"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion." Noam Chomsky
Rationing On The Cards
Thu 21st Apr 2022
The government's new "British energy security strategy", a remarkably short document, can't bear the weight of it's title. It's no more than a slight beefing-up of the "green industrial revolution" (2020) and "net zero carbon" (2021) policies, rebranded with a "security" tag.
It's too late now to take out an energy insurance policy for 2022 when the threat is already present. A meaningful security strategy for right now would include measures to address the worst out come should it befall. In that case, although the document is entirely silent on the matter, there is no doubt whatever, that energy rationing will be needed.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps airily says ministers don't want that. Maybe not - but then again, they're too young to remember how the energy crisis of 1973-4 was managed. Oil rationing took place on national and global levels. If Putin cuts off the gas and oil, or if western buyers boycott him there will be nothing else to do, and rationing by organised means has certain societal advantages over the alternative, which is rationing by price (aka letting granny freeze).
At the same time, the document rehearses existing policy for improving energy efficiency and home insulation - one of he very few things that might make an immediate contribution (Eye 1570). But government ineffectiveness on this is neatly illustrated by one of the statistics cited, namely that "2,300 social housing homes are in the process of being improved". That's out of a total of just under 4m!
Exhausted Options
Wed 20th Apr 2022
It's a shame last week's grim report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - advising that "transport pricing" should favour energy-efficient modes - wasn't published earlier.
If Rishi Sunak had realised petrol and diesel cars are bad for the environment, he might not have cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in his spring statement - on top of the real-terms cut from fuel duty being frozen for more than a decade - after whacking up fares on trains and London buses.
Last year his government's transport decarbonation plan pledged to reverse the trend, where motoring costs had plummeted by 15 percent in real terms over 20 years while rail fares had increased by 20 percent and bus fares by more than 40 percent. But Sunak doesn't apparently read his own government's plans.
A Stark Message
Mon 11th Apr 2022
Globalwarming is the issue of the age and unlike other issues this is not transitory. Globalwarming will never vanish and for many years to come, humanity will be grappling with this problem.
If the last twenty years has proved anything it is that all the major political parties of all the countries in the world do not have the inclination to do what is necessary and make extremely unpopular decisions on their watch.
There you have it, the nub of the problem.
Green Parties of all complexions are the only ones who WILL act for our good! If you are wary of voting for them, we believe you should be because drastic situations need drastic measures. Present day 'won't do politicians' have, with our connivance, brought us to this disastrous position.
Regrettably, tomorrow is too late to act
'No Business as Usual'
Wed 17th Nov 2021
Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and the environment at the University of Cambridge has said that the solutions being discussed at Glasgow COP26 depend on unrealistic amounts of clean electricity, carbon capture and biomass.
'If you compare the amount with what's available today and any plausible growth rate, there's no possibility we will have enough of those,' he said.
'We therefore need a different sets of policies such as using half the amount of electricity. We must cut levels of flying, shipping, cement and ruminants because there's no way of dealing with them'.
This is an unpalatable message for politicians who want to achieve a stable climate by tweaking 'Business As Usual'.
Politicians - A Year Off
Wed 17th Nov 2021
Scientists and leading climate experts have voiced concerns about the outcomes of the COP26 climate conference, in Glasgow.
Those who spoke to the BBC praised the conference for getting countries to agree to meet again next year to pledge deeper emissions cuts. And they welcomed agreements on forests,innovation and especially methane - from fossil fuel extraction and livestock. But the scientists fear politicians won't deliver. And they say the hope of holding temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is far too unambitious anyway.
The experts say that with a temperature rise so far of just 1.1C, the world is already in a state of dangerous heating, with record temperatures, wildfires, floods and droughts.
All the 'experts' that are coming out of the woodwork may or may not be correct about the effects on undoubted climate change but there is no such doubt that politicians will basically achieve nothing. It is our planet and it is up to us to make the change. We must all make at least three unpalatable changes to our lifestyle for quick results.
Car Emission Tips
Sat 23rd Oct 2021
Below are a few tips, in no particular order, that might help you to reduce the emissions from your car and hence your carbon footprint.
(1) Don't use your car - very obvious but only use your car when you must.
(2) Check your tyre pressures at least once a month. Low tyre pressure increases fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. With a tyre under-inflated by 20 percent fuel economy is reduced by around 20%. When replacing your tyres consider choosing ones that have low rolling resistance the difference could be as much as 0.5 litres of fuel per 100km
(3) Air Conditioning - makes the engine work harder, increasing the vehicle emissions. Turning off the air conditioning a few miles before reaching your destination as cool air will continue circulating via the fans.
(4) Reduce idle time - contrary to popular belief, idling for 10 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting. If your car is fitted with a stop-start system, make sure it is switched on.
(5) Maintain your vehicles aerodynamic efficiency - if you have a roof rack, bike carrier or roof box fitted on your vehicle this will create resistance and cause drag increasing you vehicle emissions. Consider removing these items when not in use.
Hydrogen Powered Cars
Fri 22nd Oct 2021
Hydrogen is already a proven fuel source, having been used by NASA since 1958 for various space trials and travels. Hydrogen being more than three times as powerful as gasoline (when burnt) is a big driver for this. It's therefore positive to know that hydrogen has driven various space tests forward and been central to their success, because it reinforces that it's not some vague, experimental fuel source but something with defined successes over multiple decades.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars, were first introduced by Toyota in 2014 and are making a strong case for changing the way we power our travel.
Hydrogen cars are powered by electricity they produce internally through chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. The only tailpipe emissions are water since the by-products of the chemical reaction which powers the hydrogen fuel cell are just heat and water.
The electricity generated either powers the car directly, or charges a battery which stores the energy until it's needed. This traction battery is significantly smaller and lighter than the battery of a fully electric car. The hydrogen fuel is stored in a high-pressure tank and can be refilled in much the same way as petrol and diesel.
How to Produce Hydrogen
Fri 22nd Oct 2021
Steam reforming is a hydrogen production process from natural gas. This method is currently the cheapest source of industrial hydrogen. The downside to this process is that its byproducts are major atmospheric release of CO₂, Carbon Monoxide and other greenhouse gases. Depending on the quality of the feedstock (natural gas, rich gases, naphtha, etc.), one ton of hydrogen produced will also produce 9-12 tons of CO₂. Obviously not a satisfactory conclusion although CO₂ may be captured.
Electrolysis is another way to produce hydrogen and consists of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen which results in no emissions of greenhouse gases.
Water electrolysis can operate between 50-80°C, while steam methane reforming requires temperatures between 700-1100°C. The difference between the two methods is the primary energy used; electricity for electrolysis or natural gas for steam methane reforming. Due to the use of water, a readily available resource, electrolysis and similar water-splitting methods have attracted the interest of the scientific community. With the objective of reducing the cost of hydrogen production, renewable sources of energy have been targeted to allow electrolysis.
Environment Bill
Wed 20th Oct 2021
Environmental campaigners have expressed disappointment after the government confirmed it would reject almost all the changes made to the Environment Bill by the House of Lords. The changes included greater protection for ancient woodland, and a legal duty on water companies to reduce sewage damage to rivers. The Lords' amendments, without ministers' support will be rejected by MPs.
The government said it would be bringing forward its own changes to the bill, to demonstrate "global leadership" before the conference in Glasgow. The law sets up a new independent watchdog - the Office for Environmental Protection - to monitor progress on improving the environment. The House of Lords, peers voted for an amendment which sought to strengthen the watchdog's powers. They also voted to reverse a government move to exempt defence, national security and fiscal policy from a requirement to consider environmental principles when making policies. None of which the government is having.
Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage said it was "astonishing that, in this critical decade for the environment, the government is opting out of amendments designed to better protect the planet and all its precious inhabitants. Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, accused the government of "falling short of its pledge to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited it". She urged the government to commit to "a goal of halting and reversing the loss of our wildlife, with regular binding milestones so we can all see the progress being made".
In a modern, forward looking country such as the UK it is an indictment of the governments commitment to the environment that an organisation such as 'Surfers Against Sewage' actually exists and that all the government is prepared to do on the environment is to extend charges to single use items other than plastic bags.
Instead of stepping up to the challenge and opportunity to truly be the greenest, most progressive nation, the UK government is siding with a status quo of inaction.
Energy Security UK style
Mon 11th Oct 2021
The UK government purports to be making great strides in providing carbon free electricity and all electricity providers are really pushing their 'green' credentials to provide their customers with the feel good feeling that we are all doing our bit. But where does this electricity come from? We have to tell you it doesn't come from a socket in the wall.
At the moment 7.4 gigawatts, which equates to 7.4 million homes are being supplied with green energy that is supplied using under sea cables from the continent. The UK government plan another 10 bringing capacity to almost 18 gigawatts by 2023 according to Ofgem. This means 18 million homes being supplied from abroad.
All the countries supplying the UK, are producing excess green electricity, which they then sell to the UK. This means the citizens of the UK are paying to build up the power generation infrastructure of other countries.
The real question for us in the UK is 'What is going to happen when these countries switch from gas to electricity to heat their homes and stop using fossil fuels to power their cars in favour of electricity?'
Well they are simply going to stop supplying the UK as they will need all the electricity they produce for themselves.
What Then?
Climate Change
Sun 3rd Oct 2021
During the past few years the UK has been through Brexit which has become an ongoing, painful process. Largely because the majority of MPs at Westminster never wanted to leave the EU. They buried their heads in the sand for two years hoping Brexit would go away. Of course it never did, so we are going to pay the price of their inertia for many years to come.
Covid came to the rescue of parliament and took Brexit off the front pages. Did MPs act well during the pandemic, of course not. The only beacon of light was the vaccination programme which was successfully rolled out across the nation. The reason for this success was because the government had a contingency plan should mass vaccination ever be required. The rest of what they did was 'policy on the hoof'.
Now we come to Climate Change. Brexit and Covid by their very nature will eventually be forgotten as their 'newsworthyness' fades but alas not Climate Change. This is here to stay but can we be confident there are any MPs in Westminster remotely able to make the genuinely tough decisions that most of us will not like?
In order to genuinely combat climate change we are all going to have to give up things we don't want to give up. Personally, I like angling, a pastime I have pursued for many, many years. Without exception none of the places I fish is accessible by public transport. So should I give up angling to do my bit for the planet or should I be like everbody else in the world and only give up those things I don't really care about giving up.
As we come to the end of 2021 and it is time to make a New Year's Resolution perhaps we should all give up three things that we definitely don't want to give up to reduce our carbon footprints.
Or we could give it another twenty years to see how things go!
Power from Norway
Sun 3rd Oct 2021
Today the world's longest under sea electricity cable began transferring green power between Norway and the UK.
At full capacity 1400 megawatts of power will be bought by the UK annually to power 1.4 million homes. The National Grid said the £1.37bn joint venture with the Norwegian power operator Statnett would help to reduce UK carbon emissions by 23 million tonnes by 2030.
So it's pink gins all round at the Dept. of Energy and at Statnett but for different reasons.
UK Officials have simply bought a short term reduction in carbon emissions whereas the Norwegians are getting the UK government to pay for the infrastructure to future proof Norway against future electricity supply problems. When fossil fuels become fully redundant and Norway needs more electricity to power cars and all the rest of it, guess what the plan is?
UK imports more than half its gas
Wed 1st Sep 2021
Oil and Gas UK's (OGUK) annual economic report said 56% of the requirement for homes and power stations for the first three months of 2021 came from abroad. The industry said the figures were as a result of a rise in demand coupled with a drop in UK production due to the pandemic.
The OGUK report says that the UK government faces the choice of investing in its offshore industry for a managed green transition or relying on other countries for energy needs. This report shows the reality of cutting domestic production is an increased reliance on other countries for gas and oil.
The attraction for the government of refusing permission for the Oil and Gas industry to invest £21bn over the next five years on exploration and production is that even though the UK will be buying and using gas and oil from abroad the government will be able to claim there has been a reduction in UK output.
That's Politics my friends.
EA the Protectors!
Fri 9th Jul 2021
With concerns over looming shortages of sewage treatment chemicals , the Environment Agency (EA) issued guidance in September 2021, telling water companies that if they ran out of chemicals they could break their permit conditions over discharging effluent without fear of enforcement action. The agency declared that if waste water treatment plants can't get hold of chemicals because of supply problems they can simply get permission from the EA to discharge sewage without treatment.
Following a legal challenge from campaigners pointing out that the EA can't simply decide for itself that illegally dumping untreated sewage is now legal, the agency was forced to backtrack. A worrying fact was uncovered during this sorry episode for the EA. Water companies are being encouraged by the EA to prioritise treating water for release into England's cleanest rivers to ensure the most sensitive sites are protected. But this means that extra pollution is heading for rivers that are already struggling. These watercourses considered to fall into category 'A' by water companies are most at risk of having incompletely treated sewage dumped in them. A Fish Legal spokesperson said, "It is a revelation that these rivers are considered to be less important environmental protection."
Can water companies or the EA be left to police the environment? Well in 2021 Southern Water was fined £90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into protected seas over a period of five years for its own financial gain. It must be noted that this was happening for five years with no apparent intervention from the EA.
Heating Homes Part 1
Sat 6th Feb 2021
Gas central heating has been the principal way British homes have been heated for more than half a century.
When your boiler packs up, be prepared for a change because the government have decided that gas heating can no longer play a part in zero carbon Britain.
At some date in the future we will all need to install 'clean heating' but it definitely won't be cheap or convenient. There are two main contenders for the £28bn market to heat our homes, hydrogen and heat pumps.
Is hydrogen, which burns without carbon emissions, destined to be the future of heating?
Hydrogen is the most talked-about candidate to replace the gas we presently use in our boilers. Hydrogen can be extracted from water using electrolysis, in a process powered by clean wind power. Hydrogen lobbyists say it can travel through existing pipes at least until it reaches the home. The big firms backing hydrogen say it could heat all of the UK's homes.
But Prof Julia King, from the advisory Climate Change Committee, says that's just hot air. She says that would need twice as much wind power than is currently planned. "That's not going to happen," she says. Prof King estimates that just 11% of home heating will come from hydrogen.
Heat pumps - are they the future of heating? See Part 2
Heating Homes Part 2
Fri 5th Feb 2021
Heat pumps are currently used in a few hundred thousand of the UK's homes but are largely unknown to the public. Yet the climate committee thinks they will be warming most of our houses in decades to come.
A heat pump works like an air conditioning unit in reverse. There are two systems available. The cheapest which replaces a conventional gas boiler takes heat from the air and this heat is compressed to heat water and hence radiators, just like a conventional central heating sytem. These systems typically cost around £10,000 but on the coldest nights they will struggle to heat homes satisfactorily. Also at present rates they will cost approximately £500s per annum to run. The other system works by extracting heat from the ground. At around 2 metre depth the earth is at a constant temperature of 10 degrees centigrade. However this means your garden will have to be excavated to a depth of 2 metres to lay the pipes required to make the system work. Experts say disruption could be minimized by fitting a low-powered heat pump alongside a hydrogen boiler to crank up the temperature in a cold snap.
Prof King says it will need a big government push and heavy incentives to convert householders from a tried and trusted gas boiler. 'The challenge of heating buildings is a really huge one,' she warns. "You have to persuade people to put up with and increase of household costs and disruption when we have a level of comfort we're happy with. It's not clear from the personal point of what the advantage of this new system is going to be." The answer, her committee says, is a massive government investment in transforming homes with low-carbon heating. It recommends spending £4bn a year into the next decade.
So far the chancellor has committed just £1bn for next year alone under its Green Homes Grant, whereas it's spending £100bn on HS2 rail project that could actually increase emissions and is considered by environmentalists to be a Treasury blind spot. However, the government has promised a heating and buildings strategy soon.
No breath holding please
