The Government will publish its latest excess winter mortality statistics for England and Wales, covering the bitterly cold winter of 2009/2010, on Tuesday 23 November, a helpful piece of information supplied to you courtesy of Friends of the Earth. They are urging the Government to ensuring all UK homes are made energy efficient, and thus avoid unaffordable fuel bills and high carbon [dioxide] emissions, the latter being necessary to avoid ... er ... global warning.

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The inconsistency disappears when you factor in that FOE want greater state (or preferably non-governmental transnational) control over the actions of the individual. That the state is making it more expensive to heat a home, and that state assistance is then required to keep the home warm via efficiency "improvements", all leads towards the same thing: greater interference in, and regulation of the individual's choices.

Or they could just be idiots. I constantly have to remind myself to never assume malice where stupidity can explain everything.

I think FOE became a business and assuring their continued existence became their purpose. They have an emotional appeal - doing something for the planet and it became increasingly important for them that their supporters overlooked the contradictions in their position. The CO2 scare was great and they can't abandon it. Now there's the threat of cold winters and folks dying because of what they've been pushing for. They don't have much option than to play up over the problem, appealing to the emotions, and work even harder at glossing over the contradictions.

Wanting an all powerful state might motivate some of them, but not admitting they're wrong and pushing on has to be a part of it.

I bet a lot of people think that the WWF is mainly to do with saving cuddly pandas.

"What have I missed?".

You forgot to add that the cold winters are "caused by global warming", so if you stop global warming, the winters get milder, and the old folks won't freeze.

Obvious innit?

Is there no way we can insulate ourselves from the idiots at Friends of the Earth…or would that be Plain Stupid…

There is a type, a breed, a sort of person who exists in Britain, their parents were most probably quite (even very) religious but religion wasn't for them, too many drugs to try and sex! - people to f£*8 and money to be made in the sixties and seventies, "dahling, I've just no time for religion!"
These people, confess to be Christians but never profess this 'faith' in a church. Years of hedonism and excess has left a big gap in their lives and as they turned towards their thirties, having been brought up in a school system and thus, steeped in Socialist contradictions and dogmas, say to themselves (sometimes subconsciously), "what is missing?"

And Lo!

A revelation doth occur, the light shineth down and God calls them!

Now you might think, this is a funny-peculiar God, he calls them but they don't start filling the pews at their local church?
Yeah! but this is a new religion, going to church is still for mugs! The new religion manifested itself in so many new forms, a concern for prisoners in Northern Ireland and South America, anti war, ban the bomb, the list is long. But, of course the greatest of these new faux religions, was worship of mother Gaia.
The tree hugger generation was 'born', these 'types' signed on the dotted line, to FOE, WWF, Amnesty and many others, "save the earth!", they collectively cried.
This 'Jesus' sandal wearing generation see no hypocrisy in having a mercedes outside their pad, whilst they read their morning grauniad, eating tofu and sitting on their futons. AGW, was manna from heaven! Now those b88888ds (capitalists) were really going to suffer!
So without the realisation that they were part of the problem, embarked on a campaign to not only save the world but to trash the scientific method at the same time.
This generation of people have had children (God help us) and these children are even more nihilistic and Godless than their parents and they have had more crap crammed into their heads at school (thanks to the re-education programmes of the EU -than even their parents had).
This new tree hugger generation had the 'benefit' of a "post normal" education. Many of them (like their parents) had a burning ambition to not only save the world but save the people as well. So they became climatologists or studied environmental science (because they weren't good enough for the pure science faculties) and or Politicians - they studied, PPE at Orrxford and of course! They were all socialistas to a man and girlie.
Post normal science and thinking, teaches: that if the cause is right then you are right (even if the cause is crap and you're 100% wrong) - how socialist is that?

Thus, we have reports, written by FOE like the above, simple innit? It ain't logical, it ain't reasonable, it's post normal, it's Socialism, it's Bu88sh9t.

These FoE idiots will be the death of us.
Do you remberer the first snow last winter, it was 18th Dec, the day the climate confrence started in Copenhagen, well this year its going to be 2-3 weeks earlier.
here is the met office forecast for late next week,


Weather forecast: East Midlands

UK Outlook for Wednesday 24 Nov 2010 to Friday 3 Dec 2010:

The period will begin cold, with many central and western areas having some bright or sunny spells. Wintry showers will affect eastern areas, particularly along the coast but these will extend inland at times. The showers will start turning to snow even at lower levels at times. During the first weekend, there is a risk of more widespread sleet and snow for a time, with the possibility of some significant accumulations in places. The cold or very cold conditions are likely to continue into the second week, with widespread overnight frosts and the risk of icy surfaces. There is a chance as we move into December that southern and southwestern parts will become more unsettled as rain, sleet and snow try to push up from the south.

Updated: 1148 on Fri 19 Nov 2010

I do wonder, from time to time, whether Frends of the Earth have been heavily infiltrated by Righties with a sense of humour (cf. the 10:10 nasty video) who put out silly press releases to expose the idiocy at the heart of the organisation! After all, can an organisation really be all serious that calls itself the 'foe'?

Well, its good to see the American Thinker site continue its exposure of the AGW scam and it informs its readers of the UK scene with :

"The Express is reporting that energy prices “have soared more than 80 per cent in the last five years,” and singles out British Gas for announcing a seven per cent hike when “the number of families struggling to pay their heating bills reaches 5.5 million and excess winter deaths this year are expected to be higher than ever.”
What the article failed to explain, or even mention, is the primary reason energy costs have become so dangerously prohibitive in the U.K: Green energy policy.
According to British Gas managing director Phil Bentley, not only is the price of wholesale gas up since spring, but the company is also fighting the ever-increasing costs of meeting its “environmental obligations.” .

Nothing new here, but at least our AGW friendly warmists in government, FOE and the rest of the nutters are still being exposed for the ideologically challenged fools that they are. It will be pitiful if people in the UK or elsewhere die through cold related illnesses this winter - but it is our government and British Gas which should bear the blame and moral responsibility for much of that. Cameron should try telling a cold pensioner that Green Energy is doing a wonderful job in saving the planet.

Perhaps I am late to pick up on this but...

Friends Of the Earth = FOE to Mankind.

Their acronym belies their intentions.

It is interesting that FoE compares the UK to the colder country of Finland and claim that there are 40% fewer deaths due to cold. Both states have similar GDP and reasonably comparable energy infrastructure so a comparison might seem valid. However, according to Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, per capita CO2 emissions in Finland are 3.45 tonnes of CO2 per capita (ranking 19) whilst the UK rate is 2.56 tonnes CO2 per capita (ranking 38). Although the more temperate UK climate probably has some effect, both positive and negative (people are less used to cold weather), the reduced death rate in Finland might just be attributable to their greater energy usage. The UK is more efficient by 35% (per capita emissions ratio = 1.35)

If you can believe Wikipedia:
“As of 2007, Finland has roughly the lowest industrial electricity prices in the EU-15 (equal to France)”. This appears to be something FoE has forgotten to explain.

Is FoE in fact suggesting that the UK becomes more like Finland in regards energy usage?

France & Finland both have low electricity prices because they are heavily nuclear.

Nuclear is, obviously, very low carbon indeed.

So, by definition, every "environmentalist", including politicians, who honestly believes in catastrophic warming &/or actually cares about pensioners freezing to death is among the foremost supporters of nuclear power.

And every single one of them who claims to believe in such warming & doesn't support nuclear is a wholly corrupt, thieving fascist parasite simply attempting to increase their level of parasitism.

Isn't that right Mr Huhne, FoE & the rest of you pensioner murdering subhuman filth, or is there a gap in my logic somewhere?

I'll take that as a "no there isn't" from every eco-Nazi parasite in Parliament, the government funded NGO's (which include FoE) & the BBC.