Bring The Comfort Of Indoors To Outdoors!?

In Europe already for some years, the market is lured into the new hype of patio heaters. As temperatures drop at nightfall, and people still want to sit in the garden, they invest in a patio heater of some sort. Since the ban on smoking, smokers flock round them outside bars. Restaurants now serve dinner even in midwinter on their terrace. It irritates me every time I pass these examples of extravagance. Why warming up the night sky by burning energy and therefore casting a carbon shadow? Ban not only smoking, but also outside heating. Yesterday with Copenhagen in mind my environment colleagues here in Delhi discussed how much less countries like India should contribute, compared to Europe. They took me out for dinner to their favorite Italian restaurant. We were to sit on the terrace - yes: with patio heaters! To sit inside was no alternative. This section is closed, said the sign on the door of the restaurant. As action speaks louder than words, I insisted to go somewhere else. The Delhi Supreme Court forced buses, taxis and rickshaws to change from diesel to natural gas. Why not also ban patio heaters? Until that time, environmental leaders should set an example as consumers both in the developed and the developing world.