Category: Geography

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CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Tory and Labour MP’s in a flap about ER activity. neither party has, is, or looks like doing anything regarding the emergency. So really there seems little alternative to direct action. The traffic jams caused are considerably less than those caused by Brexit. (and to those who say it is not Brexit – look for the traffic jams around calais – and explain why ferries are sometimes half full despite tail backs).

The vast majority of people in the uk support onshore wind farms. Quicker to install than most other forms of energy, as is insulation), but the Tories want to put nuclear power stations in poorer parts of the country instead. How about a new nuclear power station at Lechlade-on-Thames?

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ENERGY

So the government is going to backtrack on onshore wind farms due to anti-net zero mob and landowners. The big hope is nuclear energy but there are problems with this strategy. Firstly the time lag before a station comes on line is about 15 years. Secondly the cost spirals upward as delays and problems occur. Thirdly the waste problem has been forgotten, not solved. So whilst nuclear probably has a place in the future mix is should not be a large one.

Wind, solar and batteries have come down in cost by between 50-85%. and could fall further. Renewable energy is 100% likely to be far cheaper than nuclear, faster to instal and greener. We have moved through different ages from the wood age, to charcoal, to coal, to gas and the future is the electric age. Most of us have at least 20 electric powered goods in the house requiring plus or batteries excluding lighting and heating.

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ISRAEL

Government thrown into disarray by MP resigning from government party over a piece of bread! The plight of the Palestinians is less important than a chunk of bread? How does anyone support this right wing nonsense?

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Despite the horrible events of the past few years Climate Change is the one which will make Covid and Ukraine have the relevance of teenage zits to a pensioner. The normal tory unintelligent are liming up to thwart moves for onshore wind claiming ‘it is unsightly’ – death from climate events is fucking unsightly. I think they look rather nice and would love to see one from my bedroom window – and they are not noisy – can we move the likes of Sleaze-Dogg, petty patel, Nadine dimwit, Heating-haggis, Zahalfwit, et al to live under the Heathrow flight path, or maybe a terraced house near a trunk road.

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NOT SNAP OR POKER

The war in the Ukraine seems to be moving to a new phase. I state again that I am a mere observer and not an expert. Russia seems to have accepted ‘defeat’ or ‘lack of victory’ around Kiev and the north. However it has economic reasons to push for a victory in the south and east. Cutting Ukraine off from the sea would give it a kind of victory as that would impose economic constraints on the country of Ukraine. The Russian speaking states in the east apparently voted to stay in the Ukraine a while back – so where does this leave the west?

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CORNWALL

Some facts our wonderful government paid £170m covid grants to Cornish holiday let businesses; Cost of 2nd home owners avoiding council tax to CornwallCC £17 million; There are 12776 second homes and more than 11000 holiday lets – and 21817 people on councils housing register. In the past year house prices in Cornwall were 7% up on the year before and 23% up on 2019 when they averaged at £270,554, now £330097.

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SHIT

Raw sewage pumped into rivers 372533 times last year. Our wonderful government and the privatised companies which have dished out millions of £ to shareholders, have agreed to cut these discharges by 40% by 2040. Honestly this is not a typo, and the government say it is a step change! So in 18 years time there will only be 223520 discharges of raw shit into our rivers. What a fragrant government we have!

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ENERGY

National Grid Live Status shows that we are still very dependant on fossil fuels, especially at this time of year. We have become reliant on wind for renewable energy and not done enough to develop solar. As ever I am the worst sort of commentator as I have limited knowledge which may be worse than no knowledge!

Cutting demand is an obvious partial solution. Solar panels on all possible sites of offices and educational establishments that operate mainly in daylight is a no brainer. Governments and investors of all persuasions seem fixated on the large scale projects. Would lots of small scale projects undermine the privatised National Grid? I am surprised at the lack of HEP – water powered this country for centuries. Re-instated mill ponds would surely bring environmental benefits.

The stats show the continuing importance of nuclear power. I am cautious with Windscale, Three Mile Island, Fukushima, Chernobyl all in my memory, and we do not seem to have solved the nuclear waste problem. However, needs must. At this time of year we need an alternative that does not exacerbate climate change. The £13 billion pound cost of increasing the nuclear component from 16% to 25% it to passed onto the public. I am not sure the free market economy is working too well in this market. We have seen the privatised energy companies make huge profits (and the huge fossil fuel companies), whilst little has been done to help the poorest in our society. (I was fortunate to have been born with the benefits derived from a socialist government. The gap between rich and poor was still too large, but has grown exponentially recently). The current capitalist model is broke.

Apparently Tory MP’s with rural constituencies are opposed to relaxing planning rules for onshore wind farms. I suspect that 90% of people living in villages do not give a shit, it is the wealthy landowners they are talking about. I am sure the Daily Mail or Telegraph can run a spurious story linking wind turbines to cancer!

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READY OR NOT?

We have the luxury of the warmest March for a century. What plans do the government have in place for a heat wave this summer? Not just a tabloid dream with bikini’s but a Western North America 2021 event. Temperatures in the 40C range? The EU has made plans – I have not heard of any here?

Is it likely? I would guess a 1 in 3 chances enough for the government to put plans in place – rather than plead ‘unprecedented’, unpredictable’ before paying out millions to mates for water sprays!