Not easy being green? A climate change activist in December 2007. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Did you see me in the papers the other week, perched on the tailfin of the BA Airbus 320 with my "Climate Emergency" banner? I wish. So far, my resolve to lobby parliament has been foiled by the hassles of everyday life, which means that I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to persuading other people in my climate action group to join the air travel protests.
The best we can do is celebrate Hugh's staying off the plane to Florence next week. His £100 train ticket has proved rather less of a bargain than he originally thought, however - it turns out to be one way only. His wife did give him the option of staying away forever, but he eventually decided to cough up for the return journey. Now he is grumbling that for the same money Ryanair would have taken the whole family there and back.
It's costly having a carbon conscience. With basic household bills soaring this year, we are all starting to grumble, whether it's about train fares or local produce from the farmers' market. Looking on the bright side, I reckon the £3,000 I recently spent on draft-proofing the house will take less time than I had imagined to recoup, given the way energy prices are going. Which reminds me that back in December I considered buying a slice of rainforest instead. (If my single focus had been on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, though, I still think that would have been a more effective use of the money.)
In the face of such conundrums, Maz and Ralph have invited an offsetting guru to address the group. So here he is at this evening's meeting, perched on the armchair in the corner. Chris is bright eyed and bushy tailed - clearly totally at home combining market forces with climate action. He is trying to explain the origins of offsetting - the carbon trading legacy that seems to have allowed big business to take governments for a merry (and lucrative) ride.
Anyhow, as individuals we can (apparently) make truly ethical choices in a way that industry cannot. We can choose to spend our money buying carbon credits, and make a genuine difference. And this carbon offsetting thing is getting more sophisticated by the day - companies now have to publish and share methodologies, meet rigorous sustainability criteria, produce detailed reports, attain approved accreditation ...
Which means what? Which means that consumers can rest assured - spending your money on someone else's carbon reduction is kosher. "Like buying that bit of rainforest?" I inquire. Well, probably not rainforest - that's too unstable an investment. Chris's offsetting company has found that energy efficiency and renewables are more reliable. "For example?" Ugandan cooking pots. Chris has lots of pictures on his laptop showing smiling African villagers whose new, sealed pots use far less fuel than the old ones. His company got the potmakers off the ground.
"What about introducing that sort of thing here in the UK?" I ask. Well, offsetting companies are loath to invest in countries where the governments have targets for carbon reduction. Don't forget - despite its enthusiasm for aviation, our government did sign up to Kyoto, and should be making its own investments.
I think I agree with that, but I'm bothered about the Ugandans. As I stroll home, I look in at my neighbours' glowing houses. Each one contains a very nice cooker, thank you very much, most likely heating up an unsealed pot or two at this very moment. What would the cook say if some offsetting guru appeared on the doorstep with a new-fangled alternative? Probably they would tell him to bugger off. Why? Because your average Brit values his or her freedom to choose - we are not going to change the habits of a lifetime just because someone suggests we should. And from what Chris has said, that's fine, because other people will do the changing for us. People who have an average life expectancy of 51 and are wondering where the next meal will come from, let alone how to cook it.
Which gets me thinking: how long will it take us to start acting more like the Ugandans? When will we reach the evolutionary stage where our survival compels us into carbon reduction? Hmm. You never know. It might not be long now; there could be a UK market for those low-energy stoves just around the corner ...
