Opinion: Top Gear Needs an Environmental Warning.

I think the BBC show Top Gear should have a warning, like tobacco warnings, concerning the extremely serious environmental hazards cars pose, such as global warming. If not I don't see why the BBC couldn't and shouldn't be sued just like tobacco companies for not advising consumers of the hazards the products they masterfully promote pose. Given cars threaten the survival of humanity I expect the BBC could be sued for inconceivably more than big tobacco.

Even though environmental dangers of cars do infrequently appear in the news (so it could be argued people already know about it) I think a warning is still needed because the show relentlessly asserts it is great to simply have an infantile, unthinking, unquestioning, carefree, impulsive enthusiasm for cars. By appealing to primitive impulses (using extremely expensive and expertly made productions) the show bypasses the rational frontal cortex of the brain, a clear environmental warning with each show would balance this. In my view Top Gear is playing a strategic role in destroying the health of the planet in a totally irresponsible and seemingly highly calculated way, exploiting and dragging down the (formerly) impeccable reputation of the BBC.

That's my opinion. I'm not the slightest bit interested in suing the BBC myself, I'm simply hoping to  alert them to this danger. Also please note I am not suggesting in any way the content of the show should be changed, only that it needs to be accompanied by a strong environmental warning. A similar message has been sent to the BBC.

I'm not against cars, I'm against addiction to the power of cars, both at the individual level and at the societal level, in terms of urban and rural design for instance which makes it virtually impossible to do anything without transportation. The cure for car addiction would in my opinion consist largely of much greater self-reliance for homesteads, suburbs, cities and regions, still supported by transportation and trade with other regions. I don't really see this as something government can or should force on people, they'll have to decide to do this for themselves if it's going to happen.

If car addiction can be brought mostly under control we would not need to try to preserve our overconsumption by trying to invent new "green" vehicles we can keep abusing at the same rates, as non-addicted car usage levels would probably be at an environmentally safe level. It would also mean enough petrol for thousands of years, many say we may never come up with a more efficient energy source, better to conserve it until we do.

A common feature of addictions is they are "sticky", users perceive that other significant people are doing it, addiction is "social" (D Thompson. The Fix. 2013) this is how shows like "Top Gear" contribute strategically to addiction to the power of cars. 

Pukeko takes liking to Water-garden in Wellington Central

Pukeko standing & dining on Asian culinary herb Water Dropwort (Oenanthe javanica) growing in an old bath in my garden in Wellington Central, New Zealand.

This Pukeko (Porphyrio porhyrio) has been staying in my garden for several weeks, apparently attracted by my tubs and baths filled with water and edible aquatic plants. Pukeko are normally a swamp bird, I've never seen or heard of one in Wellington Central before( the garden is 20 min walk from downtown), though there is is a lot of native bush around.

So far it has been completely quiet, but apparently can be quite noisy when living in groups, for this reason I've decided against experimenting with them as livestock... not fair on neighbors in densely populated areas (car noise & pollution no problem!)

  

Avocado Tree producing in Wellington, New Zealand

It is commonly (though not universally) believed Avocados (Persea americana) cannot fruit in the cool temperate climate of  New Zealand's capital. 

This is a more cold tolerant variety, the 'Bacon' (it doesn't taste like Bacon, it's named after it's breeder). It grows happily in an unusually cold Central Wellington Valley,taking frost down to -3 C  (26.6 F).  I tried the more common variety 'Hass', usually reported to tolerate temperatures to around 0 C, it died the first winter (because most of Wellington is frost free 'Hass' might work in most places). If your first attempt at growing Avocados doesn't work, it might just be you need a more cold tolerant variety, 'Mexicola' takes frosts down to around -7 C (19.4 F) !

This tree started bearing after around 7 years, it flowered for three years without producing any fruit , it is only six feet tall. The fruits appear to be rather small, but very tasty, they took about a year to ripen. The flowers probably self pollinated, an example of the fact that Avocados do not need a pollinator in cool climates.       

Dovecote with rat-proof metal flashing

French Mondain and racing Pigeons in a Dovecote (pigeon-house) with metal flashing added after rats climbed up the neighboring Hops vine and beheaded squab (baby pigeons) to get to the grain in their gizzard. 

Rats can't grip on metal but they are lateral thinkers & acrobats I don't know for sure if this is full proof against them but seems to discourage, have not had any trouble with them since, feeding pigeons in the morning and learning to give them just enough grain so there isn't stuff lying around to attract scavengers like rats* is also helpful, along with old fashioned traps, placed where the pigeons can't reach(!).  

*Afterthought 5 years on. It looks as though accidentally leaving food out overnight may have also resulted in a stoat being attracted to the area, getting a taste for the feed, then stalking and killing an adult pigeon away from the dove cote to get more.  I'm guessing not a rat because they rarely attack mature birds. I suppose the bird may have died naturally and was then decapitated.

It appears to me pigeons are probably really suited to areas with open ground like lawns or pavement and possibly instinctively prefer this. They can see a predator coming where there are no bushes and herbs growing. They occur naturally in these sorts of places, not in bush or scrub or food gardens.  

** 10 years later update. I left this property 3 years ago. The racing pigeons have not been feed since but have continued to use the dovecote for breeding . I don't know where they've been getting food, perhaps from the city about 2 miles away. So it is possible to get squab for human food without feeding your pigeons anything, at least once they've gotten used to the dovecote and possibly as long as there is a city nearby but it would be worth trying in the country too.  

Prayer Duck

'Prayer Duck', by  David Nicholls. 

Some work by David Nicholls, an artist based in Wellington, New Zealand  

Pumice Head with Skyscraper Cocoon

Hot Love

Diamond-head Friends 

Home of Wilderness

(some sold under the name David Nicol or Nichol)

I try to embody an ecosystem in the form or structure of my paintings, with very distinct parts forming a meaningful whole with mutually reinforcing parts. I idealize ecology in the structure of the paintings, emphasizing symbiosis, cooperation, diversity, harmony as the aspects worth learning from in civilization. Parasitism, predation, domination, disease, competition and chaos, inescapable parts of all true ecosystems, are not embodied in the composition or structure of the paintings, although they may be themes dealt with in the content of some images.   

This grainy photo of a found object assemblage which no longer exits, done in Dan Engelke's sculpture course at Purdue University, Indiana, c.1984, when I was around 20. This was the first time I combined diverse, previously completely unrelated parts to make a harmonious whole, influencing all my later painting. It is hard to make out a flower made of marshmallows and an egg on a pillow at the top centre. Below it a bed of nails with mouse traps containing sweets as bait, on an astro turf background. It depicted the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, spoke to once and never saw her again.

Still probably my favorite piece.