Category: Weather and climate

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ATLANTIC MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION

I knew this as the North Atlantic Drift. Scientists have revealed that studies show this circulation to be in danger of collapse due to climate change. Does it matter? Well colder winters and summer drought combined with sea level rise of 50-100cm would have a severe impact on life in Europe and elsewhere. How quickly is it occurring – warnings are of collapse in 75-100 years. The ecological impact and thus food supplies would be catastrophic. But Farage, Trump and Badenoch continue to preach ‘drill baby drill’ with the same ignorance as Marie Antoinette “let them eat cake’ delusion. The UK has cut emissions by 50%, but the real figure is nearer 20% when the cost of transporting manufactured goods is included. We still rely on fossil fuels for 75% of energy consumption. The traditional electricity grid is no longer fit for purpose. Basically the problem the lack of battery storage which leads to electricity generation by solar and wind being shut down. Many cars are parked up and only used for commuting; and charged at night when renewables are often unavailable. Covering car parks with solar panels and adjacent wind turbines would enable charging during the day, domestic garages could be used for batteries instead of the crap normally stored there! I estimate that I, a single old person living in a bungalow could be self sufficient with the use off solar panels and a heat pump and batteries. So no fuel bills ever! And stop the rip off from privatised water companies and utility bills would be inconsequential.

Meanwhile there is much discussion regarding defence versus welfare budgets. What is going on? Schools are needing a huge input of cash to pay for child psychologists to tackle autism. I sthis true? Has autism increased? and if so why? Is it better diagnosis or over diagnosis? The same with the number on sickness benefit – has the number needing it really grown b 50% in 10 years? TBH – I am not surprised, whatever the answer! If you have to get up and go to work in a basic wage job or zero hours contract with few prospects and much boredom, and still get welfare top ups, why should you bother getting up at all! So the problem is not the welfare payments but the firms paying shit wages whilst rewarding their directors and shareholders. Also in the equation is the cost of property/ living space should be a basic human right. Thatcher destroyed council houses and ignited the property market. Why does homeownership of multiple homes benefit the homeowner disproportionately to the renter. Supply and demand – fuck off! Manipulation by the rich more likely! Reintroduce rent controls.

Single sex spaces – a furore if indignation from many who have not used a toilet in a public space for years. I do not understand what this is all about! I would guess that at least 95% of people are unaffected, but encouraged to give a shit by the media!

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PRIVATE JETS

It seems that if you are rich enough to travel by private jet you do not have to bother with customs or any checks at all. I wonder how much contraband and trafficking takes place in obscure airports. It is all part of the power game. Also these flights are in effect subsidised by the tax payer as aviation fuel is tax free! The big question is why it took a quarter of a century, after concerns first raised, for these matters to be finally investigated

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COP 30

Do not let the fascists and deniers win! Starmer is retreating as Reform do well in the polls – but it does not have to be like this. Musk has launched a competitor to Wikipedia and the right wing knuckle draggers and flag shaggers have referred to Wiki as Wokepedia thus identifying there greatest weakness. FACTS. Wiki is fact checked and whilst tgere have been mistakes it is very good and accurate. The right wing hate this attention to facts, much preferring to brag about the lies they circulate on social media.

I recognise that there will often be disputes about facts, and that even substantiated ones may sometimes be disproven. However when even the POTUS sprouts garbage we have a problem. Paracetamol does not have any supporting evidence for causig autism – fact, but if Trump says so! But I can make up my own mind about that – but climate change affects every single one of us. The theory is indisputable; the impacts verified; but still the empty heads claim it is a left wing conspiracy! Fuck me, how stupid can these people be, and then gullible to extreme levels.

270 million were made homeless in the last decade by climate change, and 117 million by war. Is there a bigger exlistentual threat to our planet. My apples had fewer insect intrusions than ever before – I guess this should be welcomed, but I use no insecticides and the bird feeder was used less often. I just realised that I had jumped from 250 million homeless to maggot free apples – however they are linked inextricably.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Trump interprets words to his own interpretation. He claimed that Bill Gates had said that climate change was a hoax – he did not. He merely said that whilst itwas a major problem the emphasis should be business innovation (where he has huge investments!). With huge areas of the planet facing ecological breakdown there would seem to be a need for concerted action at all levels. Areas threatened with breakdown include the Amazon rainforest, destabilisation of Antarctican and Greenland ice caps and changes to the oceans. On an immediate level we have had significant floods in Pakistan and China and Hurricane Melissa and tropical storm Fengshen in Taiwan.

However there are positives (which the right wing parties seem to want to undermine for some strange reason?). Global investment in battery storage and renewables are risng. The cost of solar has fallen by 90% in 15 years, wind power is also fallen by 50% (offshoe) and 95% ( onshore). whilst battery costs are down by 90%. Where these stats come from as reported in the Observer is stated, but does not seem to be being passed onto the consumer. However it is positive but … oil companies are still expanding their production.

I am reminded of the old adage ‘give a man a fish and it will feed him for a day – teach him to fish and you feed him for life”. Reform and the Tories may cut energy bills today, but they will be lining the pockets of shareholders in the oil companies for decades, whilst contributing to 7million deaths a year from the pollution caused. (WHO figures). Let alone the ecosystem collapses stated above.

The cost of action against climate change is estimated at 15 GDP, the cost of inaction is 5-20% GDP. A no brainer (Trump, Farage, Badenoch, etc.!).

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CAR

Well thankfully I am not in Jamaica at present so news about car is better than a lot of alternative scenarios. The car has a leak somewhere they cannot find so will cost at least £600 and take 5 days. So looking on the brightside – an excuse for a Waitrose Internet Shop! It is also time for making xmas cake. Poolis made and on its last rise for a square loaf – but like a ciabata.

papers were quite funny today – looking to their readership; Express voiced concern about budget and OAP’s; Sun went for headline “Save our Betting Shops”; Telegraph had a moan about wind power. Star rejigged ‘lettuce’ quote. Mail has another anti-migrant headline whilst the Times leads on Labour not meeting its pledge on new houses (every field near a village here is being converted to houses!). I am not sure they are building factories or offices, or doctors surgeries and schools, youth clubs, sports faculties, or any other social facility. It is all just about money and profit. Oh, and fuck the environment – Floods will occur, and no one will accept responsibility for the shit decisions made by developers and politicians – but the tax payer will be expected to bail out those made homeless.

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HURRICANE MELISSA

Hurricane Melissa has developed into a Category 5 hurricane over the warm seas of the Caribbean (2 degrees warmer than the norm). What this means is 250kph winds and a storm surge of upto 4m. The storm is slow moving and could also bring a metre of rain. The hurricane will cause widespread damage and hit the economy. If only it hit Miami! Not to kill people, but a huge impact on the U.S. might at least the MAGA idiots rethink? On reflection probably not, they would just blame democrats for upsetting God!

Will it bring heavy rainfall to the UK in a couple of weeks? I suspect so. Maybe it will coincide with Starmer announcing a step back of green energy promises? I was a Labour Paty member until recently, but Labour seem to be almost as clueless as the last jerks. Raising Nat. Ins. was, in retrospect wrong, and harmed the economy. A wealth tax would have been/be better. I see lots of houses being built, but no drop in prices. I read that on average rent is 45% of wages – fucking ridiculous. Introduce a rent freeze for 3 years – that would allow people to plan ahead. If new houses are not being bought to rent out the price should fall. I am sorry if tat means some people end up with negative equity – but the gravy train for landlords and house builders and banks needs to be halted. If only 10% of income was unnecessarily going to rent/mortgage and could be retained by tenants and mortgagees we would see a booming economy. Workers could be paid a fair wage, food quality could rise and people would not resent the taxes which pay for the NHS and Education and Police and so many others who make this country great.

So I do not think Labour are brave enough or even have the intellectual ability to be bold. I live in a 3 bed bungalow – by myself. Make me pay for this anti-social behaviour! My house value has more than doubled in the last 25 years and I have made no great improvements (unless you count my wildlife garden!).

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COAL

So India celbrated passing 1bn tonnes of coal extracted and burnt. Oceans warming, increased species extinction, Iceland has mosquitos for the first time, Forests continue to be felled unsustainably. Will humans be clever enough to solve the problems of melting glaciers, rising sea levels and, as yet unforseen catastrophes? Well the signs are there – the traffic lights are amber and yet our politicians carry on regardless – but nothing funny about this carry on! Hey folks – burning your clothes and matresses this winter will keep you warm – but you will be fucked in the future! Farage and tory followers want to increase fossil fuel burning ‘because it keeps the energy costs down’. Basically they are saying screw the environment as I will be dead before the shit hits the fan – ‘hopefully’.

However there are positive signs – one in five new cars sold last year in the UK was electric, in China nearly half. However I am not sure we are doing enough to protect our oceans. Just because they seem endless, and are 80% of earths surface area, they should not be ignored. They are the carbon sink and the oxygen provider for life on earth.

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WEATHER

The cold spell continues for at least until the end of January. We had only a smattering of snow whilst Blagdon and Bristol Airport had a worthwhile covering for a while. After a year of persistant rain this makes a change!

USA meanwhile has massive fires in California (insurance bill will be astronomical!). and heavy snow in the East and south. Trump blames the fires on the Green initiative diverting funds – the guy is unreal! and our conservative and Reform MP’s echo him like lemmings! Muskrat is harping on about rape gangs as he is soo heavily committed to young girls welfare! Facebook has done away with fact checking in the name of democratic freedom and freedom of speech. The world is fucking insane!

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STORM DARRAGH

This one looks like it may be rather windy! And with snow in Scotland and heavy rain in Wales! I suspect that we will have a blowy winter! Every 1C warmer = 7% more moisture in the atmosphere. So with global warming it will be wetter than the past average as a normal? And all those houses built on flood plains? The pumps in Worle and the levels maybe working overtime.

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GRUMP! FLOODS

This a grumpy person speaking! People are complaining that flood warnings, flood prevention, etc. were not enough. Firstly, how many of these people are driving their petrol cars and complain if fuel tax is raised? Secondly why do they always rely on others? I saw the weather forecast, looked at the predicted rain radar map and could see that some areas were going to be hit hard. If living close to a river with steep valley sides it is obvious that there is a flood danger – why wait for the Met.Office or Env.Agency? If anything I would complain about the Met. Office issueing too many warnings – “Crying wolf”? People are criticised for stockpiling during emergencies, but maybe it should be encouraged in some areas?

We lie in times of unpredictable weather – Valencia was an extreme example of this, but everyone needs to be aware. Climate sceptics are fed the bullshit so that the rich do not have to pay extra tax to restrict climate damage – they are unaffected by food price rises. Food prices are becoming increasingly unstable as extreme events become less rare.

And then the guy in the large green tractor who sped through te flood water creating a bow wave large enough to smash windows! Did he attend a rally to complain about inheritanvce tax?!

I think my basic gripe is that people expect others to do the work. If anything the role of government should be to encourage land use plans that both mitigate and prevent floods. With a proliferation of new housing needed and planned this is urgent (and will upset farmers more)!