Earlier this week the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a report identifying things the public should be doing to limit climate change. Third on the list is to "avoid unnecessary short-haul flights". Apparently we find this hard to do because of "divided consumer attitudes" - ie, we want to have our cake and eat it.
Perhaps before they start lecturing us on how to behave, though, they might consider making a start slightly closer to home. Round the corner at the Department for Transport (DfT) might be a good place to start, since their colleagues are busy making it easier for people to fly short-haul, by trying to build a third, short-haul runway at Heathrow.
If the DfT were to read the report they'd discover that Defra's attitude is the complete opposite of their own. For example, "government needs to lead by example, and to be more visible on climate change," as well as to "remove the most unsustainable products and services from the market place". So it's not just the poor old consumers who are suffering from 'divided attitudes'. Hurrah, the government is on our wavelength, after all.
Whether the mess of contradictions can be put down to cock-up or conspiracy I really don't know, but for an administration that came to power promising "joined-up" government it certainly doesn't look good. Still they've only had just over a decade at it, and Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say...