Rant & rave

The day after the Stern report into the economics of climate change was published, I found myself driving alone in a huge brand-new Mercedes 220E saloon to a prison 50 miles away. The reason? Probation have a contract with a car hire firm, who tend to supply what is going spare on the day. So over the years I've had delivered anything from a basic diesel Astra through an enormous 4x4 Chelsea tractor up to yesterday's limousine. Environmental madness (although I can't pretend it's not fun for a short while to drive some of these huge metal monsters).

It's an example of how changes need to be made right across the board. Many prisons are located in relatively isolated places, and a car might be the only viable form of transport when time constraints are taken into account. But why allow a system that supplies large and energy-wasteful vehicles to be used for 1 person?