UK Family Sent to Eco-Re-education Camp
I swear I'm living in an episode of The Twilight Zone written by Kurt Vonnegut. Submitted for your consideration: a wealthy family in Stoke-on-Trent England possess the country's largest carbon footprint. "Their annual energy bill of £3,000 was five times the national average," The Daily Telegraph notes. "The central heating was left on for 24 hours a day. Nothing in their home was recycled, and their carbon-unfriendly inventory included 15 televisions, 30 game consoles, six computers, three DVD players, three fridges, a laptop, 16 spotlight bulbs in the kitchen alone, and two cars (a gas-guzzling 4×4 and a Mini)." The Fowlers are whisked off to a "House of Correction" in Wales where they live for four days without running water or electricity. They fish garbage out of a lake, walk across a pile of burning coals (symbolizing their fossil fuel consumption), watch a pig being killed (and eat it) and fertilize their vegetables with their own urine. Upon their return, they discover an "eco-mower" sheep, an electric car and a pedal-powered washing machine that only works with cold water. Did I mention that this was all done for a reality show called "Outrageous Wasters?" That's it, I'm off to the hot tub…
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Call me when Al Gore volunteers for the treatment.
All that and their annual energy bill was just 3,000 pounds per YEAR? That's just 250 pounds per month. That would actually have to be an incredibly green home to run that much electricity and heating for a year that cheaply. Must be a mistake. 3,000 per month I might believe.
""Their annual energy bill of £3,000 was five times the national average," The Daily Telegraph notes. "The central heating was left on for 24 hours a day. Nothing in their home was recycled, and their carbon-unfriendly inventory included 15 televisions, 30 game consoles, six computers, three DVD players, three fridges, a laptop, 16 spotlight bulbs in the kitchen alone, and two cars (a gas-guzzling 4×4 and a Mini)." So only slightly more energy intensive than a fairly typical working class American family. OK, my energy bill is less than $6,000 (£3,000) and we don't have 15 TVs. Our central heat/AC kicks on when the themostat tells it to kick on, we have 3 computers (and therefore 3 DVD players) 3 fridges, and I'd be scared to know how many game consoles my son has. Our smallest vehicle is a lot bigger than a mini.