Suitably Despairing

The Week In Green Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

5.4%

- fall in passenger numbers at Scottish airports for June 2009, compared to June 2008

660 million

- estimated number of people who will be affected by climate-related disasters by 2030

- number of applications for wind farms in England in the last 3 years

- number that were approved

54%

- people opposed to the Trident nuclear weapons replacement

2.6 billion

- slices of bread thrown away by Britons every year

49.4%

- reduction in the number of plastic bags given out by supermarkets in the last 3 years in Scotland

- age of Suitably Despairing today. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...

Beanz Meanz Bollockz

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Photo by thebittenword.com

You can picture the scene: I'm standing in the veg aisle at the supermarket yesterday, looking for something for my dinner. There's a stonking great sign extolling the virtues of Scotland's fresh produce. I spy a packet of Dwarf Beans, reduced in price because the Best Before date is today. Not only are they organic, but the sign along the edge of the shelf has a couple of Scottish flags on it.

I snaffle them up.

It's only when I get home that I realise that they're not from Scotland at all. They have "Produce of Egypt" stamped on them.

D'oh!

Which just goes to show that even the most cynical, greenwash-savvy of us gets hoodwinked sometimes. Or maybe I'm just an idiot!

Don't You Love It When A Plan Comes Together?

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Photo by Andrew Dunn via Wikimedia Commons

By now, you've probably seen the UK government's "low carbon transition plan" - their roadmap for how to meet their carbon reduction targets. (The Guardian has a quick summary of the main points here).

In the main, it's welcome. It doesn't do everything I would want, and it does some things I don't want. Plus, there's a sodding great "Coming Soon" sign over the railway section.

But in the main, it's the start of a snowball. The quicker we get started, and the more we do, the less frightening decarbonising will seem to the general population. So it is to be welcome.

Unfortunately, it's purely coincidence that on the same day the M4 Relief Road was scrapped. It would have been a powerful statement of intent if the plans were ripped up because they would have contributed too many emissions.

Talking Trash

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Edinburgh's binmen (are there any binwomen?) have been on a work-to-rule for the last couple of weeks, with rubbish piling up in the streets waiting to be collected.

I've said before that I think, at the best of times, Edinburgh is an incredibly dirty city. I think there's three factors: a population who think it's ok to just dump rubbish at their feet, combined with a wind which will lift trash out of a bin if it's not nailed down. Oh, and the Nazi Seagulls From Hell tearing binbags apart.

If tourists were walking the streets first thing in the morning it would be embarrassing, although I guess you could say the same for any major town or city. Thankfully, the binmen usually get the job done before the throngs arrive in the city centre. Until now.

The one thing the "strike" does highlight is just how much crap we discard, for someone else to clean up and put away out of our sight. Maybe seeing bins overflowing like this one in Princes Street the other morning will make people stop and think about how much they're throwing away.

Green Energy A Go-Go

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Friends Of The Earth Scotland and WWF Scotland have commissioned a new report from energy analysts which looked at 5 future scenarios for the country, and discovered that it was feasible that Scotland could be run entirely on renewable energy by 2030.

In fact, one of the scenarios has Scotland producing 143% of it's energy needs from renewables!

I'm sceptical enough to know that 143% is perhaps out of our reach - there's no political or business will there to do it - but even the "business as usual" model which sees us hitting government targets (ha!) will see renewables making up 68% of Scotland's generating capacity.

We just have to get on with it.

You can read the report summary in pdf form here or the full report here.

Bowing To The Bleeding Obvious

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:41:00 +0000

Sometimes, something becomes so painfully obvious that even the government can't ignore it.

Germany's "feed-in tariffs" system, which sees householders paid for producing electricity, has been the superior model for encouraging household renewable schemes for a number of years now. The UK government has always resisted, I suspect because the civil servants want to protect the monopoly of the energy companies. I mean, if anyone could produce their own electricity for the National Grid then there would be chaos, wouldn't there?

But it stands to reason that if an energy company can charge a householder for using electricity, then the reverse is true: that householder should be paid for providing power to the energy company.

The UK government has finally conceded that point this week, which will hopefully see a rise in the number of household renewable schemes as the pay-back times are slashed.

It should also be a lesson in taking best practice from anywhere else in the world, instead of sticking with crap proprietary ideas.

Green In The Media 13th July - 19th July

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Just what are we eating? The BBC tries to find out on Tuesday evening, although I suspect some of it may make you choke on your burger.

Tuesday 14th July

Home Planet

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 15:00 to 15:30

Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.

What's Really in our Food?

On: BBC 1

Time: 21:00 to 22:00

Food is the most important thing we buy, but can we trust what we are eating? Reporters Tom Heap and Simon Boazman set off on a mission to find out, revealing the tricks of food labelling and uncovering the murky world of food fraud.

Wednesday 15th July

The Wednesday Documentary

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 09:06 to 09:30

The Greening of The Deserts.

Some experts now argue that some deserts could get greener. Ayisha Yahya explores the arguments in Mali.

Thursday 16th July

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Sunday 19th July

The Food Programme

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 12:32 to 12:57

Watercress.

Watercress has been dubbed a 'superfood' in the media. But is there anything special about it or is it all just marketing hype? Sheila Dillon visits Vitacress Salads Ltd in Hampshire, Europe's leading grower of watercress and the world's biggest producer of organic watercress. For several years, it has funded medical research into the potential health benefits of watercress. Sheila finds out why they did this, how much they spent and what they found out. She asks if the science is credible or if it is all just a clever marketing ploy to boost sales.

Britain's Embarrassing Emissions

On: BBC 3

Time: 00:45 to 01:40

Rebecca Wilcox has an embarrassing problem - her carbon dioxide emissions - but she's ready to do something about them. But does everyone else feel the same way about theirs, and are the energy and aviation companies as green as they seem or are the boys in big business full of hot air? In this documentary, Becca is on a mission to find out who cares about the environment and who has been 'greenwashing'.

Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818

The Week In Green Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

69%

- number of people who say they will continue to cut back on organic food after the recession

57%

- number of people willing to pay more for local food, in the same survey

20 years

- remaining life expectancy of the Great Barrier Reef

$4.5 billion

- what the Great Barrier Reef is worth to the Australian economy

10 million years

- length of time it took corals to return after the Permian extinction

42%

- amount that Arctic sea ice has thinned in the last 4 years

- fall in the sales of bottled water in the UK in 2008

£7,191

- cost of the energy wasted by the Houses of Parliament every year

- amount of water needed for a vertical farm compared to a conventional one

Bird Brained

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

When I moved into this flat last September, one of the first things I noticed was that there was a bird's nest in the tree outside, about 20 feet from my living room window. With the leaves falling from the tree last autumn, the nest became pretty exposed and I wondered if it would survive the winter, and also what type of bird had made it.

Survive it did, to the extent I wondered if it was cemented in place! Surely the wonderful creature who had built this architectural marvel would be a joy to watch during the spring. I highly anticipated being fascinated as I waited for mum and dad to make an appearance.

And waited. And waited.

By the end of June I had given up hope. Spring was over and to my limited knowledge so was breeding season. My exotic species of bird had obviously - if you'll excuse the phrase - flown the nest, never to return.

Then three days ago, I heard some wing flapping. Two birds were coming and going, checking out the nest and tidying it up. Last night, I noticed that they were taking it in turns to sit in the nest and I caught glimpses of an egg when they changed positions.

So what wonderful creatures have become my neighbours? What glorious species has kept me waiting three quarter of the year to catch a glimpse of them? Here's a photo of one on the nest, to give you a clue:

Do you give up?

It's a sodding pigeon. What's so bloody exotic about that??

Still, it'll be interesting watching them over the next month as they rear their chicks.

New Plastic Recycling Plant "Soon"

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Photo by nyki_m

This can't come soon enough.

Scotland is to get a dedicated plastics recycling factory, handling all the plastic waste which is at the moment sent to Asia or England. It should be built within the year.

I'm wondering why there isn't one here already, though?

The One That Got Away

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:04:00 +0000

I've let it slip over the years on here that I don't much like seagulls, although I've nothing against other birds. In fact, they can be quite beautiful and entertaining to watch.

What I haven't divulged is my hatred of fish. All fish!

I know exactly where this comes from, too. My best friend all through my school years, Alan, kept piranhas. I guess I was about 10 years old the first time I saw them being fed. Alan's dad dug some worms up from the garden, and then invited me to watch them being torn asunder in a feeding frenzy. As a 10 year old boy, it should have been the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Instead, I was horrified.

It left me with a lifelong queasiness around fish. I can't eat a fish if it looks like a fish, I have to have it mushed up. Which, for a 38 year old man, is quite pathetic really. I watched the "deep ocean" episode of Planet Earth from behind a cushion (although funnily enough, I'm entirely happy watching Jaws). I think the dead fish on display in the local fishmongers window are staring at me personally.

In 2001, I was in Australia for a month on holiday. My friend suggested I should go on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It would be a shame to go all that way and not see it, was the argument. Of course, in my mind all I could think of was the millions of fish that would be attacking me as I swam amongst the reef! I didn't care how brightly coloured and exotic they were, I wasn't having them nibbling at my toes.

So I didn't go.

Now, though, I'm regretting that decision. It was perhaps my only chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, since it only has about twenty years of life left. It's death should shame the human race. Even the wimpy ones who are scared of fish.

Retreat In An Orderly Fashion

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Photo of Byron Bay Lighthouse by AC21

One of the best-known effects of climate change is the rise in sea levels, as land-based ice melts at the poles.

Of course, that means if you happen to live on the coastline then your coat is on a shoogly peg (as my granny used to say). If the sea doesn't wash away the house directly, then it will erode the land your house is standing on.

Here in the UK there is a mish-mash of policies to deal with this. In some places, the authorities have adopted a policy of non-interference - the sea can take whatever it can get, and bad luck to anything or anyone in it's way. In other areas, a small fortune is being spent on sea defences to try and save the threatened communities.

In New South Wales, Australia, the Green Party runs Byron Bay Council. They've managed to pass a law of "planned retreat" from the sea, abandoning places that become uninhabitable due to the rising water.

Even if that means the houses that will be demolished are in the multi-million dollar bracket.

Of course, residents are now planning legal action. But do they really have a "basic right of being able to protect their homes", as they claim? Or should they face the inevitable and move inland? What's the point of living somewhere that is surrounded by huge walls and is continually threatened by the next storm surge?

Surely the measures they want to take to protect their homes will detract from the beauty that makes them want to live in the area in the first place?

Oh Deer

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:41:00 +0000

Photo by me'nthedogs'

It continually amazes me that some people think a food becomes a "luxury" or "must-have" item just because it comes from a certain country.

Why is New Zealand butter better than, say, German? Why is Danish bacon better than Irish? Why is Scottish Salmon better than Norwegian?

The marketing of these products as far superior to the others goes back decades, to the extent that they've now entered the collective conscience. We no longer question the fact that Argentinian beef is best, we just know it.

For Food Miles campaigners, this presents a tricky problem. You could appeal to someone's sense of patriotism, but if they have already primed their tastebuds to dismiss the non-French champagne as disgusting then there's nothing will persuade them otherwise.

But there's a flip-side here. What if the product that is being imported into the country isn't "superior"? What if it's only being imported because your own country is exporting too much?

Huh?

Apparently, Scotland exports around a third of the venison produced annually. And then has to import venison from New Zealand to meet demand at home.

A 5 year old child could see the unsustainable madness in that.

Green In The Media 6th July - 12th July

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:02:00 +0000

Wednesday sees the not-so-bonnie Prince Charlie giving a lecture on the planet's future, and a documentary on BBC Three about carbon emissions. Knowing BBC Three, it'll descend into fart jokes.

Monday 6th July

Analysis
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Sun 2130)
Inspiring Green Innovation.
Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist, examines the different ways to inspire the creators and inventors who will lead the way in the fight against global warming.

Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 20:30 to 21:00
What Ever Happened to People Power?.
Current affairs. When we want to fight plans to build a waste dump in our back yard, we take to the streets in protest. But what if that results in the police filming and searching us, noting down our car registrations and keeping our details on file for up to seven years? Panorama asks if police tactics aimed at preventing troublemakers taking over demonstrations are eroding the freedom to protest for all but the most hardened activists.

Tuesday 7th July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.

Wednesday 8th July

The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:06 to 09:30
The Greening of The Deserts.
Some experts now argue that some deserts could get greener. Ayisha Yahya explores the arguments in Mali.

Britain's Embarrassing Emissions
On: BBC 3
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also 0245, Thu 0215)
Rebecca Wilcox has an embarrassing problem - her carbon dioxide emissions - but she's ready to do something about them. But does everyone else feel the same way about theirs, and are the energy and aviation companies as green as they seem or are the boys in big business full of hot air? In this documentary, Becca is on a mission to find out who cares about the environment and who has been 'greenwashing'.

The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2009
On: BBC 1
Time: 22:35 to 23:20
Facing The Future.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales gives The Richard Dimbleby Lecture from St James's Palace in London. The heir to the throne has become well-known for identifying key issues ahead of mainstream public thinking, such as encouraging organic food production or emphasising the importance of inter-faith dialogue. In this lecture, he sets out some of the serious challenges which the world faces, and explores how some of these issues could be tackled in the years ahead.

Thursday 9th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Live Energy and Climate Change Questions
On: BBC Parliament
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 (Also 0100)
Live coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband and his ministerial team.

Saturday 11th July

Our World
On: BBC News
Time: 05:30 to 06:00 (Also 1430, 0330, Sun 1030, 1430, 2330)
End of the Boom.
Mining is one of the mainstays of the Australian economy, but that may be changing. Nick Bryant looks at whether the closure of a major nickel mine signals the end of Australia's mining boom.

Eco Solutions
On: CNN
Time: 23:30 to 00:00
Eco Solutions gives the viewer a unique peek into the situations that plague our planet and proposes real solutions to help us understand why we should make a change.

Sunday 12th July

Revenge of The Bin Men
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:10
It used to be so simple: you put out your rubbish and the bin men took it away. Not any more. War has broken out between the people who are putting out too much rubbish and the councils whose job it is to dispose of it all. As landfill space runs out and the government increases recycling targets, town halls across the country are getting tough about recycling, fly-tipping and litter. They're tracking down bin delinquents and making them pay. And the public are fighting back. This Cutting Edge film follows the men and women on both sides of the battle, from the Hampshire resident determined to stop his local council introducing smaller bins, to the woman employed by Peterborough council to teach people the right and wrong way to use their bins and the bin men, stuck in the middle, between the new regulations and the public.

Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The Week In Green Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

41.5 grams

- net carbon emissions of a cup of tea

83 billion

- number of barrels of oil that could be accessed if the Arctic ice melted

€119 Billion

- planned spend on high-speed railway infrastructure in Spain by 2020

200 mph

- speed of the water as it hits the turbine at Glendoe Hydro Power Station near Loch Ness

90 million

- number of mobile phones lying unused in British homes

Mary Had A Little Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Scotland's sheep are shrinking!

Apparently it's a weird side effect of climate change - reverse natural selection.

Normally, the bigger the sheep, the better it will survive a harsh winter.

Except, Scotland's winters aren't that harsh any more. So the sheep don't have to be so big.

I love this quote at the end of the BBC article:

"But it's too early to say if, in 100 years, we will have chihuahuas herding pocket-sized sheep."

Perhaps Not

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:54:00 +0000

The Queen is in town today, speaking at the 10th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.

Holyrood Palace, her residence in Edinburgh, is across the road from the Parliament.

I watched on the TV open-mouthed as she got into a car for the 100 yard journey. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one astounded. Commentating for BBC Scotland, Glenn Campbell said:

"Perhaps it's not the most environmentally friendly way to travel"

Indeed.

Consequences Lead To Consequences

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:18:00 +0000

Photo by midiman

There was a report in The Times yesterday which demonstrates dramatically how our short-term thinking has long-term consequences.

The monsoon in India is late this year, due to climate change. This, as The Times says, is "causing havoc" with temperatures hitting 49C. The result is crop damage, deaths and water and power shortages.

The natural human reaction to such temperatures is to seek shelter, but the power shortages mean 12 hour blackouts. So instead of staying indoors, people are choosing to sleep in their cars, with the engines running for the air conditioning. That's thousands of car engines running overnight, causing more pollution, causing climate change, causing the monsoons to fail.

A vicious circle.

But Will Nessie Fit Through The Pipes?

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Glendoe Hydro-Electirc Power Station opens today at Loch Ness. Or rather, inside a mountain near Loch Ness.

The water is released from a top reservoir through a pipe and turbine which are built underground, and into a bottom reservoir when electricity is needed. When there is spare capacity like overnight, water is pumped back up to the top reservoir.

Here's the BBC report from Glendoe, which shows you inside the mountain:

(If you're reading this via email or RSS reader, the video may not show. Click here to come to the blog and view it)

Power Use Report Card Apr - Jun 09

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Another quarter of the year has gone, so it's time to report on my energy usage over the period. I'm a great believer in practising what I preach and holding myself to a higher standard, and having to report to you lot on my power use is a way of accounting for my sins.

Gas Stats:

Length of Period: 91 Days

Total Usage: 81kW/h

Average Per Day: 0.9 kW/h

YTD Total Usage: 283 kW/h

YTD Average Per Day: 1.55 kW/h

If Applied Over The Year: 566 kW/h

Average Yearly UK Household Gas Use: 19,000 kW/h

CO2 Emissions From My Gas Use This Quarter: 15.39kg

As you can see, turning off the gas central heating has had a huge effect on my usage. I'm still heating hot water unnecessarily, though. During my next holidays, I plan to mess around with the various switches to see what happens (not a rather large boom, I hope!)

Electricity Stats:

Length of Period: 91 Days

Total Usage: 511 kW/h

Average Per Day: 5.6 kW/h

YTD Total Usage: 1041 kW/h

YTD Average Per Day: 5.7 kW/h

If Applied Over The Year: 2081 kW/h

Average Yearly UK Household Electricity Use: 3,700 kW/h

CO2 Emissions From My Electricity Use This Quarter: 220kg

My electricity use follows my shift pattern and hasn't changed much since the last report, and I don't anticipate it changing much in the future.

Figures for average UK energy use and CO2 figures are taken from the book How to Live a Low-carbon Life by Chris Goodal l

Carry On Regardless

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:15:00 +0000

So that didn't last long, did it?

The Scottish Government's brand-spanking-new 42% emissions-cut target is in danger of collapse because they can't face up to the implications of it. It seems they're only just realising that they can't go expanding airports and roads, and building new coal-fired power stations, without breaking their own legal pledges.

Is that the sound of backpedalling I hear?

Green In The Media 29th June - 5th July

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Highlight this week is Tracy Worcester's investigation into the pig breeding industry, Pig Business. Will it turn me vegetarian?

Monday 29th June

Grand Designs
On: more4
Time: 23:05 to 00:10
Kelly and Masoko Neville set about building a spectacular oak framed and straw baled hexagonal house in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Kelly, a carpenter, had always dreamed of building an eco-friendly home that could provide a base for a new self-sufficient life where he and Masoko could produce their own food and energy from the land. Three years later, Kevin McCloud goes back to visit Kelly, Masoko and their young son Acer to see if they are managing to lead the idyllic self-sufficient life they so craved.

Tuesday 30th June

Pig Business
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:40 (Also 0045)
Eco-campaigner Tracy Worcester, a former actress and now Marchioness of Worcester, has campaigned for years for quality food, animal welfare and environmental protection through a revitalisation of rural economies. Pig Business is her four year exploration of intensive pig farming. She argues that intensive production systems can harm human and environmental health, and is pushing traditional farmers out of business. In the film, she travels from the UK to the US and Poland to meet local people who claim to have been adversely affected by the new industrial pig production methods, as well as leading politicians and environmental campaigner Robert Kennedy Junior. Worcester also confronts industrial farming executives with her findings and argues that supermarket labelling is not a reliable guide to where pork is actually sourced from.

Wednesday 1st July

The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:05 to 09:30 (Also 1305, 2005, 0105)
The Greening of The Deserts.
Areas of the Sahara desert are turning green. Is this due to more rainfall or better farming methods? Ayisha Yahya reports.

Thursday 2nd July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:30 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
The programme that explores the biggest issues in global development and the environment.

Live Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
On: BBC Parliament
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 (Also 0100)
Live coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Hilary Benn and his ministerial team.

Sunday 5th July

Countryfile
On: BBC 1
Time: 19:00 to 20:00
John Craven investigates whether the way we breed Holstein cows is creating "milk machines".

Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

BBC Incredulous

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Why is this a story?

The Week In Green Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

£500 million

- estimated cost of a power-producing tidal barrage over the Solway Firth between Scotland and England

355,000

- number of people killed annually by exposure to pesticides and toxins

69%

- increase in the organic health & beauty market in the UK in 2008

10 miles long, 2 miles wide & 130 feet deep

- size of just one migratory shoal of sardines, hotly pursued by thousands of dolphins, sharks and killer whales who think it is Christmas

Super Transport Hub Is Nonsense

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:57:00 +0000

A think tank has decided that what Scotland really really needs is a giant transport hub centred around a "super-airport" just outside Edinburgh.

The Super-Airport would be accompanied by a high-speed train terminal linking all Scotland's cities, and the whole shebang would be surrounded by roads taking you to the four corners of the country.

This proposal is so wrong on so many levels I barely know where to start. So let me start with what I know best.

I'm all for high-speed rail travel being rolled out across the country, and I'm all for more transport hubs. But running a high-speed line from this "super-airport" to Edinburgh, a proposed 5 minute journey, provides no economies. Particularly when it would only take 10 minutes for a "normal" train.

The study also doesn't seem to take into account the current bus service (quite fast compared to other airports in my experience) and the future tram service (which will be even faster).

The "Super-Airport" itself is a non-starter. There are no benefits to having a centralised airport serving an entire country, albeit a small one like Scotland. All that does is increase the pollution from people trying to get to the airport. It also assumes that air travel will continue to grow, but we've seen in this economy that air passenger numbers are way down with some airlines struggling to cope (BA asking staff to work for free, for example).

Plus, and this is the damning part in my opinion, the "Super-Airport" won't actually replace the current airports, even if politicians at the time say it will. Once built, they would be told that it would be bad for the economy to demolish the existing infrastructure so we'd better let the market decide where airlines will land - and inevitably, the airlines will choose the cities rather than a hub.

Do I even need to tell you my opinion of building more roads to service an unnecessary airport?