| England's Green and Pleasant Rabbi |
|
|
| Written by Rabbi Dr. Tony Bayfield | |
| Tuesday, 01 April 2008 | |
 They don’t come greener than me. A few months ago I wrote that global warming was clearly the greatest challenge of our time but confessed to finding the issues complex and advocates like Jonathan Porritt tainted with an excess of puritan zeal. No, I will not swap my car for a bicycle – I leave the cycling to younger members of the Bayfield rabbinic dynasty. A few weeks ago a letter from the finance company reminded me that I had to make a decision about my present car. I looked ruefully at its 2 litre injection engine and decided that I would have to show the leadership expected of the Head of the Movement and go green. No one in the Movement is greener than Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, Mr Earth Charter himself. Jeff had a Prius before Toyota had invented the car and my Chair, Mike Grabiner, has recently acquired a prudent-looking black version. It was clear I couldn’t buy a Prius lest people think that Toyota was sponsoring the Reform Movement. We wouldn’t mind it if they were but sadly they aren’t. I considered a Honda Civic hybrid but the local dealership refused to let me test drive one saying that their salesman had taken the demonstrator car home, never to return. At my wits end, I consulted the dealers of my present car and, low and behold, they came up with the real deal. £35 road fund licence; congestion charge free from October; diesel engine; 60 miles to the gallon; emissions so low that they out-green Jeffrey Newman’s Prius and Miriam’s bicycle. Not as large or as cheap as I would have liked but as 'What Car?' says, it’s definitely the vehicle "for people who believe the best things come in small packages". That’s me, as my parents still insist. Last night I placed my order. I phoned my son Daniel to brag. "Terrific that you managed it all on your own, Dad", said Daniel, "but I wouldn’t boast too much. You know what would have been the greenest thing to do?" "What?" I asked. "To keep your present car". I told you it was ridiculously complicated. Still, I reckon I am much greener than Jonathan Sacks or Danny Rich. So, discounting Jonathan Wittenberg’s dog, the Reform Movement leads again. Trackback(0)
Comments
(0)
You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
|
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 April 2008 ) |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|