Express & Star

Peter Rhodes on scumbags who cruise, duchesses who edit and the blame-game on climate change

Read today's column from Peter Rhodes

Published
Who's to blame?

YOU know how some headlines make you instantly turn the page? "Meghan revealed as September Vogue guest editor." And turn over. . . .

A CRUISE around Norway descended into chaos when Britain's scumbag tendency drank themselves to oblivion and chucked plates and furniture until blood flowed. At the same time, theatre staff in London were complaining about abusive members of the audience. In one incident a punter told an usher: "I hope you die of a brain tumour." This sort of stuff may shame us as a nation but it might just ease the way to Brexit. By now, the other 27 members of the EU must surely be asking: "Do we really want those people in our club?"

I ONCE described Greenpeace as "a sort of Royal Marines for vegetarians." Today, massively upstaged by the road-blocking zealots of Extinction Rebellion, it seems a timid shadow of its former self. Greenpeace's attempt to block Boris's convoy and hand a letter to the PM was bundled out of the way by a couple of cops in a matter of seconds. Not a great recruiting event.

IF you subscribe to the new religion about climate change, you must solemnly believe that rising CO2 levels and other emissions are the fault of mankind. A massive dollop of guilt is important. Many religions rely on guilt, blame and the promise of redemption. But are we really that guilty?

CONSIDER this curious piece from the Guardian website, of all places. It's in a feature about a Met Office team working at a weather station in the far-flung south Atlantic island of St Helena: "It plays a vital role in tracking how our climate is changing over time. Added to that, the south Atlantic is a hotbed of geomagnetic activity – something many experts believe is a factor driving the climate emergency. " Hang on. What heresy is this?

IF we believe the Guardian, some geomagnetic events entirely beyond the control of mankind may be making global warming worse, and "many experts" believe there is a link. Sure enough, go online and you'll find there is research, and debate about this issue, but very little media coverage. Of course, it goes without saying that nothing geomagnetic should get in the way of the good work of reducing emissions and producing fume-free cars. But if we humans are not 100 per cent responsible, can we at least crank down the guilt a bit?

ONE of the strange oversights of highway law is that you get fined for not wearing a seatbelt, but no penalty points on your licence. Whitehall is planning to introduce points, and not before time. The old argument that "it's my life" doesn't apply in countries like ours with a national health service. By not wearing a seat belt, you could needlessly occupy an NHS bed or tie up an NHS surgeon while blameless victims are forced to queue. Not wearing a belt is simply wrong and I can't believe, 36 years after they became compulsory, we still have to hammer that message into thick, selfish heads.

BUT for all you hard-core belt deniers, if you can't belt up for selfless reasons, then do it for selfish ones. Having spent a few nights with police patrols, I can report that unbelted drivers are dead easy to spot and are the first to be stopped and breathalysed. Belting up is a very good way to prevent blue lights in your rear window.