Small electric cars like the Peugeot Ion, Mitsubishi iMiev and Citroën Zero, do not have large enough batteries to use a full 30 minute charge. The maximum range of these cars at motorway speeds is 50-60 miles. Fast chargers only charge the battery to 80%, so that is 40-48 miles. Allow 10 miles probably already in the battery at the start of the charge, and that's 30-38 miles for £6. Compare with an ordinary diesel car, doing about 60 mpg, where each gallon costs about £5.50, and you will see it costs about twice as much to run a small car charged at an Ecotricity charging point as it does to run a diesel car filled at a pump. On the other hand, if you charge the electric car at home, it costs about half as much to run as the diesel (even with full price green electricity).

UK self reliance and security. Climate change mitigation.

The conservation of energy, leading to a reduction in the use of fossils fuels and undermining the need for nuclear power, and thus reducing CO2 emissions and global warming.

If they were to put solar panels on all council houses, it would cut carbon emissions significantly, produce cheaper electricity for the council tenants which would help benefit the environment. It would pay for itself in a few years and the government could significantly increase the amount of renewable energy. Also by selling half the energy produced to the big companies, it would benefit the government coffers and the rest could help council tenants pay less for their energy. For the first few years or so the government would be recouping the price of installation, but after that it's pure profit for them. It helps the environment, council tenants and the government.

Give the UK a kick start, break the central power companies profiteering and build the severn barrage in order to provide this country with cheap, clean energy.This would have a knock on effect of making the consumer better off and just as important itwould make our manufactured goods cheaper, therefore improving the country's exports and overall GDP

The government may raise tax on solar in April 2017... unless enough people appeal. This would be a huge increase in the running costs of a rooftop solar installation that would affect both existing and new projects according to Solar Trade Association (STA). “In some cases, it would actually send installations into negative returns: you would be spending more on the system in tax and maintenance than you would be getting back from the sale of the power and the Feed-in Tariff support”, Paul Barwell, CEO of the STA commented. “We therefore need Ministers to step in as soon as possible”. Raising tax to such a crippling extent just over a year after the UK gov made a commitment to tackling climate change would drastically diminish our leadership in renewable energy generation at a time when the global mean temperature continues to rise. It would do this by discouraging 1000's of solar projects. It would be a hugely backward step by the UK in the midst of a collective global energy transition.

Fracking affects us all - Scotland is beautiful, its our greatest asset and fracturing the earth to obtain natural gas will lead to multiple issues affecting peoples everyday lives. Our water table is at risk, fracking involves drilling and injecting water, sand and chemicals hundreds of feet into the earth. This results in contamination of deep water sources. Climate change, because fracking can seriously damage the water supply, then the whole cycle of water in the environment is affected, this may lead to drought increase. Peoples Health is affected, methane gas in the air, chemical pollutants in the water. There are cancer concerns in areas where fracking has been prevalent. Property affected negatively in fracking areas, insurance companies refusing to insure buildings. Smell of gas in the air. Noise of drilling especially in rural and semi rural areas, affecting quality of life for humans and animals alike. Jobs promised - far fewer jobs than promised Cheap gas - evidence suggests this is not the case There are many more reasons, but let's stop it happening here. Let's stop big business and cronyism benefiting at our expense, stop them by-passing planning and environmental laws to suit their own ends. Stop them ruining our fantastic country. Sign this petition and urge Scottish Government to ban fracking NOW.

To reduce pollution levels in Inner London.

Bristol is now the second most congested city in the UK and pollution kills nearly 200 people a year. Yet in the last 3 years just 1 km of truly protected cycleway has been built. Bike Life survey shows that in Bristol – 80% of people support increasing the safety of cycling 70% of people want to see more spent on safer cycling infrastructure The next Council needs to make a comprehensive network of safe, connected cycle routes.a priority.

Unconventional gas exploitation - "fracking" - is a ridiculous idea. The Government's arguments used to justify fracking are as follows: That it will create jobs, that it’ll bring down energy bills, that it’s good for our energy security and it's a transition fuel to a green energy economy. 1. That it will create jobs. A Department for the Environment and Climate Change’s (DECC) report estimated a maximum of 24,300 of them. Yet 400,000 jobs could be created by 2020 by investment in the clean energy sector. 2. That it’ll bring down energy bills like it has in the US. But the UK’s geology is more complex than in the US, which means that the process here will be uneconomic. Even if that wasn’t the case, unlike the US, the UK exports gas as part of a European gas market, and as fracking companies will sell to the highest bidder of these European countries, there could never be a guarantee that UK energy users would be the beneficiaries. 3. That it’s good for our energy security A House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee recommendation was that shale gas should not be relied on to contribute to energy security. An energy security expert has said the best way to reduce energy security risks is to promote renewable power generation, improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy demand. 4. A transition fuel to a green energy economy. Department for Energy and Climate Change-commissioned report on fracking’s greenhouse gas emissions has been shown to be based on poor data and exaggeration. When the actual figures are factored-in, the report shows that burning shale gas to produce electricity is about as bad as, or very possibly even worse than burning coal! The arguments against fracking are so numerous: The UK’s geology is too complex for fracking to be safe or economic. The UK’s geography means we don’t have America’s wide open spaces away from the population or agriculture. Water contamination. The UN has listed seven different ways this can occur. The huge quantities of water required. The carcinogenic properties of the chemicals used. Air pollution. Earthquakes. Industrialisation of countryside and loss of agricultural land to roads, well-pads, pipelines, compressor stations and so on. Traffic/chemical spills/noise and light pollution. Impact on tourism. Even if none of the above applied this doesn’t discount the big one – climate change. A growing number of climate change scientists are recognising that to have any chance of us staying below the two degree increase in global temperature that is required to avoid catastrophic climate change, we have to leave 80% of all already discovered fossil fuels in the ground. So why does this government want to find more of the stuff if we can’t burn it? Not all governments are hell bent on fracking - far from it. There are bans or moratoriums on fracking in France, Germany, many American states, and at least twelve other countries worldwide. And there are attractive alternatives, particularly for the UK as we have the best renewable energy resources in Europe. That’s where our energy security is - and the 400,000 jobs to get our economy back on track. A policy of support for fracking is a vote-loser. As elected representatives of Burnley we the community call on you to say no to fracking and yes to keeping Burnley frack free?

Unconventional gas exploitation - "fracking" - is a ridiculous idea. The Government's arguments used to justify fracking are as follows: That it will create jobs, that it’ll bring down energy bills, that it’s good for our energy security and it's a transition fuel to a green energy economy. 1. That it will create jobs. A Department for the Environment and Climate Change’s (DECC) report estimated a maximum of 24,300 of them. Yet 400,000 jobs could be created by 2020 by investment in the clean energy sector. 2. That it’ll bring down energy bills like it has in the US. But the UK’s geology is more complex than in the US, which means that the process here will be uneconomic. Even if that wasn’t the case, unlike the US, the UK exports gas as part of a European gas market, and as fracking companies will sell to the highest bidder of these European countries, there could never be a guarantee that UK energy users would be the beneficiaries. So the argument about not importing from Russia doesn't stand! 3. That it’s good for our energy security A House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee recommendation was that shale gas should not be relied on to contribute to energy security. An energy security expert has said the best way to reduce energy security risks is to promote renewable power generation, improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy demand. 4. A transition fuel to a green energy economy. Department for Energy and Climate Change-commissioned report on fracking’s greenhouse gas emissions has been shown to be based on poor data and exaggeration. When the actual figures are factored-in, the report shows that burning shale gas to produce electricity is about as bad as, or very possibly even worse than burning coal! The arguments against fracking are so numerous: The UK’s geology is too complex for fracking to be safe or economic. The UK’s geography means we don’t have America’s wide open spaces away from the population or agriculture. Water contamination. The UN has listed seven different ways this can occur. The huge quantities of water required. The carcinogenic properties of the chemicals used. Air pollution. Earthquakes. Industrialisation of countryside and loss of agricultural land to roads, well-pads, pipelines, compressor stations and so on. Traffic/chemical spills/noise and light pollution. Impact on tourism. Even if none of the above applied this doesn’t discount the big one – climate change. A growing number of climate change scientists are recognising that to have any chance of us staying below the two degree increase in global temperature that is required to avoid catastrophic climate change, we have to leave 80% of all already discovered fossil fuels in the ground. So why does this government want to find more of the stuff if we can’t burn it? There are attractive alternatives, particularly for the UK as we have the best renewable energy resources in Europe. That’s where our energy security is - and the 400,000 jobs to get our economy back on track. A policy of support for fracking is a vote-loser. As elected representatives of Rossendale we the community call on you to say no to fracking and yes to keeping Rossendale and Darwenfrack free?

Although the scientific community have understood the dangers we face in climate change this is only just beginning to filter into the general public. MPs seem to be very loath to understand the issues. People have been saying fracking is safe rather than understanding that it is another fossil fuel and will contribute to global warming. Its short term safety is irrelevant. Why not spend our time and energy cleverly to produce the gas for our carbon neutral future. Invest in the small because we understand the big picture. Who are the lobbyists that persuade our MPs to allow our landscape to be ransacked for something that will only encourage more extreme climate events? Biomass gas could be an income stream for our farmers and Councils while giving us a carbon neutral gas. Invest now in our long term future - not in a fossil fuel.