I’m sorry to see Gaby Hinsliff buying into the old line that a green vision is too expensive (An inconvenient truth: you can’t sell the green revolution to people who can’t afford it, 20 July). On the contrary, I ask: “How can we sell a green vision to those who can easily afford it?” Many green actions are free or money-saving, yet people still refuse to take them. Recycling is free, yet in our road many residents still won’t do it. I’d love to know why.
Vegan diets are known to be less environmentally damaging, and beans are generally cheaper than meat. Further up the scale, my solar panels cost a few thousand pounds, but deliver an estimated 5% profit on investment (9% once the capital costs have been paid off). This is far better than most bank accounts in recent years, and yet only one of my relatively affluent neighbours has bothered to install them.
Harping on about the costs only plays into the hands of those who fight tooth and nail to stop green change, and a government which tells us there is no money, while subsidising oilwells, airline fuel and the royal family (King Charles to receive huge pay rise from UK taxpayers, 20 July).
Charles Harris
London
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