Hansen Warns Scottish First Minister Over Coal

It's not often NASA makes the front pages of the Scottish press. Then again, it's not often that a NASA scientist takes the time to smack our esteemed First Minister on the back of the head!

Dr James Hansen has written a letter to Alex Salmond warning him of the consequences of building new coal-fired power stations, even if they will be able to have carbon capture technology retro-fitted to them in the future.

Despite an incredibly strong Climate Change Bill wending it's way through our legislative process, I'm increasingly of the opinion that not only does the Scottish Government not get it, but that the "greening" of Scotland appears to be happening despite them and not because of them. Perhaps it's about time someone who can't be easily dismissed by the government started telling them some home truths.

2008 In Numbers

Karma?

A noxious tide of toilet paper, raw sewage and chemical waste has transformed Dubai’s most prestigious stretch of shoreline into a foul-smelling health hazard.

Scottish Budget Fails After Green Party Dissed

So the Budget went before the Scottish Parliament today. If you recall, the Green Party wanted £100 million to insulate every home in Scotland. In a budget of £32 billion, that's not a lot to ask.

The Government offered £22 million. The budget failed to be approved.

I got home from work and started watching online just as Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Greens, finished speaking, so I had no idea there was much controversy. I assumed, as I guess most commentators had, that the Greens would get what they want.

Then I started following events on The Steamie, The Scotsman's political blog. Which explained why Patrick Harvie was sitting bug-eyed every time the camera showed him in the chamber.

Actually, I'm quite proud of Harvie's negotiating. The government really should have just said yes to the whole £100 million last week and guaranteed themselves the votes. And saved everyone else a lot of angst.

Not least of all Mr Two Doctors. I'm quite worried about him after this line in The Steamie:

Green spin doctor James Mackenzie looks like he has never known stress like this in his life.

I do hope he's lying down in a darkened room, with a cold flannel over his forehead.

Apocalypse Porn

Today, I finished reading World Made by Handby James Howard Kunstler, a post-apocalyptic novel. In the book, North America has been devastated by the combined effects of nuclear terrorism, peak oil, a flu pandemic and global warming. Our hero lives in a small town in New York State which is keeping itself to itself and trying to get by.

So here's the thing - there's part of me finds the whole idea of a post-apocalyptic world quite romantic.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has ever wondered what they would do if they were the last person on Earth, or at least thought they were. I've been fascinated by the genre since I was a kid, when our English teacher decided that instead of teaching us anything in the last week of term, he would let us watch the BBC adaptation of The Day of the Triffids. I loved it enough to buy the book, and to search out others like it.

And so I've read some hoary old tales of asteroid impacts, virus pandemics and nuclear holocausts. I've urged the Survivorsto start a commune and grow vegetables. I've watched the residents of Jerichofight neighbouring towns who want their resources. I've been jealous of Will Smith having a whole city to play with in I Am Legend.

So you would think that with all this knowledge of what to do if the worst comes to the worst, I would have my exit strategy planned out. I would have a store of emergency rations hidden somewhere, along with a copy of the SAS Survival Handbook. (Actually, I remember in one of the books I read that a NASA scientist had the foresight to keep a copy of the book How Things Workhidden inside a water tank.)

You would think that I had it all in hand, but I don't. You see, I know that it's merely apocalypse porn. Come the Day Of Judgement, in whatever form it takes, I'd never survive. I'm a city slicker who is wedded too much to his 21st Century technology. I read a blog like Stonehead's and I marvel at how much work he has to do just to keep his family fed and watered. I'm far too lazy for that! While I enjoy reading the novels and watching the films, I also know that in that situation, I would have starved to death before I had even considered looking for a chicken somewhere.

Climate change won't be a quick apocalypse. It'll just be a slow decline in our society, small changes in the way we do things forced onto us by forces out of our control. While I despair that we're stumbling blindly into it, I'm also following the herd and am in no way prepared for it. Hell, I'm hardly even prepared for work tomorrow!

So when the Tripods are advancing down Princes Street, I'll be the one running towards them hoping for a quick ending.

Free Insulation For All

Last year, the girlfriend's sister and her family got given a free smart meter energy monitor as part of a pilot scheme to monitor the effects on power usage. The idea was to place a smart meter in every home in the country.

Now the Green Party have proposed every house in the country getting free insulation, and are pressing the government to include it in their budget. The scheme would work much like the one in Huddersfield, as seen on the video below from this week's Politics Show Scotland (via Two Doctors).

Incidentally, guess who got free insulation installed this month as part of a pilot project? Yup, the girlfriend's sister. The power companies seem to be using the town of Alyth to test every scheme that crosses their path. She and her husband were asked to talk about it on the telly, but they declined - she out of fear and he because he 'couldn't be arsed'!

Wave And Tidal Plants Risk Wildlife

Photo by The Pug Father

There's always someone objects...

Last week, the Scottish Government gave the go-ahead for the world's largest wave power station to be built off the Scottish coast. This week, Scottish Natural Heritage will report that wave and tidal plants could threaten wildlife.

To be fair, they do have a point in that whales, sharks and dolphins may collide with the turbines and structures placed underwater, particularly if they're placed near feeding areas.

On the other hand, part of me thinks that sometimes we don't give wildlife enough credit, imagining that they'll blindly drift into a wave turbine because they're too stupid to avoid a large stationary object.

Green In The Media 26th January - 1st February

It's all about food this week on Channel 4, where Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall revisits his chickens and Jamie Oliver tries to save some pigs.

Monday 26th January

Brazil's Sweet Revolution
On: Community Channel
Time: 06:00 to 06:20
Brazil has developed a cost effective alternative to petroleum, producing ethanol from the country's harvests of sugar cane. Now they are calling upon other nations to join their fuel revolution.

Back from Bali
On: Community Channel
Time: 06:20 to 06:30
After a critical UN meeting to discuss plans for a new global agreement, two members of WWF-UK discuss the impact of climate change on vulnerable people, ecosystems and species.

Car Craze
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:45 to 08:00 (Also Thu 0745)
In the past decade car ownership in China has quadrupled. But what are the environmental and economic implications of the growth of China's motor industry?

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Energy Use High.
Miriam O'Reilly investigates the government's school building programme. She hears that unneccessarily complicated 'green features' are being built into some new schools, hampering teachers from getting on with the job of teaching and in some cases causing schools to use up to three times more energy than ones that were built ten, 20 and even 100 years ago.

Chickens, Hugh and Tesco Too
On: Channel 4
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also Sat 2000)
In this one-off film, which screens as part of the Great British Food Fight season, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall faces his greatest challenge yet, taking on Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, in an audacious attempt to change the company's animal welfare policy from the inside by becoming a shareholder.

Dispatches: The True Cost of Cheap Food
On: Channel 4
Time: 23:05 to 00:10
As the credit crunch bites, thousands of families are cutting back by swapping expensive premium-range food for cheaper budget lines, but at what cost? In this Dispatches investigation, part of Channel 4's The Great British Food Fight season, food critic and author Jay Rayner examines what goes into these budget products and asks why, too often, low cost means low quality.

Tuesday 27th January

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Wednesday 28th January

It's Not Easy Being Green
On: BBC 2
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Dick's local pub sends out an SOS as their fuel bills soar. Can Dick and James help them to tackle their enormous oil bills? Lauren meets an extraordinary lady in Scotland who has a cardboard coffin in her living room and a moving story to tell. James helps a lady in York build an extension out of straw bales and actor Julian Rhind Tutt is our eco-guest taking this week's test.

Thursday 29th January

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

Jamie Saves Our Bacon
On: Channel 4
Time: 21:00 to 22:35 (Also Sat 2315)
Can Jamie Oliver do for pigs and pork what he helped to do for chickens and eggs? Following the hugely positive effect of Jamie's Fowl Dinners last year, the chef now turns his attention to the pig industry as part of Channel 4's Great British Food Fight season.

Friday 30th January

The Friday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:05 to 09:30
The Bicycle Diaries.
A journey to 3 different places around the world to discover communities and people for whom two wheels are better than four.

Sunday 1st February

Countryfile
On: BBC 1
Time: 11:00 to 12:00
Rural and agricultural current affairs programme. John Craven assesses the impact of a seven-year marine improvement programme on the Wash on the Norfolk coast. Adam Henson is in Devon to track down an escaped six-stone beaver. He asks what the reintroduction of the species could mean for the area. Juliet Morris is in Whitby in North Yorkshire, looking at the effect proposed EU fishing quotas will have on amateur sea anglers, while Adam Henson is back on horseback in France.

Explore
On: BBC 2
Time: 21:00 to 22:00
Rift Valley. Episode 3.
The Rift Valley. In Ethiopia, even in the green and fertile Rift, people are still going hungry, and in Northern Kenya global climate change is driving tribes to war over water and resources.


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

RSS Housekeeping

Firstly, for those of you who don't know what RSS is, or who think the rest of this is gobbledegook, then go here for an explanation. Then go here and subscribe!

For those of you who do subscribe to my RSS feed, my apologies that some of the posts this week have been a bit tardy. Some of you may know that Feedburner has been moving feeds over to Google, and mine happened a few days ago.

Like a lot of others in the blogosphere, this has resulted in a right cock-up, with subscriber counts dropping and feeds turning up well after posting. From what I can gather it settles down after a while, although this might mean you're a bit late to all those massive scoops and exclusives I post*.

In the meantime, please accept my apologies if all my posts turn up at once three days late or something else weird happens.

*Well, I'm always first with stories about me.

Stay Grounded

Green Thing pulls it off again. This is a song and music video by Tom Williams called Stay Grounded (Tea And Toast):


Stay Grounded (Tea and Toast) by Tom Williams from Green Thing on Vimeo.

Four Sites Proposed For New Nuke Plants

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have thrown their hats into the ring by naming four of their sites where they would like new nuclear power stations built. The government is due to decide this year where they want the nuclear plants to be, with criteria for them being published next week.

None of the four sites proposed by the NDA are in Scotland, where the UK government face an almighty fight - although they have control over energy generation and distribution, the Scottish Government has power over planning permission. And the Scottish Government have said repeatedly that there will be no new nuclear power plants built on Scottish soil.

It will be interesting to see if the UK government names Scottish sites in the hope that they can either win the public around, get a change of Scottish Government before the plants are due to be built, or if they just fancy a fight.

"World's Largest" Wave Station To Be Built Off Scotland

The Scottish Government has given the go-ahead to build what will be the world's largest wave energy station off the west coast of Scotland.

"World's largest", in this case, is actually incredibly small by energy generation standards - just 4MW, or enough power for 1800 homes.

Still, it's a start. And about bloody time too. As I'm tired of pointing out to people, we're a bloody island!

Shamed

This comes from The Steamie - although for some bizarre reason you can't link to individual posts on there. So you'll have to look for the story titled "Warm Front From Iceland".

It appears that while we've been labelling Icelanders as terrorists and freezing their assets in the UK, they've been knitting sweaters for our old folks. A consignment of woollen wear will arrive in Hull soon, after a radio station heard that 260,000 pensioners have died from cold weather in Britain in the past ten years. That's 80% of the population of Iceland.

Maybe Iceland was actually listening when Obama urged us to look after our neighbours.

Wilkins Ice Shelf In Its Death Throes

You may remember from last Spring that part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica collapsed, causing much wringing of hands around the world.

Here's exactly what happened at that time:

Photo by NSIDC/Nasa

Now, scientists say that the entire shelf is about to go.

"If it was hanging by a thread last year, it's hanging by a filament this year"

These are scary times.

Enough To Make You Shiver

Here's photographic evidence of the melting glaciers on Mount Everest. Even when told how many feet the glaciers have dropped, it doesn't look like much in the photos - until about the 3.30 mark, when you see a picture of a mountaineer for scale.

And therein lies the problem for all environmentalists. It's all about scale...

What's In Your Knickers?

Oh my...

A Good Day For Wind

Back in October, there was speculation that another Danish company was looking to buy the Vestas Wind Turbine factory in Campbeltown on the west coast of Scotland, after Vestas announced they were closing the plant.

Today's Sunday Herald reveals that company is Welcon, who have major plans to expand the factory and the workforce, and also to invest in upgrading the harbour at Campbeltown so that the factory can be used to make the huge offshore turbines that are being demanded by industry. Which all begs the question of why Vestas were unwilling to invest in their existing plant.

Meanwhile, there's good news elsewhere on the wind front. Scottish Power has revealed plans to expand Europe's largest onshore wind farm from 140 turbines to 221 turbines, supplying (they claim) enough power for the whole of Glasgow.

If you've got a good, proven location, then why shouldn't you utiise it to the fullest?

Green In The Media 19th January - 25th January

I'm almost tempted to recommend watching BBC Parliament on Thursday morning to see if Ed Miliband will be given a hard time about the Heathrow decision during Energy And Climate Change Questions.

Monday 19th January

Alex James in Africa
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:30 to 08:00 (Also Thu 0730)
Farming for a Future.
Alex James, farmer and former Blur band member, follows Christian Aid's groundbreaking work in Burkina Faso, West Africa, with farmers who are on the very front line of climate change.

Room For Improvement
On: more4
Time: 09:45 to 10:15
Angus and Dave are in Sawbridgeworth with Charlotte and Paul Pritchard, who want to extend the kitchen of their modern house in an eco-friendly way on a budget of £10,000. Angus takes them to a 17th-century cottage with a modern extension under the back garden full of environmentally friendly ideas that they could copy.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Tom Heap, who vowed as a teenager, on environmental grounds, that he would never play golf, re-examines his prejudices and investigates whether his view of golf is still a valid one. Does golf ruin good countryside and threaten wildlife or have the clubs found ways to work in a more environmentally-friendly way? Tom finds that golf courses can, in many cases, actually represent an ideal of land stewardship: ecologically responsible, rich in biodiversity and sensitive to the environment, they can be crucial to the success of many native species of flora and fauna.

Tuesday 20th January

Dark Green
On: Community Channel
Time: 06:20 to 06:40 (Also Fri 0630)
The Big Green Gathering is the largest ecological festival in Europe, and uses a different approach to inspire its visitors to lead a greener life.

Nowhere Else to Go
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:00 to 07:30 (Also Fri 0700)
Exploring the issues facing the Masaai culture as their traditional way of life is under pressure from both the Government and the environment.

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Law in Action
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 16:00 to 16:30
Clive Coleman discusses the idea that human rights might extend beyond humans, asking whether rights exist for animals, the environment and even robots. He is joined by the writer Kenan Malik, philosopher Jo Woolf and lawyer Christopher Stone, who discuss propositions put forward by philosopher Peter Singer and environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan.

Wednesday 21st January

It's Not Easy Being Green
On: BBC 2
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
In programme three of It's Not Easy Being Green Dick Strawbridge puts Lauren Laverne to the eco-test. Travel expert Toby Sawday tries to persuade a family to rethink their love of flying by taking them to Spain on the train. News hound Jon Kay gets to the bottom of our confusion over plastic recycling.

Thursday 22nd January

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.

The True Cost of Cheap Food
On: Channel 4
Time: 20:00 to 21:00
As the credit crunch bites, thousands of families are cutting back by swapping expensive premium-range food for cheaper budget lines, but at what cost? In this Dispatches investigation, part of Channel 4's The Great British Food Fight season, food critic and author Jay Rayner examines what goes into these budget products and asks why, too often, low cost means low quality.

Friday 23rd January

The Friday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:05 to 09:30 (Also 1205, 1605, 2005)
The Bicycle Diaries.
A journey to 3 different places around the world to discover communities and people for whom two wheels are better than four.

Room For Improvement
On: more4
Time: 10:15 to 10:45
Angus and Dave are in Epping with eco-warriors Colin and Petra Huber, who want to convert their loft in an environmentally friendly way.


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

Tory Vision Of A Greener Britain

While the Labour Party is busy making plans to increase the UK's carbon emissions by expanding what is already the world's largest airport, the Conservative Party is quietly announcing their vision of the future - a smart-grid powered low-carbon economy.

So if the Tories can see the need for investment in smart grids, tidal power and biogas plants, why can't the government? And yes, while it is easy to promise all these things in opposition, there is nothing on the proposals that is radical - they are all existing technologies just waiting to be implemented

A Very British Coup

So I'm guessing you're all as surprised as I am that the UK government has announced the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow. After a sham of a public consultation (something that this government has become expert at), they have decided to do what they were always going to do anyway, and that is to bend over and take it up the rear end whenever anyone mentions that something will be good for business.

It was blindingly obvious that they took this decision within minutes of BAA asking them for permission to build the runway, just as it is blindingly obvious that they will allow new nuclear power stations to be built.

They've decided to throw in a sop for all of us hippies - they're going to "look at" building a high speed rail link between London and Scotland. In other words, they'll produce a report saying it would cost too much.

On BBC Radio Five Live last night was an extremely arrogant man (Lord Somethingorother) who was defending the third runway to the hilt. According to him, there is no point in high-speed rail in this country because our cities are too close together. He actually laughed at the thought of "a train having to brake almost as soon as it hit it's top speed" while travelling London to Birmingham. But flying that distance was apparently okay.

He also said that the new runway would benefit the environment, because at the moment the planes coming into Heathrow had to circle London waiting for their slot. If they were able to come right in to land, that can only mean less fuel used! He refused to countenance the suggestion that there would actually be more planes in the air, and therefore more planes circling the airport. These are the idiots that we are up against.

Meanwhile, at least one person was willing to speak up and call the whole thing a "disgrace". John McDonnell, whose constituency includes Heathrow, went a bit looney-tunes and grabbed the mace, before being suspended from Parliament for 5 days. Here's the YouTube clip, and the BBC has it from another angle before the live TV feed was cut.

Just When You Thought Things Were Looking Up

Hot on the heels of Monday's news of ½ a million fewer airline passengers from Scottish airports for 10 months of last year, and an overall drop of 16 routes over the same period, comes the news that Ryanair is to increase their use of Edinburgh airport.

There will be seven new routes and two extra planes. While the BBC article gives Ryanair-provided figures for the economic benefits, it doesn't give the equivalent pollution figures. Perhaps it's about time that news organisations should? Since a full 737-800 with 189 passengers could emit 79.4tonnes of CO2 on a journey (source), that would mean that the appropriate paragraph in the BBC's report would now read:

Ryanair claimed the changes will increase annual passenger numbers at
Edinburgh Airport to almost two million, sustain 2,000 jobs and bring
almost £210m in tourism money to Edinburgh, while emitting an extra 6660 tonnes of CO2 per year.

What's In His Basement?

I've just been reading an article by a guy called Loyd Case from California who fixed solar panels onto his roof last summer, Going Solar: Six Month Update.

The article does exactly what it says on the tin - it provides data on the first six months of having solar panels. I'm sure I'm not spoiling it by revealing that there has been a reduction in the amount that Mr Case pays for his electricity!

I was, however, quite astounded by the figures that he provides for his electric charges. Mr Case says that last January - before the panels - he was charged $446 for one month's electricity use! That's 1,635kWh of power in a month, about 40 weeks' worth of my current (winter) electric usage!

Now given that winter in California is ever so slightly different to winter in Scotland, what the hell is this guy doing with all that electricity???

20% Fare Hike For Edinburgh Buses

Leithal Yak has the news that Lothian Buses, which serve Edinburgh, are to increase their fares around 20% next week. This will take a single fare from £1.10 to £1.30.

I wonder if they will keep their solar-powered ticket machines (see piccie above) at £1? Whenever I (gloatingly) use them, I always feel like I'm getting away with a scam.

Fewer Flights Means Better Environment

Photo by scot_w_9

In the week that the UK government is going to announce a third runway for Heathrow in London, The Herald reports today that passenger numbers at Scottish airports have fallen by half a million in 10 months.

While 40 new routes were opened up to the public, there were also 56 routes axed, with a major downturn in the package holiday market also being blamed.

Perhaps the Scottish Government will take note the next time they talk about expanding the airports - a move that is completely unnecessary.

New Coal Plant Too Dirty For Danes

Back in November, I heard about a Danish firm wanting to build a new coal power plant in Scotland at Hunterston, where there is an existing nuclear plant. I said at the time:

One thing puzzles me about this. The company that wants to build the plant is Danish. Aren't Denmark world leaders in renewable energy technologies, supposedly making a fortune from exporting their expertise in this area?

Well, today's Sunday Herald has the answer - the Danish firm, Dong, are wanting to build it here because they would never get approval for it in Denmark. Too dirty, you see.

Which begs the question, when did Scotland become the arse-end of Europe? When did the other European countries start seeing us as a dumping ground, and have we fostered this notion? Or am I just reacting badly to one stupid proposal?

Still, if Denmark won't allow this type of plant, then on principle neither should we.

Green In The Media 12th January - 18th January

Monday 12th January

Nowhere Else to Go
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:30 to 08:00 (Also Thu 0730)
Exploring the issues facing the Masaai culture as their traditional way of life is under pressure from both the Government and the environment.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Tom Heap considers how the recession is likely to affect attitudes towards the environment. If the current financial and environmental problems are rooted in our taste for consumption, surely an economic slowdown is a painful but necessary step in the right direction towards a greener planet? Fewer cars on the roads, fewer flights in the air and an enforced prudence when it comes to personal spending will mean less energy use and less waste. But as the government advocates spending our way out of recession, some environmentalists fear that there will be a rush to develop a more environmentally-damaging infrastructure in order to keep the economy buoyant. Others say that we are on the threshold of a new green world where workers in traditionally polluting industries such as car manufacturing will be able to switch to new green jobs.

Tuesday 13th January

Alex James in Africa
On: Community Channel
Time: 08:30 to 09:00 (Also Fri 0830)
Farming for a Future.
Alex James, farmer and former Blur band member, follows Christian Aid's groundbreaking work in Burkina Faso, West Africa, with farmers who are on the very front line of climate change.

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Wednesday 14th January

It's Not Easy Being Green
On: BBC 2
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Dick Strawbridge and son James team up with Lauren Laverne to find out more about living the green life. Dick tries to understand why honey bees are having a tough time at the moment. Lauren recycles and revamps antique furniture, and guest Alex James takes the eco test, with a surprising result. James builds a clay oven, and his mum Brigit makes a guest appearance to help him with a spot of gardening.

Thursday 15th January

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

Friday 16th January

The Friday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:05 to 09:30 (Also 1200, 1600, 2000, 0100)
The Bicycle Diaries.
A journey to 3 different places around the world to discover communities and people for whom two wheels are better than four.

Saturday 17th January

Spice of Life
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:00 to 07:30
Your Space or Mine.
This unusual film examines the works of two well-known green architects, Laurie Baker in India and Bob Tomlinson in the UK, through the eyes of a singer and an artist.


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

A Case For Mulder And Scully

The energy company Ecotricity are investigating after one of their wind turbines was destroyed in Lincolnshire at the weekend. Of the three blades on the turbine, one was sheared off and another was left twisted and mangled.

So what caused such a catastrophic failure? Was it metal fatigue? Ice from an aircraft? Well, if you believe the locals, it was a UFO!

Witnesses report seeing balls of light, with one man seeing "tentacles" hanging from the light towards the ground. All very mysterious!

Although, as a turkey farmer from the area points out "I would have thought that if it was a UFO, it would have been more sophisticated than to drive in to the turbine."

Work To Begin On Waverley Line A Year Early

There has been some scepticism in the past over whether the Waverley Line - the rail route which was closed in the 60s which took trains from Edinburgh to the Borders - would ever be reopened. The Government had committed itself to the project but in what appeared to be a half-hearted, wishy-washy way.

Now they seem to have stepped up to the plate, with the announcement that construction work will start next year instead of 2011, and that all land acquisitions necessary should be completed by April this year.

That's almost as fast as the French build railways!

Well, okay, maybe not quite.

We're All Going To Die

"We're all going to die!"

That was the call I got from my girlfriend at 11pm last night. She had just finished watching Newsnight, which had a report on the Russia/Ukraine gas conflict and how Britain's energy supply isn't as diverse as it should be. (You can see the report here, it starts 20 minutes in).

Now okay, Deerd was being melodramatic in her statement of imminent death for us all, but I was inwardly pleased. At last, I thought, she might just be getting it! Because quite frankly, she doesn't "get it" - and I don't tend to push my agenda onto her too much, hoping that she comes to it in her own time.

It's not a wilful ignorance of the environmental thoughts that fill my day, it's just that they do not appear on her radar. To be fair to her, there have been some instances over the years where my feelings have led her to a change of ways. She now reuses bags when she goes to the supermarket, for example. And whenever she buys me clothes, she makes sure they are organic or, at the least, fairtrade. But there are other instances where she falls woefully short of the minimum that I would expect from society. When she talked about that Newsnight report last night, she mentioned that maybe she should start recycling - the brightly coloured bins that the council provided her with a few years ago have never moved from the bottom of her garden. In fact, I don't think the lids have even been opened!

It got me thinking about "short, sharp shocks". Perhaps our society as a whole needs to go through a crisis like the gas pipelines being shut off, or oil reaching $150 a barrel, before it actually acts to mend its ways. Perhaps it needs to feel some pain in order to think that there must be another way. Because intellectually arguing about the various future scenarios doesn't appear to be working.

The Tooth, The Whole Tooth And Nothing But...

This article has made me think.

Apparently, scientists believe they are 5-10 years away from tooth regeneration being a normal process. Yes, that's right. Regeneration.

If you still have your wisdom teeth, or indeed your baby milk teeth, then the stem cells in them can be used to grow a new set of pearly-whites in the lab, along with some new roots and nerves, which are then implanted into your mouth. If you have shares in dental-grip manufacturers, then sell them now.

It got me thinking, though. Obviously the stem-cell researchers are focussing on what they can do for humans, but surely this could also be used for conservation. In particular, the ivory trade. It can't be a giant leap from growing human teeth in a lab to growing ivory, surely? If petri-dish ivory could undercut the price of "real" ivory, then you've killed the elephant-poaching industry at a stroke.

And what about other animal organs? We know that researchers are attempting to grow human tissue with the ultimate aim of having a patient "produce" their own replacement organs, so why not grow tiger penises or sasquatch noses or whatever hell else the Chinese think cures baldness? This could be a whole new direction for the conservation industry. And a whole new revenue stream for stem-cell scientists.

Dunderheids

Photo by How can I recycle this

I read this in a free paper on my way home, but unfortunately can't find a link to it anywhere online. So you'll have to trust my memory on this...

A council in Aberdeenshire have built a lovely new recycling centre to handle an increase in people using their facilities. The idea is that people would walk along an upper walkway with their rubbish, and put it into the appropriate skip below, then a council truck takes the skips away to be emptied and processed.

That was the idea, anyway. Unfortunately it has been lying unused since it was finished. The bays are too small for the skips!

They may have to recycle their own recycling facility...

UK Refuses To Fund New Bridge

Last month when announcing their new transport strategy, the Scottish Government rather cheekily told the Parliament that they were going to pay for a new Replacement-That-Isn't-A-Replacement-But-We're-Still-Calling-It-That Forth Road Bridge by asking the UK Government for a payday advance.

It was patently obvious that the UK government were going to say no, which they have done today. And so the scene is set for yet another battle between Edinburgh and London, with the SNP able to claim that the English are holding Scotland back and it's all the Labour Party's fault.

As for the bridge, the longer it's not built then the better for the environment. Until the old bridge falls into the sea, of course! My views on the issue are foggy. If it was genuinely a needed replacement then I would be all for a new bridge being built. After all, think of the pollution caused by sending cars and lorries via Kincardine instead.

But I'm not convinced. The fact that it's going to be exclusively for cars and the old bridge will serve public transport (er, heavier vehicles...) shows that perhaps the new bridge isn't needed at all but has instead become a government symbol, a lasting memorial to the first SNP administration.

If they can find the money.

Green In The Media 5th January - 11th January

And about bloody time too! Wednesday sees the return of the Strawbridges to our screen, with a new (overdue) series of It's Not Easy Being Green. Unfortunately, someone seems to have had the idea of "celebritising" the show, with the introduction of Lauren Laverne and a weekly celeb guest. I just hope the show hasn't lost any of its thrown-together-on-no-budget charm.

Monday 5th January

British Isles: a Natural History
On: UKTV History
Time: 08:00 to 09:00
Our Future.
Alan concludes his journey and asks what the future might hold for our landscape and its wildlife: global warming, a big freeze or something much more sinister?

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Better Living Through Chemistry?.
Tom Heap investigates how being exposed to a cocktail of pesticides could potentially damage our health. A recent High Court ruling found in favour of a woman who claimed that prolonged exposure to pesticides sprayed in the fields surrounding her home had made her ill. In the light of this, the EU has proposed that several pesticides be banned, but how might crop yields and food prices be affected should a ban be implemented?

Tuesday 6th January

View from the Green Room
On: Community Channel
Time: 06:00 to 06:30 (Also Fri 0600)
View from the Green Room is the UK's first environmental surf documentary. It examines the pollution issues of today through the eyes of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigners.

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Planning Wars
On: ITV
Time: 20:00 to 21:00
Programme investigating the impact of increasing development on Britain's green and pleasant land. With at least three million new homes planned, as well as new roads, hospitals and other infrastructure to support them, there is already fierce opposition to more building. How can our planning system cope?

Wednesday 7th January

It's Not Easy Being Green
On: BBC 2
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Dick Strawbridge and son James team up with Lauren Laverne to find out more about living the green life. Eco guest Phil Tufnell proves he is about as green as a fire engine, Dick gets to grips with his photovoltaic panels, and Lauren makes a splash with an eco-friendly swimming pool.

Thursday 8th January

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:30 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130 and Sat 2035)
The programme that explores the biggest issues in global development and the environment.


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

A New Year Message From Mike Russell

Here's what you've been waiting all holidays for - Scottish Environment Minister Mike Russell speaks unto the nation with a New Year message. Telling us how great the Scottish Government is.

Mind you, who would have guessed that Homecoming 2009 was all about beavers?

It's A Gas!

Photo by Stig Nygaard

I see Russia are up to their old tricks again by shutting off Ukraine's gas supply. Since Europe gets about a fifth of its gas through the same pipelines, Russia is effectively flexing its muscles to the whole continent.

I didn't have gas in the old flat, so while I tutted and fretted about Russia's bullying the last time this happened I knew that it wouldn't directly affect me, other than perhaps higher electricity prices for a wee while. The idealistic part of me wondered if Russia were perhaps shooting themselves in the foot - after all, who would possibly want to do business with them when they use these kinds of tactics? A few months later, the EU signed a new gas supply agreement.

I also thought that this is the way the entire world will go as we hit peak oil. Countries who are oil-rich, like Russia, will be able to charge a premium for their resources, safe in the knowledge that most other states will have no choice but to pay the asking price. Until we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, we are stuck in a death-dance with what Thomas Friedman calls the "petro-dictators". Having gone from no gas in the old flat, I am now totally reliant on it in this new flat. No gas supply means for me, no central heating, no cooking, no hot water. I'm locked-in to the world's fossil-fuel diplomacy.

The last time this happened, in 2006, Ukraine was almost brought to its knees. This time, however, they have a trick up their sleeve - they have a couple of month's worth of gas stored in reserve. This gives them time to negotiate, and is wholly sensible. France has apparently 122 days worth of gas supply in reserve, while Germany has 99 days worth.

Britain, meanwhile, has 15 days of reserves. If When the worst comes to the worst, guess which country will be screwed over first?

Resolutions

According to a new Scottish Government survey, one in three Scots are planning on making some form of green resolution, with recycling more and changing the bulbs the (obvious) favourites.

So in the spirit of recycling, here are my resolutions from last year with notes on how well I did:

I want to get more involved in the green community here in Edinburgh and in the country as a whole. It didn't happen, my shift patterns prevented me from attending any Friends Of The Earth meetings and I missed the Scottish Climate March in December due to my dad's birthday. I'm going to roll this one over into 2009!

Every quarter, I will document my energy usage here. I was doing great on this until I moved flat. I'm having to keep my own records now, but I suspect that I'm using more energy than I was in my old place. I'll keep you informed through 2009, as I believe in practising what I preach!

Last year saw my stomach increase at an alarming rate, so it has to go. It went. Then it came back. So it's going to go again.

I need to get out more and reconnect with the natural environment. Actually, I think I can count this one as a success, as I started getting out and about around Edinburgh's green spaces a lot more. I'd like to thank Crafty Green Poet for the inspiration here, as she seems to find some weird and wonderful places to reconnect with nature.

Lastly, this blog. I feel like Suitably Despairing has lost it's way somewhat since my "exile" from the internet in October, after I moved home. So I'm going to refocus on it, trying to make it more personal while also bringing you the "green" news from Scotland, with the odd completely random item!

I hope everyone has a great 2009!