I was thinking of cars and their conflict with climate change, when, a minute afterwards, an email appeared in my inbox from Volkswagen about their electric car range! How precipitous is that?! Cars are the next big challenge on the environmental agenda which I don't really think we have taken grasp of to date. Electric cars are not the full answer they proscribe to be. We will need a low-carbon transport mix which significantly cuts down on the amount of travel people make. Think walking, cycling, buses, trams, rail, taxis, as well as lifestyle changes such as home-working and video calls. We did a lot of this during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, so surely we can keep up the ante! As an aside, why is everything so expensive suddenly? I'm looking forward to The Festival of Thrift in Billingham on 23-24 September!