chief Aide, Sir Michael Peat is quoted as saying:

‘Charles only travelled two or three hundred miles a year in the Aston but he wanted it to be environmentally friendly. It just happened that our bioethanol supplier makes the fuel from surplus English wine.’

The Prince has been reducing his carbon footprint, already cutting carbon emissions by 12.5 percent, in line with the Government’s Kyoto target.  He has since doubled the target to a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2018.