…what do you think they would have done differently?

Nothing? Abandoned it all? Burnt as much coal as they could?

Fairly sure they did, I seem to remember a quote from someone in about 1912 pointing out we were burning more coal and would need to switch to wind harvesting.

They'd have done exactly what they did – the human race is remarkably good at burying its collective head in the sand until there's concrete evidence of a problem – eg the point we're just about reaching now (though I'd suggest still not there yet).

seeing as they (the victorians, not brunel*) had no qualms about enslaving entire countries, going to war willy-nilly and genocide, I'd say not a bit different.

*although he did see off a fair few labourers

Where's Cressers when you need him, eh?

We only have 50 days to SAVE THE WORLD! WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED, I TELL YOU!

Well GB's clearly trying to set him up as "The Man Who Saved The World" and there's no way we could vote him out then, is there 🙄

We only have 50 days to SAVE THE WORLD! WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED, I TELL YOU!

No need to panic Captain, the Tories will be here soon. Then suddenly climate change will no longer be an issue. Because as everyone knows, everything is just tickety-boo when the Tories are in power.

I can't wait until we have a Tory government again and winters become proper cold once more.
How do the Tories manage to fix everything without even trying ? ………….gawd bless'em.

I can't wait until we have a Tory government again and winters become proper cold once more

Amen. Only I'm serious 😀

I don't think they would have done anything differently as they wouldn't have had the technology to do what they did any other way. I can't imagine that they would have let it halt any 'progress'.

Would they then have been able to research into the methods we now do? Who knows………but I think not.

On a bit of a tangent we are not killing the world – 'save the planet', I saw a docu where the expert (I think Dr Iain Stewartson?), said we're only making it less habitable for humans and animals, the earth itself would continue on and 'recover' with new species……think extinction of the dinosaurs, the earth is still here.

Might as well enjoy living it up and let future generations deal with I say……..ignorance is bliss 😉

I can't wait for the Torys to come back so we can see some proper hard core union action again. I miss the days of people standing out in the rain for weeks on end achieving nothing but killing the industry that pays them. None of this one day strike business. I want to see policemen back on 100 hour overtime weeks as they club a few skulls, scabs houses being burned down and paving slabs being thrown through car windscreens.

Climate change? What climate change? In the last 150 years what has the average world temp increased by? Since 1998 what has the average world temp done? Why are we not suposed to call it "Global Warming" anymore?

Why exactly does the earth need humans anyway, once we used every resource we can then fight ourselves to death and the world will go on and perhaps the planet will be a better place.

What about the weather samuri ? ……… what will the weather be like when the Tories are back in ?

I'm reckoning lovely barbeque summers, and lots of snow for the kiddies to enjoy in winter.

U need to move to redditch then samurai

Climate change? What climate change? In the last 150 years what has the average world temp increased by? Since 1998 what has the average world temp done? Why are we not suposed to call it "Global Warming" anymore?

Why exactly does the earth need humans anyway, once we used every resource we can then fight ourselves to death and the world will go on and perhaps the planet will be a better place.

Your micro-rant is kind of pointless. Everyone knows this already, they're just fighting to preserve humanity, not save the world.

Back to the Victorians – the big industrialists were motivated by money, not progress… so no, they wouldn't have done anything different

The Thames used to regularly freeze over in the Victorian's day, so they'd probably welcome the idea of a slight increase in temperatures.

porterclough – Member
The Thames used to regularly freeze over in the Victorian's day,

IIRC, part of that was due to the way the river ran back then, as it wasn't confined by the embankments put in place by Bazalgette.

I want to see Michael Howard's freaky face back on telly. He was pretty scary when I was a child! He must be rubbing his warty hands at all those juicy CCTV cameras and asbos to play with mmmmmmm

And away from the tories…..I agree with you mrben in that the earth will be fine. However I think the status quo is actually pretty good all round, not worth pissing away so we can 'live it up' though 🙂 That's just lazy.

Ironic I suppose that without the industrial revolution we wouldn't have got to rockets, and satellites, and computers, to let us understand what we were doing to our world.

Maybe they would have the attitude that 'lets use it all up as quickly as possible, screw the future generations!' ….if so could we have been sitting here with nothing left to play with.

If you could have 'offset' your trip to the US on the SS Great Britain back then, would they have gone for it?

If you could have 'offset' your trip to the US on the SS Great Britain back then, would they have gone for it?

Many offsetting schemes involve paying someone in the third world to stay poor while rich westerners continue to enjoy their jetsetting lifestyles guilt-free. This is a form of economic imperialism, and therefore right up the Victorians' street. IMHO.

I want to see Michael Howard's freaky face back on telly. He was pretty scary when I was a child! He must be rubbing his warty hands at all those juicy CCTV cameras and asbos to play with mmmmmmm

Ann Widdecombe once described him as having "something of the night about him"

CaptainFlashheart

IIRC, part of that was due to the way the river ran back then…..

Well cor blimey Captain, you're a right proper Victorian gentleman – and no mistake.

Do you also recall this ? :

" …towns such as St Helens, Swansea or Sheffield, all places producing chemicals and metals, where the 'noxious vapours' killed plants and animals and undermined the health of residents. The Government took action with the Alkali Act of 1874, which required manufacturers to use the 'best practicable means' of controlling these vapours. However, a Royal Commission concluded in 1878 that measures were only practicable if they did not involve 'ruinous expenditure'.

The courts were clear that they should not penalise industrialists for causing nuisances with their fumes…"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/social_conditions/victorian_urban_planning_08.shtml

Of course in those good old days, we had Tory governments.

IIRC, part of that was due to the way the river ran back then, as it wasn't confined by the embankments put in place by Bazalgette.

I'm fairly sure my parents said they remembered the Mersey freezing over too, and partially many times too.

Yawn at yet more political irrelevance.

Yes I suppose with the amount of local pollution, and chemicals running through the towns and rivers back then, the thought of some abstract problem with CO2 causing a 'greenhouse effect' (did they have many greenhouses back then?) that may affect the world as a whole….would have seemed pretty irrelevant!

They were probably still entranced by the prospect of beating nature.

Isn't there some statistic someowhere that China are building coal fired power stations at a greater rate than that of the industrial revolution.

Surely this shows even with the knowledge of consequences people carry on regardless!?!?

Have we fixed the hole in the ozone layer yet then?

seem to remember something from way back saying it could be fixed but not seen anything on the news etc. for ages about it

uplink – Member

It's not fixed and you were right to be scared cause as predicted the end of the world has happened.

ernie_lynch – Member

Hey, What about the Liberal goverments we had back in the day. Don't let them off the hook or were you just trying to make a vacuous political point rather than maintaining this pointless one?

Sorry nearly slipped in to serious then.

Have we fixed the hole in the ozone layer yet then?

Let me google that for you.

The hole has stopped growing and it will take 50 to 100 years to return to its original state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

What about the Liberal goverments we had back in the day. Don't let them off the hook

In 1874 we had a Tory government. Don't let the Liberals off the hook ? Why not……..whilst I enjoy having a pop at the Tories – I don't think there's much fun to be got out of the Liberals. New Labour's not too bad though.

"Sorry nearly slipped in to serious then."

How did you manage that ? ……forgot that you were on a cycling forum ?

It's not fixed and you were right to be scared

no – not scared, after all, who'd want to go to Antarctica on holiday?

ernie_lynch – Member

Gladstone, I'm sure you could extract a laugh out of him?

uplink – Member

Lovely place that Antartica has beaches that are as white as the caribean and sky so clear that a tan is no problem. Temperatures in the 40's and 50's (minus).