Too darn hot
Here's why we're all going to die
It's all to do with this house in Bow, East London. It is owned by a yoga teacher called Claire Harrigan. She appeared on Wednesday's Property Ladder, which had an eco theme. She wanted to develop a "healthy house" - a home free of modern toxins and filled with spirit-lifting ideas, such as "happy" coloured lighting and wiring carefully diverted from sleeping areas. This, you must admit, is admirable. However, and here's the rub, Claire seemed (and she may have been a victim of narrative-led editing) like an idiot. Instead of coming across as a visionary, committed human being, she seemed "batty" (Sarah Beeny's assessment), putting crystals beneath the floorboards, threatening to put in a circular bed, installing a "happy shower" (which sounds like a service offered by a prostitute) and working from a "plan" that was just words like "spirit" and "happiness" with starbursts drawn round them. She'd also been arsing around with her development for four years when the programme joined her, taking down supporting walls without rhyme or structural reason, and when she'd finished creating her vision, Sarah calculated that Claire could have made a profit if she'd done nothing and left it to the market. She actually spent 74 grand, and could have made 36 grand more profit if she'd left it and got on with her yoga.
Now, the important thing here is not that a silly woman in Bow failed to maximise profit from a development, but that she was chosen and presented by the programme as a nutcase. Eco-friendly in this case meant off her head. If Claire had been redesigning the house for herself, you couldn't have criticised, as it wouldn't have been about profit. But because she'd confused vision with business, she came out of it at a disillusioned loss. (Actually, she hadn't even sold it by the end, so the figures are academic.) My worry is that those who attempt to do something about the parlous state of the planet are still portayed as dimwits, or as comic relief. Poor old Claire seemed well-intentioned but ill-informed. She made some connection between the rise in the sale of organic food and a willingness for housebuyers to pay a premium for an eco-friendly house. The programme gave some practical advice about reclaiming wood and using energy-saving lightbulbs, but it's not its brief to save the world, it's about making money! Meanwhile, we're left with the impression that environmental types are simply mental. And a quick vox pop on Hungerford Bridge in London concluded that people are into the idea of an eco-friendly house, but wouldn't pay for it.
Meanwhile, over in conservative Surbiton, a lecturer and his astronomer girlfriend, JP and Julie, did an eco-friendly number on a 1970s flat. Much less silly than Claire, they actually said they wanted to prove that eco developing doesn’t have to be "woolly hats and sandals" - and good for them. But it was obvious they were in the wrong suburb, and their budget was miniscule. (Natural, non-chemical paints, for instance, cost a fortune - I can vouch for that.) At one point, when they almost seemed sensible, JP threatened to install an "eco aspirator", a vegetation system that's meant to improve the flat's air quality but cost two grand. Sarah talked him out of it. Cuh! Those nutty eco-warriors! (She was right, in the circumstances, but the narrative remained consistent.) They couldn't sell their finished flat either.
Message: don't bother.
This worries me as we are currently experiencing the hottest days on record. I know, I know, it was bloody hot in the summer of 1911, but the three warmest years on record, globally, have occurred since 1998, and 19 of the warmest 20 since 1980. Meanwhile, bits of the Eiger broke off this week due to melting glaciers, there's almost no snow on the top of Kilimanjaro and polar bears are drowning in the Arctic. The Independent, ever-reliable in these matters, wrote an impassioned leader on Wednesday - the day Property Ladder made a monkey out of environmental builders - that ended with these words, which I quote in full:
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that most of the warming is caused by rising CO2 emissions directly attributable to human burning of nature's vast stores of coal, oil and natural gas. In the face of this, the silence on global warming from the leaders of the rich world gathered in St Petersburg was deafening. They were led in their foot-dragging by George Bush, who insists that the cost of mitigating global warming is too high to be justified in the light of what he calls the scientific uncertainty about the pace of climate change. The rest of the world sees no such uncertainty, and the heat of today will only underline that.
Which is why we're all going to die. And George Bush comes from Texas, where it's already hot and I expect even the horse stables are air-conditioned, so he's going to be the last to notice. (I've been to Houson and Dallas, and they were the hottest places I have ever visited. The restaurants advertise "refridgerated air". Now, if you grow up in that environment, a little bit of warming isn't going to strike you as odd, or worrying. But tell that to the Europeans dying in heat waves and forest fires, or the Inuits who can no longer rely on centuries-old food and weather patterns, or the next lot of poor people to lose everything in a hurricane or mudslide. Yo, Blair! Build some nuclear power stations - that'll fix this shit.) Open a window before you put on that air-conditioning. It might help.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 9:25 AM
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16 Comments:
I bet that if you asked people if they wanted a house that was cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter and with lower energy bills, they'd be more enthusiastic than if you asked them if they wanted an eco friendly house.
We have relatives around Bow with the surname Harrigan, it's not the most popular name in the world so it strangely altered the way we viewed Property Ladder this time round...
It's very depressing, isn't it? The evidence does seem overwhelming - maybe a couple more generations before the whole house of cards tumbles. Even more depressing is the thought that a radical 'green' shift in a handful of western democracies would be about as effective as Canute. A global 'eco-dictator' might delay the inevitable for a while, but at what price?
Maybe we should just enjoy the party, and who knows maybe the human race is cleverer than we think? Maybe the next Newton/Faraday/Einstein is being born today? In a hundred years perhaps our world will be as unimaginable to us as ours would be to the people wilting in the summer of 1911 - and just possibly not for the worse?
There - I feel better already! Now where's my 'Teach Yourself Physics' book?
Sadly one or two Newton/Faraday/Einsteins have probably died in Africa in the last twenty years. Perhaps if we could better imagine our world in a hundred years we'd be doing more now. It always strikes me as a bit rich when the politicians start preaching to us about the pensions crisis.
I watched this particular Property Ladder. It didn't come across to me in the same way as you, Andrew. I didn't see it as "another eco-nutter". Yes, I thought she was a bit strange, but purely because of the way she was going about her project, not for what she wanted to achieve from it.
I read in a paper this weekend that if your house is properly insulated, then leaving the windows shut and curtains drawn is a much better way of staying cool. Opening the window just lets in the hot air. Having said that, I prefer to open a window when it is windy.
Frankie - Grand Designs on Channel 4 has made plenty of programmes about eco-friendly houses.
I think the thing about not opening your windows if your house is properly insulated is rubbish, to be honest. When all those people died in the French heatwave a couple of years ago, was it not that the houses & specifically apartment blocks were so well insulated there was no circulation of air? I live in a modern, well insulated block of flats too & without opening the windows it is suffocating (though great in winter - I only really heat two rooms).
When I lived in Rome, where it can get scarily hot, what people seemed to do was open all the windows first thing in a morning, & then as the sun moved round put the blinds or shutters down on that side of the flat. Curtains are no use for this, especially heavy lined ones. If we're going to carry on with this weather, we need to look at having blinds or shutters as well or instead.
I don't think the problem with Claire was the editing....
The point was well made by the fact it took her 5 years to complete the project and nearly caused major structural problems. It's OK to say someone is doing things in a daft way even if what they are trying to achieve is laudible.
For what it's worth I thought the finished result looked fantastic, as did the other house using reclaimed materials. For me the message was you don't have to compromise the finish for what you believe in - a positive message!
And let's not pretend that Sarah Beeny is some nasty capitalist - the show is about people who choose to make MONEY from developing property after all.
Emily, my parents have a new house and it is always cooler in there when they haven't let the warm air in - fact, not rubbish! Obviously, suffocating is a problem, so some common sense is required.
Hi there,
just adding my 2 penneth as one of the eco 'nutters'...
if anyone wants to read the REAL story behind the harsh editing of this week's property ladder, please see the property ladder 19/7 thread in the homes general forum on c4 webpage.
They valued the surbiton flat half finished, misquoted the budget, missed out most of our story - which was actually hoping to encourage people to make steps towards sustainability and health etc, etc, which was a HUGE shame as we only got involved to get a POSITIVE message on the benefits of upgrading current housing stock to a general audience.
They filmed us explaining all about upgrading the inefficient boiler, installing solar, insulating like crazy....but focussed on us wanting to use 'junk' rather than showing how we made leftovers/reclaimed quality materials achieve such a quality finish that one agent said it was the finest bathroom he'd ever seen. 2nd-hand bath, towel rail, taps, tiles, wood and all :)
And for the record we DIDN'T use 'polystyrene packing materials' for the lights,as said in voice-over, which would be pretty dim as they would off-gas nasty chemicals...they were naturally-vacated silk cocoons.
Why waste stuff and add to landfil, and cause further CO2 to be used in manufacturing/transport when so much can be successfully re-used?
Actually we would have no problem selling the flat, probably because by reclaiming we put over 23 000 of high quality materials into the flat on a miniscule budget - we have desperately keen potential buyers, without even marketing, and have turned down an offer of just under 250k because my health is finally improving and health means far more to us than profit.
Don't believe everything you see on TV...our few minutes was put together from over 10days filming...with that amount of spare footage, you can put pretty much any angle on it.
JP's eco-aspirator is his own invention, which isn't needed here as the air quality is so good, but he re-furbished an existing one anyhow (to demonstrate the principle) and that will appear in the magazine - and has had much interest from visitors!
best wishes
Julie
Julie, this is a tremendously interesting insight. I guess we all know that TV programmes are edited to within an inch of their life, and Property Ladder (which is one of my favourite programmes!) is no different. But what you say supports my observation that there was an editorial line that can only be described as eco-hostile. Thanks, and I'm glad you have had some offers on your flat after all your efforts.
Thanks Andrew,
I don't think they set out to be eco-hostile, and Sarah IS keen to promote eco, but I guess they have to make entertaining TV, though what was wrong with showing a really positive and successful project I'll never know.
They could have focussed on various useful tips. They could have helped us encourage others to take baby steps towards sustainability since it makes sense planet-wise, health wise, saves money (other than the paints!) and will increasingly attract a premium as global warming measures come in, and as fuel prices rise.
At least it's being talked about, we've had loads of people ask for detail - and JP's design/eco-architecture skills were already getting recognised in the right circles.
Every little helps!
Hopefully a more detailed write-up will appear in the sept PL mag - though I'm so nervous of that I've asked to see copy...heard nothing yet...
Hi Andrew,
I AM NOW CHARGING FOR THE HAPPY SHOWER! Want to get naked with me!!.
(I actually look much healthier now, they did all the finals when I had about 3 hours sleep!!)
Just got it valued, for between £450 - £475k, not my body the house!!
Hi Andrew,
If we don't get to meet in the Happy Shower, could you please send me a link to the independant newspaper article. thanks
kind regards,
Claire
Claire, nice to hear from you, glad you took my comments in the right spirit, and I'm glad you got a good valuation on the house. Enjoy the Happy Shower in the meantime, and here's the Independent article about climate change (it was a leader) . . .
Article here
Hello Andrew...
All I wanna say is "What you getting at?" You seem pretty clueless and at times absurd... Apparently, you haven't seen the "Blissful Abode" yourself and only wasted time on hearsay and that Channel4 program was in fact very informative... You probably were watching Nuts! Shame on you... Claire Harrigan's dynamic property is one of a kind and if you're not fully aware, let me tell you the ritual house is one of the best properties in East London today and too is up for grabs... Yes, you can actually let this property for your own pleasure cum leisure. If anybody out there looking to bask into a glorious bath of unforgettable mirth, than holla at it soon, before its way too late!
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