Letter: A paler shade of green

David Cromwell
Saturday 20 March 1999 19:02 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

IT WAS a surprise to read that the director of Friends of the Earth has fallen for New Labour's rhetoric about "putting the environment at the heart of policy making" ("Brown's green tax revolution", 14 March). Notwithstanding the Chancellor's tinkering with taxes in the Budget, it remains to be seen whether Labour will make the shift from taxing "goods" such as work and savings, to taxing "bads" such as pollution and resource depletion.

Meanwhile, under this "green" government, 30,000 people die each year because their homes are too cold or damp, up to 24,000 die prematurely as a result of poisonous city smogs formed from noxious gases pumped out of car and lorry exhausts, and nine million households have their drinking water contaminated by dangerously high levels of lead.

Our "green" government has a scandalous attitude to genetically modified food and crops. The science minister Lord Sainsbury personifies New Labour's preference for corporate expansion over public interest and environmental protection. Our "green" government refuses to take the requisite action in the face of climate change - to phase out fossil fuel use and invest massively in Britain's enormous potential for renewable energy.

DAVID CROMWELL

Southampton

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in