Suitably Despairing

Spanish Green Eyes Are Smiling

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

My thoughts on nuclear power stations are on record - expensive and unnecessary, with the money better being spent on renewables.

So perhaps it is fitting that on the same day the UK government announced their plans to build 10 new nuclear power stations, Spain announced that over the weekend their windfarms produced the energy equivalent of 11 nuclear power stations.

Hmm, now is there anywhere in Europe that is windier than Spain???

Brig O' Doom

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Photo by !Laurin

The Scottish Greens caused a minor kerfuffle yesterday when they revealed new opinion poll findings about the public's feelings towards a new Forth Road Bridge.

If you recall, the Forth Road Bridge's suspension cables have been deemed not fit for purpose. In fact, they're snapping at the rate of one a month. The Japanese were called in to see if they could de-humidify the cables, and that process is ongoing.

In the meantime, some weird and wacky schemes have been proposed - including building a bridge over the current bridge! - while engineers have worked on some not-so-weird-and-wacky solutions.

In fact, it appears now that the bridge could be repaired for only £120 million. I say "only" £120 million, since you have to compare it to the figure for building a completely new bridge - £2.3 billion!

There is a political snag though. All the other major parties (plus the Lib Dems)* have until now thrown their weight behind building a new bridge. It was seen as one of those big-ticket items with glory being heaped upon whichever First Minister got to cut the ribbon.

Well, perhaps not any more. The new poll shows that only 34% of Scots support building a new bridge. That would certainly wipe the smile off the dignitaries faces as they attended the opening ceremony, knowing that they had built a huge white elephant that the public weren't going to thank them for.

There is another problem, of course. The Scottish Government don't have the money to build a new bridge anyway, so they may just have to plump for the cheaper option (and blame London for keeping the purse strings closed).

*that line is (c) James at Two Doctors!

East Coast Pulls Out Of Glasgow

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Photo by tallpomlin

The rumours that we'd been hearing in the rail industry over the last fortnight broke in the national press yesterday, that East Coast, the new name for the National Express franchise, will withdraw their Glasgow to London route from next December.

There has been, however, a bit of disinformation about it in the Scottish blogosphere. I even read one blogger who claimed that Glasgow would not now have a direct service to London. I guess the obfuscation is natural given that Glasgow is currently embroiled in a mud-slinging by-election campaign.

So let me give you a bit of history: East Coast main line trains were never meant to go to Glasgow.

Way back in the mists of time - the late 90s, if you can remember them! - there were two franchises which ran trains from Scotland to London. Virgin West Coast ran their services from Glasgow down the west coast main line to London Euston, while GNER ran their services from Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness to London King's Cross down the east coast main line.

It was an arrangement which had them as competitors while at the same time not meeting at any point during the journey.

However, the west coast main line was a nightmare. Railtrack were making huge promises to upgrade and rebuild, but precious little in the way of planning was being done. GNER saw an opportunity and went for it - they lobbied the government to allow them to run services from Glasgow to London down the east coast and the government, never a fan of Thatcher's golden boy Richard Branson*, agreed.

Virgin went mental, of course, but in truth there was not a lot wrong with the decision. It gave more train services, a better choice to the public, and a bit of competition to keep the two companies on their toes.

Not long after, Virgin announced that they were going to start running trains from Edinburgh to London down the west coast. GNER went mad, and even threatened court action, but their own actions in doing practically the same thing had tied their hands.

GNER of course eventually lost the franchise for the east coast after promising too much money to the government. Then National Express promised too much money to the government and they will lose the franchise in early December. East Coast will fall into public ownership, the first time an intercity operator has done so.

But in doing that, the government is taking it back to the original franchise commitments - and that means pulling out of Glasgow. In truth, there is not much need for the service any more. The west coast main line has been upgraded and Virgin operates an improved and much faster service that knocks spots off the East Coast one.

Other operators, including my own employer, offer services to the North-East of England. Indeed, it looks like we're being lined up to take the slack if East Coast do pull out.

I'm for more services on our railway, everywhere. But actually, the passenger won't lose out much. The East Coast franchise is being taken back to it's roots and other operators will run services to replace them from Glasgow. But losing any direct service between two large cities looks bad at first glance, particularly if you wilfully use some lies about it for your own party political ends.

*Although God loves a trier...

Green In The Media 9th November - 15th November

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:22:00 +0000

I wouldn't normally highlight a political programme that wasn't dealing with environmental issues or had a Green Party member on it, but Friday's Any Questions on Radio Four features Zac Goldsmith, the Green Tory. Hopefully it's a chance for him to get some green issues on the agenda while we find out what he thinks of other things.

Wednesday 11th November

Book of the Week

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 09:45 to 10:00

The Magnetic North - 3: Greenland.

Adjoa Andoh reads from Sara Wheeler's account of her journey to the lands that border the Arctic Ocean. Wheeler is struck by some of the paradoxes of climate change as she flies above the huge Greenland ice sheet.

Thursday 12th November

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Friday 13th November

Any Questions?

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 20:00 to 20:50

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate from Cardiff University. The panel includes Zac Goldsmith, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park

Saturday 14th November

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.

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, 07 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

24.6%

- global emissions caused by electricity and heat generation #

97%

- amount of the world's soy harvest used in animal feed #

500 hectares a day

- rate at which forests are being lost to soy plantations in Paraguay #

26,000 gallons

- amount of oil from the Exxon Valdez which remains trapped along the Alaskan coastline #

1,000

- number of disagreements over wording in the Copenhagen Climate Change Treaty which remain, giving little hope of the treaty being signed in December #

Shame On Them And Shame On Us

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0000

From all accounts, it looks like there won't be an agreement reached on a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen next month. In fact, some are speculating that it may take up to a year to iron out all the differences between nations.

This is just shameful. Shame on everyone involved and shame on us for letting them off the hook so easily.

I've been thinking that they should just cancel the whole shindig. If no one goes to Copenhagen, then the potential emissions saved will be enormous.

No aeroplane emissions from flying thousands of delegates to Denmark. No car emissions from the taxis and buses used to ferry them around the city. No extra power demands from the thousands of people looking for 24 hour entertainment instead of working hard. No cardboard and wood wasted in thousands of placards which get bandied about once before being discarded at a roadside. And no waste of water being pumped out of the police water cannons!

Of course they do need to meet, and perhaps getting them all into the Copenhagen melting pot may clarify things and get some heads banged together. Or perhaps the protesters can barricade them into the conference hall and refuse them permission to leave until the come up with a legally binding agreement!

Either way, I'm despairing at the whole process. It seems set up for delegates to nitpick ways to wriggle out of the process rather than to stand united and find a way to meet all our obligations.

We've Caused Their Extinction Once, We Can Do It Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Photo by Allerina & Glen MacLarty

Last week at the Good Food Show I had my first taste of oysters. Quite how I've managed to go this long without eating one I've no idea, other than to say that I'm not a big seafood eater. I don't particularly like fish (especially if it looks like a fish!), although I'm quite happy with most shellfish.

The oyster was provided free by a stand from Loch Fyne and was prepared for you as you waited. So how did it taste? Er, salty and a bit like a giant mussel! I didn't think it was either good or bad, and it in fact just left me with a feeling of "Meh! What's all the fuss about?"

The girlfriend did mention the supposed aphrodisiac qualities, but since we were just on our way to see Gordon Ramsay I suspect it wasn't me that was on her mind!

While Loch Fyne isn't all that far away, relatively speaking, it looks like there may be a supply of oysters right on Edinburgh's doorstep soon. They were declared extinct in the Forth back in the 1950's but a Stirling University scientist stumbled across some by accident.

It seems a shame that the first human response to this find isn't "Wow, nature can overcome!" but "How can we exploit this commercially?"

Although given what has been pumped into the Forth recently, I think I'll be giving any oysters harvested there a miss.

Is The Ticket Price The Only Cost?

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:11:00 +0000

Photo by thejonoakley

I'm sure you'll have seen the news yesterday about the £1,000 train fare and how it means that the world has gone to the dogs and society as we know it has broken down.

I checked on my ticket machine this morning and it's right enough: A First Class Anytime Return from Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh is £1,002.00.

Of course, it's not a story when you start thinking about it in a normal, non-knee-jerk-tabloid way.

Nobody in their right mind would wake up one morning and suddenly decide to travel the length of Britain, paying on board the train for First Class, and knowing that the journey will take 20 hours.

The journey can't even be done in a day, the only way it's possible to do without a significant break is to catch the overnight sleeper from Crewe to Inverness.

So no, that's the kind of journey that is planned months in advance. And when you are planning it, you realise that on balance a 10 hour car trip will probably be better your pocket than a 2-day 20-hour 5-train extravaganza.

But what about the environment? Lets do the maths. The distances travelled are not the same, since the train journey is not as direct as the car journey.

BY RAIL

In the book How to Live a Low-carbon Life, Chris Goodall uses the figure of 49g of CO2 per passenger km for the average rail travel in the UK. However, he goes on to say that First Class travel, which our £1,000 is for, actually increases that by 50%. So we'll use 73.5g per passenger km as our emissions for the train journey.

Using Google Earth and allowing for the curvature of the railway tracks etc, the train journey is approximately 1,400km.

That means one passenger will generate 102.9kg of CO2 for their First Class journey, one way.

BY CAR

The average car in the UK emits 180g of CO2 per kilometre, significantly more than the train. Again using Google Earth, the road journey is approximately 1,200km.

That means one passenger in a car will generate 216kg of CO2 for the one way journey, more than double the train emissions.

So the train wins out in terms of pollution, but only if there's just one person in the car. In terms of cost, then obviously the car wins, even if you hired one. In fact, you could probably buy an old banger that you scrapped at the destination and it would still cost less!

Still, I wouldn't say no to the commission on that ticket!

Going Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Never one to miss a bandwagon, I've now got a dedicated mobile site!

It can be hard reading this site on the move, so instead of struggling to scroll through the whole page you can now get a mobile-friendly version of this site.

The address for the mobile site is : http://despairing.mofuse.mobi/

Or, if you have a barcode scanner on your phone, you can scan this QR code and it will take you straight there:

And don't forget to bookmark that site!

Forgive Me My Sins

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:21:00 +0000

Every now and then I get a small reminder of what a "typical" lifestyle is like.

You see, I don't consider myself to be typical. (But then again, does anyone?). I work shifts, I don't sit in an office, I live fairly close to work, and my power consumption is fairly low.

It's the power consumption bit that brought a realisation to me yesterday.

As well as my normal duties at work, I'm also one of the trainers for the depot. Last week, I'd volunteered to revamp some training materials, and that meant sitting at a computer most of the day. Which meant working from home.

Normally, if I'm at home then the computer is on anyway (unless I'm asleep, obviously). But I don't tend to be at home 24/7 for the majority of a week. So last week turned out to be atypical for my energy consumption.

It was quite a shock to read the meter yesterday, as I do every Monday. I'd used 53kWh of electricity, compared to just 40kWh the week before - a 32% increase.

Normally when advocating working from home, environmentalists like to point out that emissions will be reduced due to the lack of a daily commute. A "normal", office-bound worker will not usually see a decrease in their power consumption, though, since they are merely transferring their power use from their office to their home - although there may be small savings in heating and lighting.

What makes my increase in power consumption last week a bit more difficult for me to take is that there is no power to transfer from one location to another. I don't work in an office, and I don't sit in front of a computer all day. So the week of working from home actually produced extra emissions over and above what would normally be escaping into the atmosphere.

I'll think of some way of doing penance.

Having A Beef With Vegetarians

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:04:00 +0000

Photo by peterastn

I did something today which I've never done before.

I walked out of a restaurant.

Let me set the scene for you: a new restaurant opened today in the girlfriend's home town in Perthshire. It was rumoured to be "fine dining" and indeed an award-winning chef has been hired as a consultant through the first few weeks. As a foodie, the gf was eager to try it out.

The "grand opening" party was at the weekend, but today was the first day that the restaurant was actually serving food. We rocked up about 12:30 to discover that we were one of their first customers.

In fact, we were our waitress's very first customers. She had a handheld computer which she was a tad unsure of and joked with us about it. It made for a relaxed atmosphere in a nicely refurbished room.

And then we saw the menu.

I should point out that the girlfriend is a vegetarian. It's not an ethical issue with her, she just doesn't like the taste of meat (stop sniggering in the back!). She will, however, eat fish.

Despite flirtations with vegetarianism in the past, I'm avowedly carnivore. However, if we're dining out then there are times when the vegetarian option on the menu appeals to me a lot more than the meaty items. Particularly if I'm eating Italian.

So we scanned the menu of this brand-new "fine dining" establishment. 3 of the 5 main dish items on the "Lunch Menu" were meatballs, beefburger and fish & chips. Huh. Is that the sound of alarm bells ringing?

But where was the vegetarian option? There was none on the specials board, so surely there was something on the menu?

And there it is, well hidden: Penne Pasta with Chargrilled Chicken, peppers and a tomato-based sauce.

Underneath, in brackets: (We can remove the chicken for a vegetarian option).

So basically, this pretentious wannabe-upmarket eaterie was offering to hoik the chicken off the plate if you didn't want to eat meat.

Ok, I'm slightly doing it a disservice. There was another vegetarian dish in the list of starters: melon balls.

As the gf said, this is 2009. There are plenty of vegetarians around. There will be even more if Lord Stern has his way. The concept of "Meat-Free Mondays" seems to be catching on as people realise just how much farmed animals contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

And yet here is a restaurant-with-pretensions treating vegetarians as an afterthought, people to be barely tolerated. So we walked out.

The whole episode reminds me of a story in John Simpson's book A Mad World, My Masters. In it, he tells of a BBC cameraman who has been put up in a Bed & Breakfast in Northern Ireland which was renowned for it's huge breakfasts.

Come the morning, the waitress arrived to take the BBC man's order. "Fried eggs, fried bread, fried bacon, fried beans, fried black pudding and fried mushrooms" he asked, "but please, no sausages." She appeared back at his table with a plate heaped with food, and in the middle of the plate sat two fried sausages.

"Scuse me," he said, "I asked for fried eggs, fried bread, fried bacon, fried beans, fried black pudding and fried mushrooms, but no sausages."

She took the plate back into the kitchen, only to emerge a few seconds later carrying the still fully-laden plate. Putting it down in front of the BBC man, the waitress said:

"Chef says sausages are compulsory!"

Biggest Polluters Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:46:00 +0000

It's that time of year again, when the most polluting companies and sites in Scotland are unveiled to astonished gasps - astonished in that a 5 year old could probably have guessed the top four!

But what's this at number five in the list? A combined heat and power plant? While combining heat and power makes a plant more effective, it doesn't mean that the plant suddenly doesn't pollute.

The good news from the list: Longannet coal plant has reduced it's emissions 30% since 2005.

The bad news from the list: Cockenzie coal plant (above) has increased it's emissions 60% since 2005.

You can see the big polluters near you by entering your postcode on the SEPA website. It'll also tell you just what chemicals they are pumping into the air, not just CO2.

Here's the top ten for the whole country, from Rob Edwards website:

company / plant / tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2008

Scottish Power / Longannet power station, Fife / 5.98 million

Scottish Power / Cockenzie power station, East Lothian / 4.45 million

Ineos / Grangemouth petrochemical plant, Falkirk / 3.44 million

ExxonMobil / Mossmorran ethylene plant, Fife / 744,000

Fortum / Grangemouth combined heat and power plant, Falkirk / 647,000

Lafarge / Dunbar cement works, East Lothian / 629,000

BP / Kinneil oil terminal, Grangemouth / 394,000

Shell / St Fergus gas plant, Peterhead / 358,000

E.ON / Croft power station, Lockerbie / 300,000

Norbord/ Cowie paper mill, Stirlingshire / 264,000

Green In The Media 2nd November - 8th November

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:12:00 +0000

Tuesday 3rd November

To Build or Not to Build

On: BBC 1

Time: 11:00 to 11:30

Series following TV presenter Kristian Digby as he builds his dream house. He meets the couple who have built an eco-home on a tiny plot in Brighton.

Heli-Loggers

On: Quest

Time: 22:00 to 23:00

Hmmm. Can I put this in the "green" category?

Gord and his new eco-friendly team take on the challenge of felling a mountainside of trees. If a single twig falls into the stream below, it could cost them their job.

Thursday 5th November

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 team of ministers.

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

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, 31 Oct 2009 12:43:00 +0000

65%

- greater CO2 emissions of CD's compared to downloads #

52.5 billion kWh

- the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power in the UK in 2008 #

809 billion kWh

- the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power in the US in 2008 #

- number of proposed nuclear reactors in China #

60%

- number of Americans who now back "cap and trade" #

£70 million

- cost of a 190-hectare plot of land next to Sellafield nuclear power station in England, bought by a consortium of European energy companies #

The Day The World Came Together

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I'm in Glasgow today at the BBC Good Food Show, trying my best to be shouted at by Gordon Ramsay. Well, you haven't lived until that happens, have you?

In the meantime, here's a video to inspire you. Last weekend thousands of people across the globe got together to spell out one message. Edinburgh gets a quick mention, too. I wasn't there myself, I was, erm, a tad hungover:

We're Gonna Need A Bigger Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Photo by nothing

I'm quite willing to admit that there are some things in life that I'm completely ignorant of. I like to think I know a little about a lot and a lot about a little, but then when it comes to wildlife I have to admit that I know diddly-squat.

I guess I could blame growing up and living in a city but that hasn't stopped others. For example, I'm continually amazed at Crafty Green Poet's ability to name birds along the Water of Leith. The first time I saw a heron there, I pointed, stammered and backed away as far as I could, convinced I'd discovered a pterodactyl living amongst us.

There used to be two things of which I was certain: the Asians killed sharks just for their fins, and the Canadians shot seals. Both practices I find barbaric, but I always felt remote from them. After all, they were on the other side of the planet and that sort of thing could never happen in Scotland.

Little did I know that Scottish fishermen were making a fortune cutting the fins off sharks to sell to Asia, and seals were regularly shot in Scottish waters.

It's not a nice feeling, having your moral high ground whipped away from under you!

Sharks can breathe easier, though - finning is to be banned outright in Scottish waters, and there is pressure being put on the EU as a whole to ban the practice throughout the continent.

As for the shooting of seals, they'll have to wait a while. The Marine (Scotland) Bill starts it's way through parliament today, and the Scottish Green Party have introduced an amendment which would see the shooting of seals banned during breeding season.

It's a start, but I'm now wondering what else goes on in this country that I'm blissfully unaware of. Do we have our own version of The Cove? Does the Grassmarket get turned into a bullfighting arena every Saturday night?

Photo by me!

Trump To Start Work Today

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:30:00 +0000

So it seems that Aberdeenshire Council have laughed in the face of all those opposing the Trump golf course at Menie. Despite facing legal action, and questions being asked in Europe, the council voted to let Trump start work on the course today.

The sand dunes at Menie, where Trump wants to build his "world-famous" resort, are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. His plans will sanitise the area bringing with it an environmental apocalypse.

This is a beautiful animation from the Tripping Up Trump campaign:

But all Aberdeenshire Council can see is that someone is investing nearby. They see no benefit to them of having an outstandingly beautiful landscape. After all, how many people come to Scotland to see the scenery?

Trump is right about one thing, though. His new building site is about to become "world-famous". Perhaps not in the way he hoped.

Rack 'Em Up

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Photo by Alex_Lee2001

I've been laughing the last couple of days at the Guardian's Bike Blog series, where people have been recounting their stories of travelling on trains with their bike. Not laughing manically in a "look at the stupid cyclists what do they think they're doing?" kind of way, but more of an ironic, knowing laugh.

I have to admit, there are some of my colleagues who hate bicycles being on board their train in a way that I've never understood. Even before I bought my own bike, I was always happy to see a cyclist. I'd rather that than see someone jump out of their car at the last minute and stroll onto the train, having idled their engine for the last twenty minutes (Alnmouth in Northumberland is bad for that).

The articles on the Guardian website hint at arcane procedures and changing goalposts - and they're right! My own company, for example, used to have space for 6 bikes which didn't have to be reserved. Then they got new trains, with space for 4 which had to be reserved. Then they decided you didn't have to reserve. Then changed it so you had to reserve. Then they redesigned the interior of the train and the bike spaces fell to 3. But you could only reserve 2. And you didn't have to reserve.

Clear, yes?

Unfortunately every train is designed differently, and every train company has different rules. There's a possibility of a standardised system of whether bikes have to be reserved or not, and I know it makes my life a lot easier if I'm expecting a bike on at a certain station.

But to not offer the chance to book a bike on a train online in the 21st Century is unforgivable, and I'm afraid that some of the Guardian writers are right. Cyclists are an afterthought to the railway companies.

Wheels On Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:34:00 +0000

This is not the definition of zero waste!

Quite ironic, though, that they were on their way to the incinerator.

Go-Ahead For Giant Pylons?

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:06:00 +0000

The BBC's Politics Show Scotland reported at lunchtime that a decision is to be made this week to allow the controversial Beauly to Denny power line.

This is the scheme to upgrade the existing power line running from Beauly in the north of Scotland to Denny in the Central Belt. There's not much argument about the need for the enhanced power lines (although Brian Wilson* did his best on the show). If we're to get renewable energy from the energy-rich north of the country to the energy-guzzling south with fewer transmission losses then we need the upgrade.

What is controversial is that the pylons carrying the power lines will be up to 200ft tall, twice the size of the existing pylons (although there will be less of them). A large number of NIMBY objections have been submitted which all seem to assume that this will be the death of Scottish tourism.

Of course, it's a stupid argument. When I went to the Shetlands this summer, I don't recall seeing any electricity pylons. I know they were there, since they showed up on my photos of the beautiful landscape, but they didn't register on my conscience at the time. And incidentally, the ones which were on my photos were easily photoshopped out!

So even if tourists do stumble across this power line, it's very likely that they won't remember even seeing it when they recall their vacation. As for those who live within sight of the pylons, they will become as much a part of the landscape as the current ones.

However, it does seem to me that the alternatives - burying the cables, or running them undersea down the coast - weren't as widely researched as they could be. The power company involved seem to have come up with this (cheapest) plan and stuck to their guns through thick and thin. This decision shouldn't mean that there will be an assumption for overhead power lines everywhere.

* There are some people in life who you take against because of the things they say. There are some people in life who you take against because of the things they do. And then there are some people in life who you just take against full stop. For me, Brian Wilson is one of them. He could announce that he is personally investing in enough renewable energy to shut down all Scotland's coal-power plants, giving everyone in the country a free electric car, and building a rocket that will allow me to fulfil my ambition of becoming the first Scot on Mars, and I would still scream at the telly whenever his face appears. This perhaps reached it's nadir a few weeks ago when I was willing the entire Harris Tweed industry to fail just because Brian Wilson had invested in a mill.

Green In The Media 26th October - 1st November

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:28:00 +0000

This week seems designed to make you give up on food completely, with two different programmes looking at what is in our food. Which should set me up nicely for going to the BBC Good Food Show on Friday, where my ambition is to be screamed at by Gordon Ramsay!

Monday 26th October

Dispatches

On: Channel 4

Time: 20:00 to 21:00

Do You Know What's in Your Breakfast?.

It is the most important meal of the day, but all too often, breakfast in the UK is far from healthy. In this edition of Dispatches, reporter Jane Moore reveals how nutritious the nation's breakfasts really are and the marketing techniques employed by this lucrative industry to sell their breakfast cereals, drinks and bars.

Costing the Earth

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)

Countdown to Copenhagen.

Tom Heap looks behind the jargon and political scene-shifting to ask whether or not a definitive new deal on climate change will come out of the talks at Copenhagen in December. He also hears from some of the people who will have to live with the consequences and asks how their voices are working their way into the Copenhagen process. These include the people of the Carteret Islands, some of whom have already had to leave their homes because of the encroaching seas, and the President of the Maldives, who fears the same will happen there. Children in Sri Lanka explain how they have been exchanging experiences with English counterparts by the sea in Essex, and the students of a Birmingham comprehensive gather to poke a spoke in the wheel of John Prescott's green bandwagon by asking about his infamous fleet of Jaguars.

Wednesday 28th October

Jimmy's Food Factory

On: BBC 1

Time: 19:30 to 20:00 in rest of UK, 21:30 to 22:00 in Scotland

What's in My Sandwich?.

Science series in which farmer Jimmy Doherty tries to find out what really goes into supermarket food. His novel approach is to set up a food factory in a barn and recreate his own versions. In this programme Jimmy asks, 'What's really in my sandwich?'. How does supermarket bread stay soft for over a week? If processed cheese only contains 60% cheese, what else is in it? He also discovers the lengths to which one bagged-salad producer goes to ensure we never find a caterpillar or bug in our bag.

Thursday 29th October

Live Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions

On: BBC Parliament

Time: 10:30 to 11:30

Live coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Hilary Benn and his team of ministers.

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Sunday 1st November

The Drowned World by JG Ballard

On: BBC Radio 7

Time: 18:30 to 19:00 (Also 0030)

The author's 1962 debut novel set in a submerged London of the future, transformed by global warming. Read by Robert Glenister. Episode 1 of 4.

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, 24 Oct 2009 10:05:00 +0000

I'm experimenting with adding sources to the numbers, where available, in case you want to investigate further.

136,000

- number of hens that suffocated to death at a farm near Edinburgh after a break-in #

213,000 tonnnes

- amount of CO2 that the Scottish Government claimed would be generated by their 7 biggest road building schemes #

4.24 million

- actual amount of CO2 that will be generated by the roads #

373 billion kWh

- annual UK electricity consumption

95%

- amount by which Europe has offered to cut it's emissions if there's a deal done at Copenhagen #

The Untied Shoelaces Show

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:30:00 +0000

The title of this post comes from an early-80s kids Saturday morning TV show broadcast from Glasgow that was incredibly bad. I've put the only YouTube clip in existence at the bottom of this post if you can bear to watch it!

I remember my dad taking the piss out of me when it first appeared in the schedules - "Oh look, they're making a programme about you!"

You see, I've often wondered what other people know about tying their shoelaces that I don't.

I can tie them all right, learnt at a very early age and was proud that I was about the only one of my Primary 1 class who could tie his own shoes. It was keeping them tied which was the problem.

And, I'm embarrassed to admit, still is.

You see, I like a tight shoe. I can't stand the feeling of them sliding off me with every step. So I tie them tight and like to keep them tied tight. Maybe it's the way I walk that loosens the knot within 100 yards. Or maybe it's just the knot itself.

You're probably wondering what this has to do with the environment. Well, I have another problem with shoelaces that no-one else seems to have. I go through an extraordinary amount of them.

In the last 24 hours, I've snapped two laces. I don't think I've gone a month in the last few years without having to buy laces. And that's an incredible waste.

But why does no-one else seem to have this problem? Am I alone in a sea of broken laces?

Now, check out the BBC Micro graphics:

Blind Acceptance Of The Sceptic's "Facts"

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:21:00 +0000

When I was out and about yesterday I heard a trail for the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 in which a climate scientist was going to try and persuade some sceptical members of the public that climate change was real. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to listen to the show live but I've just caught up with it via the BBC's website (Listen here, from the 1:09 mark to 1:34).

The setup was a simple one - take two members of the public, give them a wee tour of the Tyndall Centre and then sit around discussing climate change and answering their questions.
So was the professor successful in his persuasions?

Let's just say it left me, well, Despairing.

One of the members of the public had come armed with the sceptics playbook and went through the points one by one - cooling since 1998, warmer in mediaeval times, humans are too small to influence the whole globe, etc.

Both of the members of the public ended the discussions claiming that they had not been convinced and that they were confirmed sceptics - in fact one of them has set up a website to debunk global warming, which rather bizarrely states

Allan felt that there was far too much blind acceptance of "facts" based on "consensus science"

Which kind of ignores that all science fact comes from consensus - someone comes up with a theory, they do the maths or conduct an experiment, someone else does the maths or conducts the experiment to confirm it, and eventually everyone agrees after reaching a consensual view that the theory is correct.

After the two members of the public who were given the guided tour had had their say, three or four listeners got to phone in with questions. One topic was repeated by a couple of them, and it's something that I hear a lot from colleagues - climate change is a hoax perpetrated by governments in order to either control the population or to get more tax money out of us.

And it's this which leaves me despairing. It doesn't matter what you say or do, it doesn't matter if you give someone a whole day to pick the brain of a scientist who specialises in climate, some people don't want to see the truth and therefore never will see the truth - they'd rather believe that we're all in a big conspiracy against them.

Dear Lidl

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Dear Lidl,

How would you like to save some money? Follow my one simple tip and not only will you save thousands of £££'s, but you'll also help the environment too!

But first, I have one simple question. How do you pronounce your name anyway??? Is it Lid-el or, as my stepmum insists on saying, leed-el?

I also have a confession - I've never been inside one of your stores. Until recently, there was never one near me. And now that there is, it's in a place I pass by, not in a place that I stop to shop.

I mention this in case you're thinking that snobbery is what has prevented me from handing over my hard-earned dough in exchange for your German wonders. There's a Somerfield near your store too, and I've never shopped in there.

Your goods are German, aren't they? I've heard this is your business model - buy cheap German tins of beans or hot dog sausages in bulk, and then ship them over here. Perhaps I'm wrong in that. Or perhaps I'm mistaking you for the competition, Aldi.

But anyway, I digress. I promised to save you thousands of £££'s while helping to turn you ever-so-slightly green, with just one simple method.

And when I say the method is simple, I mean it. It requires absolutely no effort on your part at all. Which makes the money savings quick and effective, and will give you more in your pocket to bulk-buy German ketchup.

So are you ready to save? Are you ready to learn the secret that will have your company directors weeping with delight?

Ok, here it is: stop with the mailshots.

Yes, I realise it's your main form of advertising, but it's failing. And I'll tell you why.

I live in a tenement in Edinburgh, with 16 flats in the building. Twice in the last month, I have come home to a huge pile of Lidl fliers sitting just inside the front door.

Obviously, your minimum-wage delivery guy has looked at the stairs of the tenement and thought "Sod that". He has then grabbed a wedge of the poster-sized leaflets and dumped them on the ground. Then walked away.

And there's always more than 16 in that pile.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure it's not a natural human reaction to actually increase the amount of junk mail we get. So no one picks one up, and the pile of Lidl advertising that you have obviously spent ages crafting isn't even looked at.

Then I come along. Good environmentalist that I am, I tut loudly. I tut at the paper waste. I tut at the ink waste. I tut at the waste of petrol that the delivery vans use - to the printers, to the distributors, to the streets. I tut at the power that the computers used when you were crafting your missives.

After 2 days of the pile being at the foot of the stairs, I pick the pile up, walk 10 yards along the street to the paper recycling bin. And dump the whole lot in.

The mailshot has been read by no-one in the tenement. Do you know how many tenements their are in Edinburgh? Neither do I, but it's a lot.

So repeat this scenario a couple of thousand times, as an estimate.

That's tens of thousands of wasted bits of paper, produced by you and read by no one.

So do us all a favour. And by "us", I mean the whole planet. Stop wasting resources.

Stop with the mailshots.