"This is indeed a class war, and the campaign against the Aga starts here"
Mr. Monbiot writes
"It would be stupid to claim that environmentalism is never informed by class. Compare, for example, the campaign against patio heaters with the campaign against Agas. Patio heaters are a powerful symbol: heating the atmosphere is not a side-effect, it's their purpose. But to match the fuel consumption of an Aga, a large domestic patio heater would have to run continuously at maximum output for three months a year. Patio heaters burn liquefied petroleum gas, while most Agas use oil, electricity or coal, which produce more CO2. A large Aga running on coal turns out nine tonnes of carbon dioxide per year: five and a half times the total CO2 production of the average UK home. To match that, the patio heater would have to burn for nine months.
So where is the campaign against Agas? There isn't one. I've lost count of the number of aspirational middle-class greens I know who own one of these monsters and believe that they are somehow compatible (perhaps because they look good in a country kitchen) with a green lifestyle. The campaign against Agas - which starts here - will divide rich greens down the middle."
Prole or posh, it is time to green all our machines. Let us consider microwave ovens. Microwave ovens are so unhealthy that they were banned by the Soviets in 1976.
And, like other appliances that are never truly "off", microwave ovens are energy vampires.
Read an eco-friendly story - about AGA creating huge savings in electricity - here. AGA now has a green section at its site here. And there is a delightful blog, Girl at the Aga, by Laura James here.
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