Tories' sham-green shame

Many thanks to The Independent news paper's exclusive - Backlash grows over Camerons green sellout  for the following list of the promises that have gone sour as the Govt back-tracks on environment policies and plans.

Planning New rules will strip away protection of the countryside from development – the Government has so far resisted a continuing, widespread campaign against the plans.

Motorway speeds To the horror of environmental campaigners, the Government is raising the limit to 80mph, adding more than two million tons a year to carbon emissions.

Forests Ministers announced last year a mass sell-off, despite no reference in the Conservative manifesto or coalition agreement, but a public campaign forced a U-turn.

Green investment bank A flagship environmental policy has been severely undermined by a Treasury block on it providing loans. It will not be allowed to borrow until 2015.

Eco-homes Another legacy of Labour, but any new homes built with "zero carbon" credentials will not have carbon emissions from electrical appliances counted, undermining the definition.

Quangos The Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency have all been prevented from policy-making, while the Sustainable Development Commission and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution have been axed.

Illegal tropical timber Ministers have scrapped a Conservative manifesto pledge to criminalise the possession of illegal tropical timber.

Aggregates The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, which diverted £20m in taxes raised from the sand and gravel industry to 200 green projects, has been scrapped.

Daylight lights: what big switch-off?

Very many Pinhoe streets are scheduled to switch over to 'part-night-lighting', which is the "glass-half-full" way of saying Devon County Council proposes to create lots of darkness across Pinhoe sometime in the not-too-distant future.

See - Part-Night Lighting: Carbon reducing scheme

The switch-off/on can't happen until each street lamp has been replaced with one more readily controllable.

Which brings up the seeming lack of any control at the moment down Parkers Cross Lane to Orchard Close.

At least a dozen lamps were shining brightly at mid-day today - as I reported to the County Council number - 0845 155 1004 for highways faults  /problems.

There was an explanation. Sometimes, as the My Devon voice told me, lamps are deliberately left on for repairs checks. Plausible, I thought.

Except, as I cycled on I couldn't see any repairs vehicles parked anywhere. And the two residents I stopped and spoke to told me the lights were often on. Night and day, that is.

So when part-night-lighting does reach Parkers Cross Lane the County Council will be saving a whole lot more carbon than they thought. Unless, of course, they still leave their lamps on during the day.

Ultra-rapid bicycle rescue

Firstly - big thanks to the Pinhoe resident who alerted me to the Claude Butler bicycle. Beside the Exeter-to-Waterloo railway track - below Exhibition Way Bridge.

Secondly - equally big thanks to Pinhoe's excellent PC and PCSO for the speed with which they got the bicycle removed.

They're now trying to trace its owner.

Hope the bike's not too badly damaged and the owner's story of loss has a happy ending.

Let's be clear about drains

A drain doesn't need to be kept clear just because it's a drain. 

Devon County Council, cutting back everywhere, seems to have forgotten that the purpose of keeping a drain clear is to get water off our streets and pavements. Doh!

And - as global warming increases rainfall intensity - we more often need good clear drains to keep water out of our homes and businesses too.

Perhaps I notice more as one of Exeter's many cyclists and walkers, but the last few days have brought us plenty of rain, and too much of it stays around too long.

Puddles turn to pools. Pools turn to lakes. Walking becomes wading.

And as for cycling - some 'lakes' are too large to stop pedaling and coast all the way through. And all that water certainly hides nasty pothole surprises. 

But it's driver behaviour that seems to have become decidedly inconsiderate as drain maintenance gets worse. 

For goodness sake - just drive at 5mph for five seconds when going through undrained pools. Don't fling up water all over nearby walkers and cyclists.

Fly-tipping gets worse - why?

We have two excellent recycling centres in Pinhoe.

First is the new, superb Pinbrook Road Recycling Centre

The second is the small group of bins in the corner of Sainsburys  car park 

So why do people still fly-tip? 

Almost anywhere, 

but also right beside the Sainsbury's bins.

I asked at Sainsburys enquiry desk how frequently tipping happened.

Far more often now - was the reply - it's since people have had to pay to recycle.

I tried to explain that it was only building waste which was charged for, but really, that explanation needs to reach everyone, not only the person at Sainsburys enquiry desk. 

Because he was right. 

Purely by making one category of waste chargeable it has some-how sent a message that recycling centres now charge for anything. 

As a result, many more people are resorting to fly-tipping. And clearing up the fly-tipping costs a lot of Council money that could be better used. 

I wouldn't be surprised if it costs more than the income  made by charging for the building waste. 

An own goal, Devon County Council?