We hear a lot of moaning and groaning these days about global warming, and the planet overheating, and the melting of the Polar ice cream, and all other dire warnings leading to mass diarrhoea and the sewers cannot cope.
There is an obvious cause staring us in the face and we ignore it.
I don't know how it is where you live, but for many years I have commuted by train on a daily basis to London for work. There are millions doing this journey backwards and forwards each day. Not only to and from London, but I guess also Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and other cities everywhere.
What a waste. Millions of cars, buses and trains going backwards and forwards. Can you imagine how much petrol/gas could be saved if we did not need these vehicle journeys? And how much electricity would be saved if we did not need all those trains?
And let's not forget the cost of heating two premises in winter. Your office, and your home for when you return.
And how about the human cost? Often my train used to arrive at a major London station and I had to run from one train to another platform to catch another train for an onwards journey. We would all get ready for the train doors to open and we'd run like ants to the next platform before the other train left. What does that do to your health every day? Especially if you are elderly and not well. On one occasion I saw a man collapse with a heart attack. Was it worth it?
When I worked in London, in my office there was a desk, a cabinet or two, a computer and a telephone. Oh ... and a chair in case I got tired working standing up. I could have had the same at home and worked just as effectively. In fact for a short period I tried it successfully.
The people working for me had the same equipment. They too worked in small teams but had no reason to be in a London office together. There was no reason for me to be with them or they near me. The work I gave them was project based. They had to do certain things by a certain time at a certain budget. To do this they used computers and telephones. They could have done it from home. There was no need for them to come to London daily. And we could all meet face-to-face once a month or so as long as they bought the beer.
Come to think of it, there were other people too who could have worked in groups and individually from home.
The only one who had to come in was the door-keeper. But then, with an empty buiding we would not need a doorkeeper.
If we're serious about global warming and the environment, let us think of obvious and easy solutions which we can implement quickly for the benefit of all.
To be quite honest Victor..which l always am..l for
ReplyDeleteone would never allow myself to get into such a
situation..never..!
I 'hate' cities..wait..l tell a lie..ooops! The only city l
actually fell in love with, was 'Munchen' (Munich)..
in Germany...Fabulous place, so clean and tidy...! :).
I've only been to London..(horrid place)..six times,
and three of those were on school trips with my
daughters school..Natural History Museum etc....
So..I'm a strictly a Sicilian country boy.."Hang on
Willie, your not a boy any more" "HaHa! Oh! Yes l
am"...:O).
Another thing l don't do is..Moan and grown..Can't
be bothered with it..not enough hours in the days
for ALL that nonsense..! :(
I've been medically diagnosed as Different..Special
and Unique..so there you have it..I'm on my way to
a better place already..HeHe! :).
💨💦 💨💦 💨💦 💨💦 💨💦 💨💦 💨💦 💨💦
You're fortunate, Willie. God bless you.
ReplyDelete...my wife and i were fortunate, our business was within walking distance of our home.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky you were, Tom. I was trapped in London. A job in the City but no way of finding a similar job outside London. Commuting was the only (stupid) decision.
DeleteGod bless you both.
Dearest Victor,
ReplyDeleteThat makes a lot of sense!
As for me, I've only commuted maybe a good 20 minutes to work for five years and then again could bike to work, like I did before!
It more depends where you LIVE, where you managed to buy a home (or not!)...
In Campbell Soup there was one such 'Vic' who said: Why have twenty people fly from all over the USA to Pieter Vedder's training facility in Georgia? Why not have HIM fly to the different locations and do training on the spot...?!
That almost make me live like a widow as often on Sunday afternoon my Pieter had to fly out west and he would come home on Saturday morning.
And of course he could not take a lot of things with him; only his slide projector and slides... So that too was very restricted.
Solutions often are not 'that' simple.
Hugs,
Mariette
I understand, Mariette. But in today's world some solutions are that simple. With communications and the Internet being what they are people can meet almost "face-to-face" via the computer with Zoom, Bramble, Teams and many other ways. I have know people teach and lecture over these devices successfully.
DeleteDo we always need to travel to work? I tried it successfully for a short while and it worked. How many people in London need to be there? Whole offices can be moved in other areas of the country and people could live closer to their work.
God bless.
TRUE!
DeleteThis makes perfect sense. I think the pandemic prompted many workplaces to do this sort of thing. Yet, for whatever reason, things have gone back status quo. I suspect there are more than a few individuals whose egos need stimulation (by) being around others. Misery loves company!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's that; and I understand that in London they were concerned that without people travelling in, the hospitality section (restaurants and pubs) would suffer. I'm confused about all this. Surely less travel is good for the environment.
DeleteGod bless, Mevely.
Working from home is great if your job suits that sort of thing, but there are lots jobs that require your physical presence, such as teaching and restaurant work. As an aside, I think people who fuss about climate but continue to use their private jets are nothing but hypocrites. I'm not buying the global warming lie.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Victor!
I agree Martha that some jobs do require a physical presence. In my work, and many others, the job was mainly desk bound. Groups of work could easily be located outside London; like our finance department for instance, HR, and other policy making units.
DeleteI believe global warming is due to too many candles on birthday cakes. But is anyone listening? Why not have just one candle for every ten years after age 20?
God bless.
It is great that now so many people are able to work from home. Things are improving.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's true, Happyone. Technology helps at last. God bless.
DeleteI agree with you, allowing all who can work at home to do so is a great cut back on pollution from commuting, plus we would not need as many office buildings, so less pollution there too. I know people who are working successfully from home now and never want to return to the office. That is a great trend.
ReplyDeleteHi Terra, how nice it is to see you visiting me here. Thank you. Please call again soon and often.
DeleteI agree, wherever we can we should encourage people to work from home.
God bless always.
This is what i've been saying, too. During the pandemic, many did let their employees work from home, but now they make them come back to the office.
ReplyDeleteOne reason, i believe, is many employers just don't believe the employees are getting as much done at home as they do in the office (and in some cases it's true, there are always going to be people who cheat). Some employers are just micromanagers and want to be able to be there and oversee everything all the time.
It's a shame, we need to change these things, and many don't have the foresight or the backbone.
You're right Mimi. People don't have to be in the office to work. The work I gave my team was project based and they had to complete it by a given time.
DeleteGod bless.