Suitably Despairing

Power Use Report Card Oct-Dec And 2009

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

It's that time of the quarter, and the year, when I confess my power use in a full-disclosure, beat-myself-up kind of way. There's an added dimension - I've signed up to 10:10, so I need to cut this lot by 10% in the coming year!

Gas Use

Total Usage for year: 476 kW/h

Average Per Day: 1.30 kW/h

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

CO₂ Emissions From My Gas Use This Year: 90.44 kg

It's always a bit disingenuous comparing my energy use with the average UK household since I only have a one-bedroom flat to heat. You might also recall that I spent most of August and September without using any gas at all after the boiler packed in and I decided I didn't need it until it got colder.

For that reason, cutting my gas use by 10%, or 48 kW/h, next year will be hard. I intend to switch the hot water off completely whenever I'm on shifts when I know I won't be needing hot water - previously I've just left it running on the timer. A quick end to winter would help as well, although it's ironic that Climate Change would help me reduce my energy use!

Electricity Use

Total Usage for year: 2,239 kW/h

Average Per Day: 6.13 kW/h

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

CO₂ Emissions From My Electricity Use This Quarter: 963 kg

My electricity use has always followed my shift pattern, but I'm troubled by what appears to be a rise in the second half of the year compared to the first half. To cut my electric use by 10%, or 224 kW/h, will take some doing and I'm not quite sure yet how I'm going to achieve that. Cutting the amount of time when my computer is switched on may be a start - if I'm in the flat then the computer is usually switched on whether I'm using it or not. I may start turning it off if I'm slobbed in front of the telly.

Car Use

This is quite painful to disclose since I've never revealed my petrol usage on here before, but I thought it was about time - particularly if I want to cut it by 10%. And this was the first year that I kept records.

Once a week I take a 130 mile round trip to the wilds of Perthshire. In the car it takes 75 minutes. By public transport it takes 3 hours. So I take the car. It's used very rarely outside of that trip, but I'm aware that because of that one trip I use it more than some commuters who only go a couple of miles.

So, deep breath:

Petrol Used: 672 litres

Miles Travelled: 5,496

Average Miles Per Gallon: 39.18

CO₂ Emissions From My Petrol Use This Quarter: 1,552kg

A better driving technique and driving slower should see me reduce those figures by 10%

Rail Use

Since I work on the railway, I'm not going to include my emissions from my job - that would see them go through the roof, and they're outwith my control anyway! But without me there, other people would not be able to reduce their emissions by taking the train instead of their car, so I can sleep soundly at night!

What I will include, though, are the three train trips I took for leisure purposes - two round trips to Glasgow and one to Aberdeen. That's 400 miles, or 31.56 kg of CO₂

Ferry Use

If you remember, my holidays this year were in the Shetlands and I chose to get the overnight ferry rather than fly. The round trip was 420 miles, which produces 84 kg of CO2.

Totals

Gas: 90.44 kg

Electricity: 963 kg

Car: 1,552 kg

Rail: 31.56 kg

Ferry: 84 kg

Total CO2 use for the year: 2,721 kg, or 2.72 tonnes.

The average person in the UK directly produces 6 tonnes of CO₂, and if we're ever going to get climate change under control then we need to get this down to 3 tonnes per person. Although I don't have any figures for food consumption above, my figures show that getting our emissions below that 3 tonnes per person figure can be done!

Figures for average UK energy use and CO figures are taken from the book How to Live a Low-carbon Life by Chris Goodal l except for the ferry emissions figure, which came from here.

Cherry Picking The Data

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:27:00 +0000

I've been messing around with graphs today (yes, it's nearly time for my end-of-year Power Usage update), and got to thinking about the famous "cherry-picking" that the climate sceptics like to do to illustrate that Global Warming stopped in 1998.

If you don't know this argument, it is a simple and seductive one: 1998 was the warmest year on record, so a graph of global temperatures starting in 1998 will show a declining trend - thereby "proving" that Global Warming stopped in 1998.

Of course this completely ignores every other temperature before 1998, and also ignores the fact that 1998 might not actually have been the warmest year on record after all. Skeptical Science has a nice round-up of the records to indicate why the whole premise is a false one.

In the last year, Conservative peer Lord Lawson has emerged as one of the leading sceptics in Britain, so I thought I would pick on the Tories to illustrate my point while I was playing with my graphs.

Here are the results of a YouGov/Daily Telegraph Political Trends Poll from May 2005 to December 2007. The trendline clearly shows that voting intentions for the Tories over that period are rising:

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is my "cherry-picked" poll. This is conclusive proof that the Conservatives have been shedding voters since 2006:

Incidentally, 2010 is predicted to be even warmer than 1998. I wonder how the sceptics will frame the argument then?

22% Of Scotland's Power Came From Renewables In 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:45:00 +0000

For some reason, this news was sneaked out just before Christmas to little fanfare, and almost completely ignored by the press. The only reason I know is that it was a 10-second spluttering from Jackie Bird on one of the few occasions I watched Reporting Scotland.

But for the government, it's some sorely needed Good News. You would think they would be trumpeting it from the roofs: 22% of Scotland's electricity in 2008 was produced from renewables.

Or perhaps the Government was too ashamed that they had just announced the Aberdeen Bypass., and had decided to stop pretending they were in any way "green"? Aye, right.

Anyway, about that electricity figure: 22% of our generation is just 9% off the government's own targets for 2011. We'll still have to go some to achieve the 50% by 2020 target though.

Green In The Media 28th December - 3rd January

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 11:38:00 +0000

Monday 28th December

Copenhagen Speeches

On: BBC Parliament

Time: 17:05 to 18:05 (Also Tue 1340, Wed 1015, Thu 0700, Sat 2035, Sun 1710)

Highlights of speeches at December's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Man on Earth

On: Channel 4

Time: 20:00 to 21:00

Tony Robinson concludes his journey to some of the world's most important and intriguing archaeological sites to find out what happened to our ancestors when violent climate change turned their worlds upside down. In this final programme, Tony examines societies similar to our own, who not only survived climate change, but flourished. In Peru the Hauri people embraced a savage drought, developed advanced techniques of water management and founded a great empire, itself the basis of the great Inca nation. In Europe, Tony learns how a mini-Ice Age triggered the Black Death; but rather than cripple medieval Europe it launched a period of unprecedented progression. The Industrial Revolution and globalisation were hastened by the benefits of a stable climate, but Tony also learns how this stability appears to be ending, bringing an unprecedented new threat to human societies.

The Frozen Frontline

On: Sky News

Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Tue 2130, Thu 1930, Fri 2030, Sat 2130, Sun 1630)

Fighting the war against climate change, they live on the world's highest, driest and coldest continent. Sky's Emma Hurd visits the scientists working amid the ice floes of the Antarctic.

Tuesday 29th December

Home Planet

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 15:00 to 15:30

Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

Thursday 31st December

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Sunday 3rd January

The River Cottage Treatment

On: more4

Time: 20:00 to 21:00

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall invites a group of urban dwellers to spend a wholesome week at his River Cottage HQ living the green life. It's a clash of food cultures, as fast food-loving and convenience-obsessed non-cooks come to Hugh's farm; his mission is to change their ways forever, but it's not going to be easy. First up is a group of finger-lickin' chicken-lovers who are living off takeaways and cheap chicken portions from the supermarket. First they've got to bond with the River Cottage poultry flock, and connect with the birds that will, at the end of the week, become their dinner. Hugh battles to overcome their food phobias, squeamishness and sheer laziness, to show them just how well they can eat, using the very best local, seasonal and organic ingredients from the farm. So, how do the gang cope with a week on the farm?

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

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Photo by Vanessa Pike-Russell

You know, Santa has us all fooled.

We think he's incredibly green because he has zero-carbon transport.

But at every single house he stops at, he only ever eats half of what is left out for him.

Half a biscuit. Half a mince pie. Half a glass of milk.

There's a mountain of food waste, and it's all Santa's fault.

Maybe we should persuade him to sign up to 10:10?

Merry Christmas!

We Don't Care About Our Own Emissions Target

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:52:00 +0000

I meant to write this the other day but I've been ill, so forgive the tardiness!

Photo by noraxx

Did you know Scotland has a 42% by 2020 emissions target?

Last week, First Minister Alex Salmond was glad-handing anyone in Copenhagen who would come near him (some wouldn't) and telling them all about Scotland's wonderful 42% emissions target.

That's 42%, by the way.

It's brilliant, isn't it? 42%, and the government is fully committed.

Actually, no, I'll rephrase that. The government should be committed. To an asylum.

Because they seem to think that in order to achieve that 42% we need more roads, like the new 28-mile long Aberdeen Bypass which was approved on Monday. We need new motorways, like the M74 extension which is cutting a swathe of destruction through the centre of Glasgow. We need new coal-fired power stations, like the proposed new Hunterston facility.

We need less public transport, like the trams in Edinburgh. Or the Glasgow Airport Rail Link. Or indeed the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link. And just how long is it going to take to rebuild the Waverley Line?

42%. I'm surprised Salmond could look anyone in the eye in Copenhagen last week.

Glasgow Thinks They Need More Shops

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

There's a shopping mall in the centre of Glasgow called Buchanan Galleries which has an ambitious expansion plan. Or rather, it did have an ambitious expansion plan.

What they want to do sounds truly horrific for any fan of public transport: they want to turn their existing two-thousand space car park into shops, and then take over the adjoining Buchanan Street Bus Terminal. This is the main bus station for all long-distance buses to Glasgow - 40,000 passengers use it on a daily basis.

The developers from Buchanan Galleries want to build their new multi-story car park on top of the bus station, precipitating the closure of the terminus while the building work is done.

Not content with that, they also want to remove the steps in front of the Royal Concert Hall and install an "atrium entrance", thereby removing at a stroke a main gathering point for store-weary Glaswegians and sun-hungry office workers on their lunch break.

Shopping is not my thing, so I've never been inside Buchanan Galleries, but it seems to me that Glasgow needs more shops like Simon Cowell needs more TV exposure. And I'm not the only one to think that - it appears the developers now agree!

They say the plan is "no longer viable in the current economic climate".

Never one to see a disastrous deal pass them by, Glasgow City Council are now exploring options to expand the mall themselves. If the plans are "no longer viable" for one developer, what makes Glasgow think they'll be viable for them?

This line in the Sunday Herald article says it all: "The scheme is expected to create 2,000 jobs."

Er, no it won't. If it's not economically viable then the shops will remain empty and there will be no jobs - just a massive white elephant where the bus station used to be.

Green In The Media 21st December - 27th December

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

You can relive the great triumph that was Copenhagen....hang on, I'll start that again. You can watch through your fingers as BBC Parliament shows highlights of the speeches at Copenhagen.

Monday 21st December

Man on Earth

On: Channel 4

Time: 21:00 to 22:00

Tony Robinson continues his journey to some of the world's most important and intriguing archaeological sites to find out what happened to our ancestors when violent climate change turned their worlds upside down. In this programme Tony picks through the ruins of three great civilisations from the last 2,000 years to ask what made these civilisations more vulnerable to climate catastrophe than the ones who survived. In the jungles of Central America he investigates how decades-long drought brought the advanced Mayan civilisation to an apocalyptic end, resorting to human sacrifices to plead to their gods for salvation.

Hardtalk Review of The Year

On: BBC News

Time: 23:30 to 00:00

In a special edition, the programme samples the stand-out interviews of 2009. Climate change dominated, and HARDtalk travelled to Greenland to see whether the planet's climate is headed in a dangerous direction. Veteran American politicians like James Clyburn and Maxine Waters were interviewed, and intellectual Noam Chomsky discussed President Obama's first year. The programme also marked the first anniversary of the global financial crisis, visited sculptor Anish Kapoor, and talked to fashion icon Vivienne Westwood.

Tuesday 22nd December

Defining The Decade

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 09:00 to 09:45 (Also 2130)

2: The Heat Is On.

Three-part series in which Edward Stourton tries to make sense of the past decade, in which history has been put on fast forward. Back in the year 2000 the world's leaders didn't seem to be troubled by the notion of global warming, so what has changed?

Home Planet

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 15:00 to 15:30

Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

Wednesday 23rd December

Copenhagen Speeches

On: BBC Parliament

Time: 13:35 to 14:35 (Also Thu 1010, Fri 0645, Sat 2355, Sun 2030)

Highlights of speeches at December's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Thursday 24th December

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 2030, 0130, Sat 2030, Sun 0630, 2330)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

On: more4

Time: 19:00 to 20:05

Ecologist Professor Sue Hartley continues to show how the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals has shaped us and the world we live in. Professor Hartley asks if humans are natural herbivores. How good are we at eating plants and overcoming their defences? And she tackles the hot potato of GM technology. Although we actually quite enjoy some plant defences - the sharp taste of mustard, the spiciness of pepper and the varied flavours of herbs are all caused by plant toxins - human agriculture has usually tried to disarm plant defences and increase plant nutrient content. Our domestic varieties of wheat and cabbage now look, and taste, very different to their wild relatives. This "green revolution" has allowed us to support billions of people on our small planet. But is our humanly modified food now too defenceless? It's delicious to us, but also to the insect pests that destroy our crops.

The Frozen Frontline

On: Sky News

Time: 19:30 to 20:00 (Also Sat 0130)

Fighting the war against climate change, they live on the world's highest, driest and coldest continent. Sky's Emma Hurd visits the scientists working amid the ice floes of the Antarctic.

Friday 25th December

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

On: more4

Time: 19:00 to 20:00

In this final lecture, Professor Hartley asks what has gone wrong when herbivores get the upper hand and strip plants bare. Sometimes "outbreaks" of herbivores devastate our forests and crops: why have plant defences failed? Will climate change compromise the abilities of plants, including our crops, to defend themselves? Will pest outbreaks become more common in the future as plant defences weaken? Will alien species invade? Professor Hartley explores whether climate change will upset the balance in the arms race between plants and herbivores. Will global food production be threatened by new pests and diseases and what we can do about these threats? What are the weapons of the future as we try and protect the world's food supply and its natural resources against climate change?

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

Copenhagen, Dr Seuss Stylee

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:26:00 +0000

On this week's Now Show Marcus Brigstocke does a brilliant poem on Copenhagen in the style of Dr Seuss.

Take 5 minutes out of your day for a giggle. You can listen here with Marcus starting at the 13:15 mark.

The Week In Green Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

10%

- amount of Florida that will be underwater by the end of the century #

214.6 m²

- average size of a new home in Australia #

76.0 m²

- average size of a new home in the UK #

7/4

- odds on CO₂ emissions next year being over 34 billion tonnes #

5,000

- meals prepared from waste food in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday #

90%

- number of engineering contracts for the London Array offshore wind farm that went to companies outside the UK #

Cow's Arse/Banjo Interface Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:14:00 +0000

I've managed to mostly avoid mentioning Copenhagen in the last two weeks. In truth, my shifts have meant I haven't been following as closely as I'd like to have been.

But what I have been following has been through gritted teeth.

It seems to me that not only has the world missed a spectacular opportunity to do the right thing, they've deliberately missed that opportunity.

Because they haven't been negotiating a reduction in emissions, they've been negotiating how much pollution they can get away with.

As the BBC's Richard Black says about the draft "political agreement", the product of two years of negotiating:

What we have, we're told, doesn't contain a commitment to a legally-binding treaty, doesn't endorse an explicit temperature target, doesn't have a target date for finalising a deal, and doesn't any more aim for emission curbs to be verifiable.

There's still a couple of hours of negotiating to be done, but I'm not hopeful. Never before has "Suitably Despairing" so lived up to it's name.

Not Drowning, But Waving

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:22:00 +0000

It was quite galling to see a major Scottish player in the nascent wave energy market be completely ignored at home while being feted by the Portuguese government, but that's what happened to Pelamis. That was, until the funding was withdrawn back in March due to the recession.

Still, the sea trials that had already taken place off the Portuguese coast had provided Pelamis with some good experience, and one felt that it was only a matter of time before their sea snakes were deployed in Scottish waters. Particularly when the Scottish Government announced it's £10 milllion Saltire Prize for the first working wave energy generators in Scottish waters.

That time has come, with Pelamis teaming up with Sweden's Vattenfall (why no Scottish energy companies?) to use the devices off the coast of Shetland to generate up to 20 megawatts of energy.

20 MW isn't very big, but it's a start and it's something we should be pumping money into like there's no tomorrow. As I've said previously, we're a bloody island!

Here's a short video of another wave energy device in Scottish waters, the Oyster:

Belly Be Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Image from failblog

I was on the Wave climate change march last Saturday in Glasgow and had a thoroughly good time (despite, at one point, having to edge slowly away from Alistair McIntosh. I dissed his book last year and despite that mild-mannered exterior I suspect he has Fists Of Fury, and I didn't trust him not to hunt me down!)

But I digress. That evening I caught sight of my back in a news report of the event, and was slightly shocked. I knew I was getting big these days, but dear god!

I've signed up for 10:10 next year, the pledge to cut 10% of my carbon emissions in 2010. I think I'll try cutting 10% of me to the list too!

Green In The Media 14th December - 20th December

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Week two of Copenhagen, and the special programmes continue including a showing of the film The Age Of Stupid on Monday night and a debate centred around it on Tuesday, and a welcome repeat of the Earth: The Climate Wars series.

Also, BBC Scotland seems to be getting in on the act in a big way with a few programmes, which obviously won't be on in England. If you're desperate to see them, I guess you can get BBC One Scotland on Sky. Or you can move here! Although I should warn you, the last "debate" that BBC Scotland staged about renewable energy descended into a farce about whether wind turbines worked or not, and no other renewables got a look in.

Monday 14th December

Morning Extra with The Investigation

On: BBC Radio Scotland

Time: 09:00 to 10:00

BBC Scotland environment correspondent David Miller asks whether us Scots are changing our lifestyles sufficiently enough to prevent climate change, or do we need a lot more shoving?

Man on Earth

On: Channel 4

Time: 21:00 to 22:00

Tony Robinson continues his journey to some of the world's most important and intriguing archaeological sites to find out what happened to our ancestors when violent climate change turned their worlds upside down. In this programme Tony traces how global warming at the end of the last Ice Age was the catalyst for the dawn of civilisation, but also unleashed devastation.

Storyville

On: BBC 4

Time: 22:00 to 23:30

The Age of Stupid.

Drama-documentary-animation hybrid starring Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking why climate change wasn't stopped before it was too late.

Tuesday 15th December

Home Planet

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 15:00 to 15:30

Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

The Environment Debate

On: BBC 4

Time: 22:00 to 22:30

A panel of invited guests discuss the issues surrounding Fanny Armstrong's film The Age of Stupid, which explores the effects of climate change.

Power of Scotland

On: BBC 1 Scotland

Time: 22:35 to 23:35

As the Copenhagen climate summit meets to agree targets for worldwide cuts in carbon emissions, BBC Scotland looks at how changing the way we generate electricity could create huge profits. Scotland's moors, hills and shores have the best potential in the EU for generating renewable electricity. Business correspondent Hayley Millar discovers how, more than 30 years after oil and gas started coming ashore here, the fight to clean up the planet could create a second energy boom for Scotland.

Earth: The Climate Wars

On: BBC 2

Time: 23:50 to 00:50

The Battle Begins. Episode 1.

Dr Iain Stewart traces the history of climate change from its very beginning and examines just how the scientific community managed to get it so very wrong back in the Seventies. Along the way he uncovers some of the great unsung heroes of climate change science, and introduces us to a secret organisation of American government scientists, known as Jason, who wrote the first official report on global warming as far back as 1979.

Wednesday 16th December

CNN/YouTube Debate

On: CNN

Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also Sat 2000)

Becky Anderson hosts this innovative new programme, where intelligent discussion on the climate change debate is fuelled by YouTube users and their video submissions.

The Big Debate

On: BBC 1 Scotland

Time: 22:45 to 23:45

Scotland's Green Future.

As the world's diplomats gather in Copenhagen to discuss how to tackle climate change, what part can Scotland play? Can we harness our enormous natural resources to deliver a greener future? Will anything we do make a difference? Join Glenn Campbell and a specially invited audience to discuss Scotland's green future.

Earth: The Climate Wars

On: BBC 2

Time: 00:00 to 01:00

Fightback. Episode 2.

Dr Iain Stewart investigates the counter-attack that was launched by the global warming sceptics in the 1990s. At the start of the 1990s it seemed the world was united. At the Rio Earth Summit the world signed up to a programme of action to start tackling climate change. Even George Bush was there. But the consensus didn't last. Iain interviews some of the key global warming sceptics, and discovers how their positions have changed over time.

Thursday 17th December

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Earth: The Climate Wars

On: BBC 2

Time: 00:20 to 01:20

Fight for the Future. Episode 3

Having explained the science behind global warming, and addressed the arguments of the climate change sceptics earlier in the series, in this third and final part Dr Iain Stewart looks at the biggest challenge now facing climate scientists. Just how can they predict exactly what changes global warming will bring? It's a journey that takes him from early attempts to model the climate system with dishpans, to supercomputers, and to the frontline of climate research today: Greenland.

Saturday 19th December

Our World

On: BBC News

Time: 05:30 to 06:00 (Also 2130, 0330, Sun 1030, 1430)

Tar Wars.

This film investigates why a small band of Cree Indians in Canada are taking on the world's oil companies, and being bankrolled by a high street business in the UK.

The BBC Debate

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 18:06 to 19:00 (Also Sun 1300)

The Copenhagen Climate Debate.

After the UN climate change conference.

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, 12 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

2030-2040

- years in which China estimates it's carbon emissions will peak #

4°C

- average temperature rise in the Himalayas #

700 million

- number of people who rely on Himalayan rivers for water #

98.2%

- increase in car sales last month in China, compared to the same month last year #

685, 876

- number of passengers using Amtrak trains in the US during Thanksgiving week, a new record #

730

- delegates that Brazil has at Copenhagen. The US has 200, the UK has 70 #

831 pints

- amount of bottled water that Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband claimed on expenses #

China Shows Off World's Fastest Train

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

1000km in 3 hours - China has just unveiled the fastest train in the world - you can see the BBC video here.

Meanwhile, we can't go 40 miles between Glasgow and Edinburgh in under 45 minutes. Maybe we should invite the Chinese to bid to build the new Borders line?

101 Uses For A Used Yellow Pages

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

I was mentioning the delivery of this year's Yellow Pages on Monday, and the person who's photo I used, Petter Palander, got in touch.

Although Yellow Pages can be recycled widely these days, there are still places that won't take them or books left lying in the streets. So what do you do with all those excess Yellow Waste-Of-Papers?

Well Petter got creative and started an art project called the Yellow Collection, making stuff like lamp shades and iPhone covers.

Here they are on the streets of Malmo, Sweden, doing weird and wonderful things with a pile of Yellow Pages:

Nazi Seagulls From Hell Defeat Falcon Squadron

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I had high hopes last March for a new scheme to rid Scotland of the scourge of the Nazi Seagulls From Hell.

The good councillors of Dumfries had called in the falcons in a bid to drive the seagulls from the town. The theory was that the falcons would think it was Christmas and the seagulls would, well, take flight.

Unfortunately the Nazi Seagulls From Hell were more than a match for the poor falcons, and gull numbers actually increased by 18.5% from last year.

It seems that the town is going to have to revert to other measures - egg removal, machine gun nests, barrage balloons, that kind of thing.

Polling On Pollution

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

I was listening to the radio as I went to bed on Saturday night, with two talking heads I'd never heard of reviewing the next day's papers with a presenter I'd never heard of (and who was so bad, I never want to hear again. But that's a whole other story).

There was a report which they said was in the Sunday Telegraph, although I can't find it on their website, which claimed that half of the UK population were now sceptical about climate change. My first reaction was one of dismay, until I considered the source - the Sunday Telegraph.

Nevertheless, my dismay grew as the first reviewer claimed Antarctic ice was increasing and Polar Bears were more than happy, so climate change couldn't exist. Standard sceptic charges.

The second reviewer, though, went on to agree with him. Her reasons weren't scientific or even pseudo-scientific. She declared that she refused to believe that climate change is real because the government lied to us over Iraq having WMD!

Thankfully, not everyone is so stupid. A new opinion poll commissioned by BBC Scotland shows that 63% of Scots believe that climate change is "an immediate and urgent problem", with a further 20% believing it was real but a problem for the future. That's 83% of Scots with their heads screwed on.

So why is there such a disparity in what Scots believe and what the UK as a whole believes? Could WMD lady be onto something, in that the increasingly-Tory English refuse to believe anything the government tells them, while the still-mostly-Labour-at-Westminster Scots are more forgiving of the UK government? Would the population listen to the argument more if it came from a truly independent source and they knew it wasn't just an excuse to raise taxes?

Or is it that Scots can more easily see a change in the weather compared to their southern cousins? I've heard this in various forms over the last couple of weeks, from someone claiming that you'd be hard-pushed to find a farmer that doesn't believe in climate change, to an article in yesterday's Guardian about the Himalayan countries having to cope with the effects of global warming here and now.

Would it take conclusive proof, right on their doorstep, for some to believe that this is real and happening? Or simply just changing the messenger?

Water Of Leith Death Drop

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I'm impressed. I'd be REALLY impressed if he also canoed back up again!

Good Old Yellow Pages

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Photo by petter palander

It's almost exactly a year since the last Yellow Pages were delivered, so guess what we got at the tail end of last week?

Perhaps, though, someone has had a word with the poor minimum-wage sods hired to deliver them.

Last year, a huge pile of them was dumped at the bottom of the stairwell - too many copies for the number of flats so that even on Christmas Day there were copies of the Yellow Pages lying there.

This year, the deliveryperson took the time to drop a shrink-wrapped parcel at each door in the stairwell, thereby eliminating the waste of spare copies kicking around.

Of course, there's still the waste of printing the damn things. The Yellow Pages are yesterday's solution to a problem. The vast majority won't even come out of the plastic before next year's arrive. It's time we either had an opt-in system for them, banned them completely, or had them delivered on CD or memory card.

Those Hacked Emails

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0000

I've been completely silent on the issue of the stolen emails which have got the sceptics hearts all a-flutter lately, mostly because I think it's a storm in a tea-cup.

Unfortunately, when a sceptic gets their teeth into a "fact" which supports their half-arsed theories, they never let go of it. Which is why if, as predicted, 2010 is the hottest year on record, the sceptics will still say publicly that temperatures are falling.

So here's a little video to give you some ammunition against someone the next time they claim that climate change is one big conspiracy:

(As usual, if you're reading this via email or on some RSS readers, you may have to visit the site to see the video)

Green In The Media 7th December - 13th December

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

It's Copenhagen Week, so bring on the ~~dancing girls~~ special programmes...

Monday 7th December

The Climate Connection

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 2230)

In many parts of the world buildings produce half of all CO2 pollution. Alex Solk reports on making new homes zero-carbon.

Frontiers

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 21:00 to 21:30

As negotiators meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change, Richard Hollingham asks if Europe should give a signal to the developing world and allow the cultivation of GM crops. He discusses the way biotechnology can help us develop new crops able to withstand harsher growing conditions. Richard talks to some of the biotech companies that want the European Commission to relax its attitude towards GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and to the EC itself about its policy on GM products.

Man on Earth

On: Channel 4

Time: 21:00 to 22:00

As world leaders meet in Copenhagen to agree an international deal on climate change, in this major new four-part series, Tony Robinson travels back through 200,000 years of human history to find out what happened to our ancestors when violent climate change turned their world upside down, and what they can teach us as we face our own climate crisis today. Using CGI effects and stunning imagery, this series illustrates how climate has shaped human history from the beginning. In the first programme, Tony explores how a small group of our earliest African ancestors were rescued from extinction by the last great global warming 130,000 years ago.

Tuesday 8th December

Home Planet

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 15:00 to 15:30

Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

Wednesday 9th December

The Wednesday Documentary

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:06 to 10:30 (Also 1500, 2000, 0100, Sat 1900, Sun 1030)

Can China Go Green?.

Jonathon Porritt is in China.

Horizon

On: BBC 2

Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also Thu 0010)

How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?.

In a Horizon special, naturalist Sir David Attenborough investigates whether the world faces a population crisis. He reflects on the impact of a doubling in world population during his career. While much of the projected population growth is in the developing world, it is the lifestyle enjoyed by many in the West that has the most impact on the planet. Sir David examines whether it is the duty of individuals to commit to smaller families and change the way they live for the sake of humanity.

Hot Planet

On: BBC 1

Time: 22:45 to 23:45

Professors Iain Stewart and Kathy Sykes take a timely look at global warming ahead of the Copenhagen summit, in this film which explores the world's leading climate scientists' vision of the planet's future. They predict that if global temperatures continue to rise at their current rate, Earth will be one degree warmer within ten years, and three degrees or more warmer before the end of the century. The programme also explores various technologies being devised to offer solutions for a sustainable future.

Thursday 10th December

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 team of ministers.

One Planet

On: BBC World Service Radio

Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)

One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Afternoon Play

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 14:15 to 15:00

Getting To Four Degrees.

By Sarah Woods. What if we can't limit global warming to two degrees? What if it reaches four degrees - or more? Three real-life climate change experts spin one average family into the future, to look at life on a warmer planet. With Professor Kevin Anderson, Mark Lynas and Dr Emma Tompkins. Directed by Jonquil Panting.

The Material World

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 16:30 to 16:56

Quentin Cooper looks at global plans to monitor the deep sea. In the USA, fuelled by more than 100 million dollars from the Federal Recovery Act, the Ocean Observatories Initiative has just begun. It plans to create an unprecedented network of underwater surveillance equipment in oceans. Europe and Asia also have plans for networks of ocean observatories. Quentin finds out how monitoring the oceans' depths, second by second, will help us understand scientific questions as far ranging as the process of ocean circulation and the impact of future climate change.

In Business

On: BBC Radio Four

Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Sun 2130)

Sugaring The Pill.

Brazil has been pioneering the use of Ethanol for its vehicles for over three decades. Ethanol emits 90 per cent less emissions than gasoline. As world leaders debate climate change in Copenhagen, can Brazil convince the rest of the globe that sugar really is good for you?

Saturday 12th December

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, 05 Dec 2009 08:30:00 +0000

73 million

- cars and trucks produced by the world annually #

£2

- cost per citizen per day if the EU set a '40% by 2020' emissions target rather than it's current 20% #

1.4m

- sea level rise if temperatures continue to increase at their present rate #

$156 billion

- what the US estimates it would have to spend on flood defences for a 1m rise #

217.4mm

- rainfall in Britain in November, a new record. Climate change models predict wetter winters for the UK #

Stripping Off For Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (Despairing) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Here's a video of some supermodels stripping off in support of 350.org.

Actually, I can't be the only one who thinks that they look more "natural" with all those layers on, which I guess is exactly the opposite of what we're supposed to think!