[senco-forum] Keeping costs down

From: "A. WATSON" <awatson at eggbuckland.com>

Sorry Aaron, my emails looks like I was implying those were the outcomes you
wanted!  I'm sure that biofuels could be implemented in a way that wouldn't
lead to all the problems I come up with, I just worry that it wouldn't.  As
you say, the appetite for organic food from developing countries has not
always been a happy story.

I also worry that it gives some people (George Bush as a big example) a "get
out" of actually changing anything at all.

Yes the car is here to stay, I drive over 25,000 miles a year with my work
and I don't see that going completely, public transport is just not an
option a lot of the time.  But as David from AbilityNet pointed out,
technology is providing us with new ways of working that could dramatically
reduce the amount of travel.

Just say as an example, you wanted me to show you the software we produce.
Traditionally I would drive out to see you, or we would both drive to an
exhibition somewhere.  (I've lost count of the number of times I've
travelled to an exhibition in London and the first person I see is from
somewhere within 5 miles of our office in Cheshire) Web based technology
gives me the ability to demo that software to you live over the internet
just as if you were sitting next to me at my computer.  And you don't have
to leave your desk or me mine.

Now of course that raises a whole new issue of access to the internet for
the poor but that is something where work is already being done.

Jamie

> From: "A. WATSON" <awatson at eggbuckland.com>
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 11:14:32 -0000
> To: Jamie Munro <jmunro at djsn.co.uk>, SEN Marketing
> <sen.marketing at dsl.pipex.com>, <webmaster at aylesburyvale-sec.bucks.sch.uk>,
> <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Conversation: [senco-forum] Keeping costs down
> Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Keeping costs down
> 
> I worked in agriculture for nearly 10 years before becoming a teacher,
> mainly in research and extension. During that time I saw the effect of
> venture capital driven farming in developing countries at first and
> second hand. The poverty, starvation and general human misery caused by
> the west's appetite for cheap organic or exotic produce still continues
> to disgust me. I wouldn't want to promote that kind of thing at all.
> 
> However, biofuels are a viable option if managed ethically and
> effectively. A one size fruits all solution for fuel production will not
> be possible. Many options will need to be explored including recycling
> food oils.
> 
> Also a ethical fair trade fuels market needs to be encouraged and
> allowed to flourish.
> 
> To sit back and wait for the petrol to run out will not counter global
> warming or the misery of a new society structure drawn along access to
> energy lines. Currently the poor are already beginning to suffer the
> social exclusion effects of rising fuel prices.
> 
> In the future we may need to make better use of communal transport and I
> am in favour of an over reduction in the reliance on energy. However, we
> have to be realistic, the car is here to stay!
> 
> Aaron
> 
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> 
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