It has been wet recently. I emptied a bucket about 2 weeks ago and it is now full again. the soil is saturated – a drive along rural roads is like navigating a river. The forecast is for more rain starting early morning and lasting most of the day. It is a credit to the Environment Agency that flooding has not occured around here. However much new housing has been built on flood plains and I wonder how much the flood defences can cope with.
GREEN AGENDA
Incompetence or calculation? In March 2020 the government pledged a £950 rapid charging fund to enable the transition to electric cars. As of today the amount spent is zero! Motorway service stations are waiting years for connection. Moto has asked just for the provision of the power, not a subsidy. Yet another hit for our climate change commitments.
On climate change – Storm Ciaran is on its way. A Greenpeace report has revealed that a huge number of flood prevention schemes are in poor repair (4204 in poor or very poor condition)… The North has had extensive flooding in some areas, now it is the turn of the South west. Checking the tide it seems that we are just past the spring tide maximum but still expect a tide over 11m. With high wind speeds and low pressure this could cause problems along the Somerset Coast. When will Sunak and Co realise that climate change is detrimental to the British Isles?
LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS
Braverman is trying to drum up support abroad for her anti-migration and asylum views. The definition grants the right for at least 780 million people worldwide to move to another country, according to the Margaret Thatcher-founded think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies.
This figure is based on the total number of people who might have a “well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” worldwide – including everyone in Afghanistan other than the Taliban or the male population of Eritrea, where conscription into the armed forces has pushed thousands into exile.
According to the UN the total number of refugees worldwide is much lower, with 35 million people registered as refugees in 2022.
So she is opening an attack on gay, minority groups worldwide!The obvious solution would be to increase foreign aid back up to 0.7%. I do not know who makes up the statistics for the CPS but would wonder how many are climate disaster refugees and what the projections are for the potential increase in these numbers. A sensible government would be planing to be as proactive as possible.
Being an anti-growth person myself, I too am concerned about the growth in the UK population. However Braverman seems driven by blatent racism, or is it a form of sadism?
The 780 million figure is similar to extortionate statistics quoted during the Brexit debacle. The internet is awash with them – my son told me that the UK would get 150mph winds tomorrow after reading it in the internet. (75mph in exposed places is the likely maximum)).
HOUSING
So Sunak is making a play for votes by promising 1 million new homes over the next Parliament (to be built along side the 40 new hospitals?). This seems like a knee jerk reaction to rising rents and mortgages.
I guess most are needed in the South-East which already has a crisis of road traffic, and pressure on public services. There seems to be little demographic analysis of needs – a while back a Housing Minister stated that all new homes should have gardens. I would suggest that different age groups have different needs, but the house builders know which properties make the biggest profits. The government sets targets for Local Authorities. I would suggest that there is a classification scheme based on bedroom size/ terraces/flats/ semi’s, detached – luxury versions available? In a rural area it would mke more sense for the more expensive housing, whilst city centre developments could be more attuned to the needs of the young/single.
Rural areas often have poor bus services,and few facilities and are thus unsuitable for many. Consideration of facilities such as schools and health centres needs proper consideration along with water supply and sewage disposal/treatment.
OK I am privileged and live in a village. 200 new houses have been built recently and no new facities apart from a small swing park. I believe all use cars to get shopping from supermarkets 12km away, and to get to entertainment. The health cetre is in the next village. The well run and well stocked village shop is doing ok. Those who read this blog will know I am a bit of an anti-snob. However it would have made sense to me if the new housing estate had been replaced with maybe 10 4/5 bed quality houses surrounding a new village green (the village does not have one) and a pond (the site was sodden at times anyway). Rather than large gardens on some properties would it make sense for a small area and the option of an allotment? Allotment areas would do much to counter the pollution in cities and towns.
Ephasis needs to be put, not on the houses, but the communities they could create. has any estate been built in last 20 years with a youth centre? I accept that Cubs, brownies, scouts and guides can be a little too middle class (cubs was for me back in the 60’s with its militaristic use of badges/medals and flags). but society and the environment need the youth of today.
WESTON-SUPER-MARE
A town in decline. It has a magnificent beach (really) with golden sand ideal for sandcastles until the tide goes out and the mud is revealed. However the positive – generations of people from the West Midlands have visited W-s-M as it is the first sandy beach when heading south-west. The arrival of the railway line and the development of the pier made it popular. Today the sea front is well maintained with sympathetic flood defences. however this is where the positives disappear. Firstly the parking is expensive – personally I wonder if a drop off service like at airports would bring more revenue and be less intrusive?
However it is the Town Centre that is truly ****ed! The 1980’s (I think) Sovereign Centre was built with M&S and C&A as flagship stores at either end. C&A went long ago to be replaced with Wilco’s – all have now gone. A walk down the pedestrianised High Street is one where beggars and the smell of dope pervades. Tattoo parlours, betting shops, charity shops, vape shops dominate. There is nothing welcoming, despite the cost of parking!
The council does its best with flowers and attractions, but the town has died! tje only people I know who visit Weston do so to visit the bank! the only shops of interest are up side streets where parking meters deter the casual shopper.
The restaurants are based. around fish and chips, burgers and kebabs.
Imagine how a Severn Barrage would have impacted the town – a thriving harbour, a tide that did not go out quite so far, safe swimming. Back to the begining – it has a magnificent beach – well cleaned by the council.
CLIMATE
World temperatures 0.66C warmer than the 1991-2020 average. Time for some action across the world – won’t happen as corporations like BP, Total, Shell, Exxon, Saudi Aramco, Sinopec, Chevron, Petro China, Conoco, Cnina National Petroleum rule the roost.
If this was a war situation (which I believe it to be!) all governments would sort the problem in weeks! Demand could be reduced drastically with speed limits (how I would love to see the Express and Mail headlines!), and insulation, alternative production by wind turbines and solar could be implemented quickly. Water power from old mills could help localise the supply. Yes this would cause major upheavals in the stock market – but it would survive.
Priority needs to be given to wildlife in any building scheme. Personally I thought the building of 200 new homes in my village was OK, although the traffic created by the lack of workplaces is regrettable. With little recreation and social facilities the countryside is not an optimum place for new housing.
ELECTION MAP PREDICTIONS
This site raises lots of geographical questions
https://electionmaps.uk/nowcast
Firstly Scotland where the SNP look set to lose some seats back to Labour. No real surprises there as the SNP have been going through a bit of turmoil recently and have the problem of being in power for so long. Whilst large areas of Scotland were previously Labour, the growth in the demand for nationalism will not be sated with the feeling that Labour is Westminster.2! Labour will need strong energy policies to win back seats.
The north of England. Sunak seems to think that a right wing policy will sway the “red wall seats”. I am not convinced that racism and nationalism will triumph over the economy and environment! Then the heartland of the tories – Middle England. For sure the Lib-dems have made inroads in some safe tory seats. Whether this will be replicated in a general election will be interesting. Wales will presumably follow the normal pattern with PC in the north and Labour in the south. I cannot see many swinging to the tories here. And then the South West – maybe the most interesting? Large numbers of old duffers, but there has been demographic movement since the last election. More young people moving in. I am not sure how Brexit voters have reacted to terrace since? It has never been a unionised area so the independence could benefit the Lib Dems or even the greens who might do well in Bristol and Totnes? Will London continue to be pro-labour with Khan promoting the ELTZ’s? Personally I hope the motor heads are sent home to choke on their fumes.
Despite wishes for tactical voting it looks likely that this will have limited impact? TBH Starmer is promoting tactical voting as he is hardly promoting the socialism many believe Labour should be promoting.
HURRICANES
NOAA’s update to the 2023 outlook — which covers the entire six-month hurricane season that ends on Nov. 30 — calls for 14-21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 6-11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater). Of those, 2-5 could become major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). NOAA provides these ranges with a 70% confidence. These updated ranges include storms that have already formed this season.
CLIMATE
Full article from Guardian here but the stats are astounding. Phoenix has 43.4C or more for 19th day running; Morocco anounces red temperature alert as temperatures exceed 44C; Spain hits 45.4C with fears fot the olive crop for second year running; Italy 47C; Greece wildfires; Canary Islands wildfires; China 52.2C; Gaza38C; India floods; South Korea floods; Japan 37.3C. Since the mid 1980’s the planet has warmed by another 0.5C, with present policies the world will warm by 2.7C. Avian flu has killed millions of not hundreds of millions of sea birds so far this year Whilst this mynot be related to climate change the warming temperatures will not have helped. And then we have sea temperatures at record levels and Antarctic ice at record low levels.
The responce of our Cabinet (according to the Mail) is to press Sunak to drop eco legislation and policies! Is this to incite “Just Stop Oil” into ever more outrgeous acts and then blame Labour for them? The summer heat killed over 60000 in Europe last summer.
CLIMATE CRISIS
Kerry needsd to tell the Chinese to act now to cut emissions. The arguement put forward by China about historic emmissions is just not valid in the present crisis. They are correct that the west gained an early advantage by burning coal, oil and gas, but the crisis is here, and now, and every country needs to face it.
Right wing politicians across Europe with nationalist agendas also need to look closely at their use of the climate crisis in culture wars and anti-woke measures. History will not be kind to them.