Researchers at Bristol University have discovered that the seas of the world are warming up at a much faster rate than first thought so the necessity to cut carbon emissions is more urgent than ever.
I have definitely cut my carbon footprint considerably since I retired. This has been achieved by reducing the settings on the storage heaters because they just eat electricity and my money, walking as much as possible and only using the car to shop at Tesco once a month instead of weekly. Not much I know, but at least I'm doing my bit.
The government however is not doing so well and are unlikely to get to grips with the problems mainly because they will not pass unpopular legislation to ensure the carbon footprint of the nation is reduced. There is so much that could be done.
At present, councils and social landlords have to do whatever they can to make sure that the properties they are responsible for have relatively low heat loss by having double glazing, loft and cavity insulation where possible but this does not apply to private landlords. The majority of this group are exceedingly greedy as their main interest is to get as much money as possible for what are very often sub-standard and badly maintained properties that do not have double glazing, adequate insulation or modern facilities and are usually very damp as well. Many do not even have proper central heating.
Because the majority of private landlords have gone into the property market to provide themselves with a big fat pension I can't see any politician wanting to bring in laws to bring the private property rental market up to the same standards as the councils and social landlords. This would lose them votes. So, if like me, you rent privately, your landlords can continue to line their pockets with your gold and you will have to rough it and put up with the condensation, damp and any other problem!
My mother is a Landlord and frequently says she'd like to come back as one of her tenants - they're looked after so well! Not all Landlords are bad, or rich:-)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, they're not all like mine. I had lived here for twenty two years (yes - 22 years) before she even came near the place and she never does repairs until the Environmental Health Officer puts an enforcement order on the property. Yet she still expects me to live with mould and damp and pay a fortune for the privilege. If I had earned enough to have a mortgage 25 years ago when I moved in here, I would own it now but instead I am paying the same in rent as most young couples pay for a mortgage on the same size property!
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