UK Government's Energy Review published

See the full text of the much-rumoured and leaked Energy Review here.

'Cars designed to conk out at zebra crossings will never be the answer to environmental problems'

So, while everyone is rushing to print with their views of what will be in the UK Energy Review, or revealing their 'leaked' version of it, I will note a largely irrelevant article by James May, the 'other bloke off Top Gear' (a BBC television programme about cars). Incidentally, I saw a copy of The Review today, but not the contents. So no exclusives from me.

In Telegraph.co.uk, Mr May writes of his disgust with the new Citroen C2 'Stop and Start' (also available on the C3) a car whose engine cuts out when the car brakes to a halt and re-starts when the brake is released, as a fuel saving and pollution-reduction measure. His dislike of the idea is rooted in a distrust of the technology, which is fair enough as an opinion, but he goes on to make risible statements that demonstrate that he has failed completely to grasp the reasons for reducing carbon dioxide emissions:

'The facts are these. There is a finite supply of fossil fuel left and, in broad terms, consuming it is going to create the same amount of pollution. It doesn't matter whether I drive the Bentley and use it all up tomorrow, or drive something that conks out temporarily at every junction and eke it out for another few years. Conserving energy is ultimately fruitless and, more to the point, completely at loggerheads with the demands of a progressive world.'

And a final mixed-up paragraph:

'So – and assuming that fossil fuel consumption really is an issue – here's a suggestion. All the endeavour and ingenuity, all the time, equipment and resources, all the wit and learning – in short, every manifestation of human effort being wasted on the C2 Stop & Start, the hybrid, the wind farm and the ecological washing machine; it should all be directed towards finding the alternative.'

How can we hope for a sensible debate on energy issues when a major newspaper publishes this confused nonsense without comment?