Now, this may seem a little drastic to you and I, but some of the more evangelical environmentalists are starting to get macabre in their vision of an eco-town.

One amusing vignette from one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books has a planet whose ecological system was so finely balanced that any visitor had to be weighed on entry. On departure, the hapless visitor would be weighed again and any excess weight would be surgically removed before boarding.

Philip Pullman seems to long for the days of ration cards and no heating. An extract from "Shiver and Perish" can be found at the Sunday Telegraph. According to Pullman, there should be no carbon trading as such, just a plain and simple carbon limit we each carry around with us.

The British seem to have a masochistic streak within them, as a report on eco-towns by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) illustrates. Such a quango seems an unlikely hot-bed (or cool-bed for Pullman) of ecological warriors, but in spite of the blandest language it holds out the opportunity of a carbon police patrolling the streets of every town in England.

The largest single component that contributes to an individual's ecological footprint is food, whereas the greatest CO2 emissions are from transport and home heating. However, in order to achieve CABE's draconian eco-targets, the best strategy is to follow Pullman's in keeping cold, and starving to death would do the planet a huge favour.

The really eye-opening things, that is not stressed but is in the data, is the vast majority of reductions are from personal behaviour and not from central government or corporate activities. Now I understand why all the propaganda to try and blame individuals and conveniently forgetting that such actions have been sponsored and promoted by the social engineers.

Oh yes, and you cannot leave eco-town if you have put on any weight.

http://www.cabe.org.uk/AssetLibrary/12242.pdf