IT IS one of the timeless rituals of the new globally-warmed great British summer: firing up the barbecue and slinging on a steak. But people who choose to burn charcoal may have to think twice as councils now have swingeing new powers to force homeowners to buy 'carbon offsets' before they light up or face a Pounds 50 fine. The measures, which have been approved by the Climate Change Unit of the Department of Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs, are likely to severely curtail the number of barbecues Britons enjoy this summer...

A spokesman for B&Q said last night that they were looking at producing new 'green' barbecues to cut down CO2 emissions. One idea is to harness the warmth created by rotting compost, but these would require a chef to start cooking days in advance. So-called 'friction barbecues' powered by a guest on a stationary exercise bike are also being examined.

Fiona Hall, a Liberal Democrat MEP, has led the calls for the ban, which is expected to be endorsed by the parliament in Brussels.
"Patio heaters are scandalous because they are burning fossil fuels in the open sky, so producing vast quantities of CO2 with very little heat benefit," she said.
But the proposal has been attacked by publicans, who say bars and pubs need the heaters for customers driven outside by smoking bans.

Life imitates art?

The main retailers who stocked these things in the UK said a while ago they would stop selling them.

If it's cold outside... excuse me if this is a a bit radical... GO INSIDE and stop fucking the planet up.

Just a thought.

Thatcher! Coal Mines! Wales! Own us a living rabble rabble rabble!!!

Even if I agree that they are the most inefficient, relatively polluting type of heaters, I could see their point in street caf

The patio heater ban has been raising some major hackles in the United Kingdom. Seems they weren't that popular until all indoor smoking was banned in public places. Then they were used to heat the outdoor areas that bars, restaurants, etc. were providing for their smoking patrons.

So many are seeing this as an on-going persecution of smokers. Really, some people are going to smoke, despite the risks, so why not let said businesses legally set aside indoor areas for them?

I'm tired: I misread the heading of this as 'banning potato healers' and thought it was going to be a follow-up on the prohibition of the use of pareidolic potatoes in faith healing. Oh well.

CHIMINEA HAIKU

Winter's not warm
except on my patio.
I'm the world's center.

You'll breathe my exhaust
Until the ice caps dissolve;
I couldn't care less.

Paddy O'Heater, in the fifth, to show. Betcha

I'm sorry, but using a patio heater at basically any time of the year in Southern California is just weak. I live in Minneapolis, which also has a smoking ban, and we don't turn the patio heaters on until it gets below freezing. Other than the mountains, does it ever get below freezing in California?

A much better idea would be to dress for the damn temperature, or maybe even buy a coat. I've seen them for sale in California, so they're presumably available. The secret is that, aside from looking good, they also keep you warm.

Um, Natalie, I went back and double-checked the article and posts, how did you confuse Great Britain and California?

Captain DaFt, I think Natalie was responding to Alex's editorial remark that 'Here in Southern California we love our patio heaters [and] The slightest chill in the air prompts us to fire them up...' Gotta admit, I found that pretty shocking too in this day and age.

Whether they should be banned in Europe - where outside winter temperatures can drop well below freezing - is moot (I tend to be more in favour of taxing things like this out of existance than banning them outright).

As to this being persecution of smokers... that's daft, DaFt. This is European legislation, right? Not all countries have smoking bans: where I live, the smokers choke out the insides of pubs and restaurants so it would be nonsmokers and (still more) families that would be most disadvantaged by a heater ban.

The big problem with the outdoor patio heaters here in the UK are that pubs keep them on at full blast from 11 am to 11 pm every day. And not just one...some places heat the whole of a beer garden with them. And they are so inefficient (I'm reminded of my Nan asking me, if I left a door ajar, 'What are you trying to do, heat the whole outdoors?'), especially in a country with such high energy prices (we have a small flat, and we pay over

can you just imagine the enforcement effort required to ban humans from using fire?? Fire was probably one of the first tools humans ever developed, and it would be darn hard to stop us from doing it now. I grew up in Southern California, and they tried (or maybe did) to get laws banning outdoor barbeques to reduce air pollution. There were thoughts of doing enforcement by satellite or by airplanes. Ultimately the difficulty of enforcement together with the altogther impossibility of getting people to stop cooking and eating food made the whole thing into a joke.

Patio Heaters may be a good thing to others but for others they are just electricity consuming, especially on those who don't really need them

a ban on patio heaters is saying people don't have right to decide when to use energy for recreation. people use far more energy joyriding and going places that are unncessary or for entertainment purposes. are they going to ban that too? patio heaters use a tiny amount of energy compared to american vice of consumption for recreational -unnecessary activities, what about heated pools and jacuzzis, sports, parks,recreational vehicles, music venues, bars, and even restaraunts themselves use lots of energy and are for enjoyment. especially riding to and from these places. are they going to ban all that as well? most people don't have patio heaters. most people that do are only going to use them for a short time, except places like restaraunts with outside area, but they can't use too much energy or they would go out of business,
when people cut back on recreation, businesses will cut back on things like patio heaters to pay the bills, the economy will force change without banning anything,because eventually, inefficient and hedonistic people and businesses will go broke.

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