I did a spot of eco-driving into town today. There's a scrap metal merchant on the other side of town so I wanted to see if he had some steel drums for a larger wood gasifier I have planned. Nothing doing so I have advertised for the bits I need on a Yahoo freecycle group.
My journey to and from town was nice and steady. I am an advocate of eco-driving. This means that I try to use as little fuel as I can during my journey. With a litre of petrol costing 99p here (1.42 euros per litre or $3.74 a gallon) you want to be as sparing as you can with this liquid gold.
The price of oil hit a new high today and is now over $94 a barrel. A good reason to use a car as little as possible and sensibly when you do so. I coast wherever possible and knowing the roads ahead I just accelerate enough to get me to a junction or a roundabout.
Accelerating and braking hard wastes fuel. Why accelerate so fast that you have to waste all that energy as heat energy in your brakes when you get to a junction? It's pointless.
I adhere to the speed limit. There are plenty of speed cameras, policemen and above all, real humans walking so why risk it? One chap overtook me at over the speed limit and I caught up with him 10 seconds later at a roundabout. He didn't get across town quicker than me but certainly spent more on petrol.
Don't talk cr*p!
A conference in Delhi on the matter of waste matter. Why don't other animal species have the problems we have? We beg horse owners for manure to put on our vegetable patches. Farmers put cow slurry on fields to increase crop yields. And yet, humanure is positively evil and should be treated like nuclear waste.
Well, if you leave it lying around your abode then you are asking for trouble and what animal does that? A simple dry composting toilet is good enough and after two years the solid waste can be put on your vegetables. Urine can be immediately put on a composting heap.
No mention of composting toilets in the following BBC news story. Of course, everyone in China will need a flush toilet so they can live the dream. Rather, now that they are adopting western eating habits they will need something to sit on with their western girths and flush away their Big Macs.
BBC - Toilet conference opens in Delhi
Well, if you leave it lying around your abode then you are asking for trouble and what animal does that? A simple dry composting toilet is good enough and after two years the solid waste can be put on your vegetables. Urine can be immediately put on a composting heap.
No mention of composting toilets in the following BBC news story. Of course, everyone in China will need a flush toilet so they can live the dream. Rather, now that they are adopting western eating habits they will need something to sit on with their western girths and flush away their Big Macs.
BBC - Toilet conference opens in Delhi
Midge stove - wood gasifier
A number of people on YouTube have asked for plans so that they may build their own Midge stove. For some reason I can't put long URLs on YouTube so I am posting the URL here.
The plans can be found at the following URL and are in PDF format.
Plans - The Complete Midge
The plans can be found at the following URL and are in PDF format.
Plans - The Complete Midge
$100 for a barrel of oil?
The price for a barrel of crude touched $92.22 during futures trading. It can't be long until we reach $100. The question is, why? A mild Atlantic hurricane season with only one hurricane going anywhere near Mexico's rigs and no hurricanes near US Gulf of Mexico rigs. No major wars. Nothing.
It can only be one of three reasons. Or maybe all of them if you like. The first reason is that the OPEC cartel might be holding back on producing oil and not meeting world demand so that there is competition for the commodity and an increase in prices. The second reason is that the OPEC nations are in decline along with many non-OPEC nations whose production has been in decline for sometime.
The third reason is based on the value of the dollar. Rather, the valueless dollar. Every time it sinks against the major currencies, a barrel of oil (which is priced in dollars) has to be revalued. If your barrel of oil is worth $90 today and the dollar devalues over night then you must put up the price of oil to reflect the intrinsic value of the oil against a devalued currency. However, the price of oil has risen so much since the early 90s that it is hard to believe that US dollar is little more than worthless. The dollar devaluation reason must just be a fraction of the problem.
Why would OPEC deliberately hold back on production? Well, they have been giving oil away for so long I suppose they want to make as much money from oil as they can. In many cases it is the only way OPEC countries have of making any money. Go to an oil rich Arab state and you won't see many Arab's doing a hard day's work, unless it involves counting money. Why learn to do something when you can employ foreigners to do it for you with all the free money coming out of the ground.
So, either OPEC is deliberately holding back or its reserves are in decline. It is hard to believe that it has taken so long for OPEC nations to catch on about supply and demand. Surely they would have employed a few economists along with all the other people they employ to skivvy for them.
It looks increasingly like peak oil has arrived and the OPEC nations, along with non-OPEC nations, are in decline and just can't produce as much oil as they used to. Why should it be otherwise? Saudi Arabia is blessed with the biggest oil field in the world but it has been pumping it out for 60 or so years and at the highest rate possible. Surely if non-OPEC nations are in decline then so too must all oil producing nations be in decline.
It can only be one of three reasons. Or maybe all of them if you like. The first reason is that the OPEC cartel might be holding back on producing oil and not meeting world demand so that there is competition for the commodity and an increase in prices. The second reason is that the OPEC nations are in decline along with many non-OPEC nations whose production has been in decline for sometime.
The third reason is based on the value of the dollar. Rather, the valueless dollar. Every time it sinks against the major currencies, a barrel of oil (which is priced in dollars) has to be revalued. If your barrel of oil is worth $90 today and the dollar devalues over night then you must put up the price of oil to reflect the intrinsic value of the oil against a devalued currency. However, the price of oil has risen so much since the early 90s that it is hard to believe that US dollar is little more than worthless. The dollar devaluation reason must just be a fraction of the problem.
Why would OPEC deliberately hold back on production? Well, they have been giving oil away for so long I suppose they want to make as much money from oil as they can. In many cases it is the only way OPEC countries have of making any money. Go to an oil rich Arab state and you won't see many Arab's doing a hard day's work, unless it involves counting money. Why learn to do something when you can employ foreigners to do it for you with all the free money coming out of the ground.
So, either OPEC is deliberately holding back or its reserves are in decline. It is hard to believe that it has taken so long for OPEC nations to catch on about supply and demand. Surely they would have employed a few economists along with all the other people they employ to skivvy for them.
It looks increasingly like peak oil has arrived and the OPEC nations, along with non-OPEC nations, are in decline and just can't produce as much oil as they used to. Why should it be otherwise? Saudi Arabia is blessed with the biggest oil field in the world but it has been pumping it out for 60 or so years and at the highest rate possible. Surely if non-OPEC nations are in decline then so too must all oil producing nations be in decline.
Boris for Mayor and PM and anything else he fancies
I know Boris Johnson is a little bonkers and looks it too but at least he has the guts to speak his mind about overpopulation.
Daily Telegraph - Global over-population is the real issue
Daily Telegraph - Global over-population is the real issue
A little something to earn a few pounds
Another money raising exercise on eBay is by way of offering a service. Whilst selling off a collection of model soldier figurines, I had collected as a child, I noticed that they attracted more money if painted. Quite obvious really.
So, I went into town to stock up on some paints. My old set had dried out. I had not used them in over 20 years. I've not lost the knack of wielding a 00 brush to bring life to a lump of plastic or white metal. It'll give me something to do over this winter without land to work on.
I've painted up a model of the Admiral Graf Spee pocket battleship, some science fiction figures and a pair of medieval cottages. From looking at eBay it is clear that there is a market for this service. I've sold off just about everything of value on eBay so now it is time to sell my skills.
So, I went into town to stock up on some paints. My old set had dried out. I had not used them in over 20 years. I've not lost the knack of wielding a 00 brush to bring life to a lump of plastic or white metal. It'll give me something to do over this winter without land to work on.
I've painted up a model of the Admiral Graf Spee pocket battleship, some science fiction figures and a pair of medieval cottages. From looking at eBay it is clear that there is a market for this service. I've sold off just about everything of value on eBay so now it is time to sell my skills.
Sensbile eating choices
I visited the supermarket today for some tomatoes and onions. I hate eating supermarket onions but my parents and I have eaten all the ones I grew. No choice either to buy tomatoes but that's because I am the world's worst tomato grower.
In the vegetable section of the supermarket I saw people lunging at whatever vegetable was close to hand. By taking a few seconds longer I was able to find Welsh tomatoes amongst the Dutch, Polish and Spanish ones. The onions were from less than two hours drive away in East Anglia.
What price for a few extra seconds of shopping time to guarantee a meal with low food miles, that is fresher and keeps UK producers in business?
In the vegetable section of the supermarket I saw people lunging at whatever vegetable was close to hand. By taking a few seconds longer I was able to find Welsh tomatoes amongst the Dutch, Polish and Spanish ones. The onions were from less than two hours drive away in East Anglia.
What price for a few extra seconds of shopping time to guarantee a meal with low food miles, that is fresher and keeps UK producers in business?
Gordon doesn't do green #2
I think Prime Minister Gordon Brown has an aversion to all things green. Not only does he not want to commit the UK to 20% of energy to be from renewable sources, not only does he not want to provide grants to people wanting to use renewable energy sources for their homes, now he doesn't want to have anything to do with another green initiative.
A few years ago in Ireland Dublin City started charging people to throwaway their rubbish. Gordon thinks doing the same in the UK will lose votes so he's not going to do it. So, in recent weeks, Gordon has run away from a General Election, from green initiatives and anything that he thinks will lose him yet more votes.
Not the kind of person we are going to need when the going gets tough.
Guardian - Government scraps tax on rubbish
A few years ago in Ireland Dublin City started charging people to throwaway their rubbish. Gordon thinks doing the same in the UK will lose votes so he's not going to do it. So, in recent weeks, Gordon has run away from a General Election, from green initiatives and anything that he thinks will lose him yet more votes.
Not the kind of person we are going to need when the going gets tough.
Guardian - Government scraps tax on rubbish
Bloggers for Positive Global Change
Time to recognise other bloggers out there who care enough about the future that they write blogs too.They are chosen in no particular order but are all blogs that I read and have been moved enough to write a comment or contact them.
That's about all they have in common because I am glad to say that all these bloggers are from different walks of life and live in various environments. It all goes to show that you do not need to be as wealthy as Al Gore (or me!) or live in the countryside.
It's great to see people making a difference even though they live amongst millions in a city or have little money to make their dreams come true. Of course, some are lucky enough to have found their rural idyll but do not sit back on their laurels and work all the harder.
Thank you to all of you.
Irish Sally Garden
Jac's quests
Living the simple life I want
Musings from a Stonehead
plan be
The Back Forty
If I really spoke my mind...
...then I would probably have far fewer than the 100 or so daily readers of my blog. There is a certain comfort zone. If I step out of it with my own inconvenient truths then either people will say, "What's the point?" or they will get squeamish as I touch on a few taboo subjects.
It's nice to see that my recent rants against Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his ant-green stance have reached the mainstream.
Guardian - We're caught with our pants down
It's nice to see that my recent rants against Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his ant-green stance have reached the mainstream.
Guardian - We're caught with our pants down
Gordon doesn't do Green
I remember that whenever ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair was telling us how he was going to save the world from itself, Gordon Brown was nowhere to be seen. Yesterday, I read that the UK government may pull-back from its renewable energy targets. Today, we read that Gordon has withdrawn energy efficiency funds.
The population continues to rise in the UK. North Sea energy reserves are in decline and so too the taxes derived from their recovery. Renewable energy is quietly forgotten. Energy efficiency is ignored. A crunch will come. Gordon is in denial.
Guardian - Government withdraws energy efficiency funds
The population continues to rise in the UK. North Sea energy reserves are in decline and so too the taxes derived from their recovery. Renewable energy is quietly forgotten. Energy efficiency is ignored. A crunch will come. Gordon is in denial.
Guardian - Government withdraws energy efficiency funds
We give up!
The UK government is to come clean and admit that it can't meet any of its targets for renewable energy use. It was too little and too late.
Guardian - Labour's plan to abandon renewable energy targets
Guardian - Labour's plan to abandon renewable energy targets
Peak oil
An article in the Guardian, Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest, says new study, demonstrates how unprepared the UK government is for the future.
That's fine for Prime Minister Gordon Brown where the "foreseeable future" is 2010 as he will hold on to power until the last moment. The rest of us have livelihoods, families and aspirations. Life always goes on for us but for politicians being voted out of office "life" can end abruptly.
Saying nonsense like "there is enough oil for the foreseeable future" and "we promise you year on year economic growth" makes a politician look stupid.
Everyone should hound every politician they meet. Ignore everything they say and tell them to their face. There is no oil for the foreseeable future.
...a spokesman for the Department of Business and Enterprise said: "Over the next few years global oil production and refining capacity is expected to increase faster than demand. The world's oil resources are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future.
That's fine for Prime Minister Gordon Brown where the "foreseeable future" is 2010 as he will hold on to power until the last moment. The rest of us have livelihoods, families and aspirations. Life always goes on for us but for politicians being voted out of office "life" can end abruptly.
Saying nonsense like "there is enough oil for the foreseeable future" and "we promise you year on year economic growth" makes a politician look stupid.
Everyone should hound every politician they meet. Ignore everything they say and tell them to their face. There is no oil for the foreseeable future.
How's it been?
It's been about three months since I sold up and left Ireland. This post is a report on how I have attempted to remain green and my plans for the future. I will discuss my plans first.
The intention is still to leave for Northern Spain. However, this won't be until the spring of next year. Nipping over from Ireland to my parents' home in the UK (they refuse to return to their homeland) whenever I need something I left behind is a lot easier than nipping to and and from Spain and the UK.
That is why I am selling off anything that I don't want afore I leave for Spain. I do not want to come back to pick up things that I may or may not want. If I sell as much as I can then it will just be a matter of shipping the remainder to Spain. Downsizing will make this task all the more easy.
I could go back to Ireland again but I would not return to Kerry. Ireland is a very tribal country. Step out of your own county and you are a foreigner in your own country. My family is from County Kilkenny and I was always made to feel like a foreigner in County Kerry.
An accent that was neither English nor Irish and a Norman surname from a Leinster county made me stand out. You don't stand out in the Irish countryside if you can help it. If I had been a real foreigner like my English, German and Dutch friends then it wouldn't have hurt as much as it did being an Irish citizen in a part of Ireland that the locals thought I had no right being in.
I would love to live in Kilkenny but the price of farmland there is obscene so Spain it is. As I have mentioned afore, I am one eighth Spanish anyway. So if 7/8ths of me can't live in Ireland then I will go with what is left.
Being with my Victorian parents who are permanently stuck in the 1950s has not been easy. Being old fashioned Irish they don't like change. The 1950s is what they remember so that is how they want the world to remain. Unfortunately they live as their Victorian parents taught them so they are out of place even in their 50s view of the world. They do as the recyclers tell them to but never more so and they often get it wrong. Also the fridge is wedged against a wall because it looks better.
I live by the dictum of "If it's brown then flush it down, if it's yellow then let it mellow." My mother doesn't and comes out with various pseudo-scientific theories (all incorrect) about my smelly, disease ridden, acidic, porcelain dissolving urine, and took to flushing the toilet twice. Once afore she went and once after.
In fact my mother uses the toilet like a waste disposal system. A bit of fluff or hair found on the carpet goes into the toilet and is flushed away. A single piece of tissue to wipe off some make-up, into the toilet and flushed away. It is infuriating! "We are charged for a certain amount of water and I will use all that we pay for."
Unfortunately, the council charges a set fee for a certain amount of water and then charges you if you go over that amount. My two parents living in a three bedroom family home are given the same water quota as a family of four in the next house. It is high time that the council charged people for every drop they use.
I have worked around my mother's double flush with an old wide necked bottle I urinate into and empty whenever I flush the brown. I have CFLs bulbs in my room. The only room in the house that has them because "they hurt my eyes," says my mother. Note the absence of my father in this discussion. Old fashioned Irishman. Can't look after himself at all. Keeps his mouth shut for fear of going hungry.
Thankfully, I have my projects to work on. I shall be getting an old Suffolk Punch lawnmower from the dump tomorrow. Off comes the engine, some renovation and then experimentation. The plan is to run the engine on wood gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) or just hydrogen from waste aluminium. After that it will be a matter of adding an alternator to make a generator and maybe a heat exchanger for heat recovery.
The new project will make a change from recent posts as I am sure many of you have enjoyed reading about my past experiments. I would also like to grab a piece of back garden for growing vegetables. But it will be a battle to convince my mother who believes that food comes from supermarkets and organic food is dirty.
How's it for you?
The intention is still to leave for Northern Spain. However, this won't be until the spring of next year. Nipping over from Ireland to my parents' home in the UK (they refuse to return to their homeland) whenever I need something I left behind is a lot easier than nipping to and and from Spain and the UK.
That is why I am selling off anything that I don't want afore I leave for Spain. I do not want to come back to pick up things that I may or may not want. If I sell as much as I can then it will just be a matter of shipping the remainder to Spain. Downsizing will make this task all the more easy.
I could go back to Ireland again but I would not return to Kerry. Ireland is a very tribal country. Step out of your own county and you are a foreigner in your own country. My family is from County Kilkenny and I was always made to feel like a foreigner in County Kerry.
An accent that was neither English nor Irish and a Norman surname from a Leinster county made me stand out. You don't stand out in the Irish countryside if you can help it. If I had been a real foreigner like my English, German and Dutch friends then it wouldn't have hurt as much as it did being an Irish citizen in a part of Ireland that the locals thought I had no right being in.
I would love to live in Kilkenny but the price of farmland there is obscene so Spain it is. As I have mentioned afore, I am one eighth Spanish anyway. So if 7/8ths of me can't live in Ireland then I will go with what is left.
Being with my Victorian parents who are permanently stuck in the 1950s has not been easy. Being old fashioned Irish they don't like change. The 1950s is what they remember so that is how they want the world to remain. Unfortunately they live as their Victorian parents taught them so they are out of place even in their 50s view of the world. They do as the recyclers tell them to but never more so and they often get it wrong. Also the fridge is wedged against a wall because it looks better.
I live by the dictum of "If it's brown then flush it down, if it's yellow then let it mellow." My mother doesn't and comes out with various pseudo-scientific theories (all incorrect) about my smelly, disease ridden, acidic, porcelain dissolving urine, and took to flushing the toilet twice. Once afore she went and once after.
In fact my mother uses the toilet like a waste disposal system. A bit of fluff or hair found on the carpet goes into the toilet and is flushed away. A single piece of tissue to wipe off some make-up, into the toilet and flushed away. It is infuriating! "We are charged for a certain amount of water and I will use all that we pay for."
Unfortunately, the council charges a set fee for a certain amount of water and then charges you if you go over that amount. My two parents living in a three bedroom family home are given the same water quota as a family of four in the next house. It is high time that the council charged people for every drop they use.
I have worked around my mother's double flush with an old wide necked bottle I urinate into and empty whenever I flush the brown. I have CFLs bulbs in my room. The only room in the house that has them because "they hurt my eyes," says my mother. Note the absence of my father in this discussion. Old fashioned Irishman. Can't look after himself at all. Keeps his mouth shut for fear of going hungry.
Thankfully, I have my projects to work on. I shall be getting an old Suffolk Punch lawnmower from the dump tomorrow. Off comes the engine, some renovation and then experimentation. The plan is to run the engine on wood gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) or just hydrogen from waste aluminium. After that it will be a matter of adding an alternator to make a generator and maybe a heat exchanger for heat recovery.
The new project will make a change from recent posts as I am sure many of you have enjoyed reading about my past experiments. I would also like to grab a piece of back garden for growing vegetables. But it will be a battle to convince my mother who believes that food comes from supermarkets and organic food is dirty.
How's it for you?
Peak resources
If you are watching the BBC news right now then you will see things are already getting tough on the down slope to the future. Metals being stolen for sale in the east. Copper, lead, bronze, steel. If it's worth anything, and it certainly is as the world runs out of many resources, then it will be stolen.
Bronze statues are stolen from their plinths and bells from churches. Copper wires stolen from the grid. Copper and lead stolen from rooftops. Drain and service covers stolen from roads.
It used only to be a problem in eastern Europe but now the problem is here. Not just because we have so many eastern Europeans living here. It's because the orient is the world's economic powerhouse and the decaying west has to be sold for scrap to feed resource hungry China.
Bronze statues are stolen from their plinths and bells from churches. Copper wires stolen from the grid. Copper and lead stolen from rooftops. Drain and service covers stolen from roads.
It used only to be a problem in eastern Europe but now the problem is here. Not just because we have so many eastern Europeans living here. It's because the orient is the world's economic powerhouse and the decaying west has to be sold for scrap to feed resource hungry China.
More on the big grab
The UK government is looking to claim any part of the globe it can for future resource requirements. North Sea oil and gas is in decline. Not only will the UK struggle to heat and fuel itself but Prime Minister Gordon Brown will struggle to fund his fairytale dreams.
With oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic and Antarctic, Gordon will be able to raise more taxes. With his new found wealth he will be able to build a billion houses, raise the population to over 100 million tax payers and banish the tides from battered coasts with a mile high coastal wall if he wishes.
Business as usual!
I am not anti-business, anti-trade or anti-anything really. But I am anti-stupidity. As Jilted John sang, "Gordon is a moron." Gordon is prolonging the agony. Chasing after yet more hydrocarbon based resources does not help Gordon's almost non-existent green credentials.
With a reduced population, living a more energy efficient lifestyle there would be less need for houses and less global warming (assuming the whole world did likewise) to battle against.
PS - Yes, I am anti-Gordon Brown. I can never trust someone who has to think before smiling.
Guardian - The Tip of the Iceberg
With oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic and Antarctic, Gordon will be able to raise more taxes. With his new found wealth he will be able to build a billion houses, raise the population to over 100 million tax payers and banish the tides from battered coasts with a mile high coastal wall if he wishes.
Business as usual!
I am not anti-business, anti-trade or anti-anything really. But I am anti-stupidity. As Jilted John sang, "Gordon is a moron." Gordon is prolonging the agony. Chasing after yet more hydrocarbon based resources does not help Gordon's almost non-existent green credentials.
With a reduced population, living a more energy efficient lifestyle there would be less need for houses and less global warming (assuming the whole world did likewise) to battle against.
PS - Yes, I am anti-Gordon Brown. I can never trust someone who has to think before smiling.
Guardian - The Tip of the Iceberg
Bio-diesel webcast
Here is a webcast from the BBC about a chap making bio-diesel for his car.
The two amateurs in the piece are far more interesting than any of the professionals who have their agendas to put forward and their egos to massage.
BBC - You and Yours (Requires Real Player)
The two amateurs in the piece are far more interesting than any of the professionals who have their agendas to put forward and their egos to massage.
BBC - You and Yours (Requires Real Player)
Everyone is doing it
Well, not everyone but a lot more people are doing it each year. They are running their cars on anything but straight petrol or diesel. Be it putting used vegetable oil in a car or reacting the oil with a few nasty chemicals to make bio-diesel, there are many ways of lowering your transportation costs.
Of course, the best way is to just walk or cycle. I probably walk more than anything else. My cycle racing days are far behind. And my behind is too big to fit on that blade I once regarded as a saddle. Anyway, I think I would probably crush that bike weighing just 19 pounds.
As I don't drive that much then I shall stick to putting a little petrol in my jeep every now and again. However, with oil touching $89 a barrel in recent trading it's time to think ahead.
I have a few alternatives with regards to keeping a car. I can keep the petrol engine and run it on gas. LPG is what the corporates would prefer me to use because it keeps me in the petrochemical fold. However, I like the idea of wood gas.
I could swap the existing engine for a little 1.4 litre diesel engine found in some small, low carbon emission Volkswagen Polo cars. I would then have to go down the route of bio-diesel or a straight vegetable oil conversion. My worry is that if more people start doing that then there won't be enough vegetable oil to go around. Already this year we have seen a tight wheat market as flour and ethanol producers fight over the supply of wheat.
Another alternative is an electric conversion. If I am only going to use the vehicle for the odd short journey then why not an electric motor and some batteries. How I charge the batteries would be my business. Photovoltaic cells, a wind turbine, a generator running on wood gas. It no longer matters when the power decision is no longer in the car.
I am sure that I am not alone in worrying about how to fuel my car in the future. Even wondering what the point is of having a car in the first place. As I will be moving back to the countryside in the New Year then I will need a car. Unless we all go back to horse drawn vehicles that is. Then I won't have to worry about a collision between my horses and speeding cars.
BBC - How to run your car on chip oil
Of course, the best way is to just walk or cycle. I probably walk more than anything else. My cycle racing days are far behind. And my behind is too big to fit on that blade I once regarded as a saddle. Anyway, I think I would probably crush that bike weighing just 19 pounds.
As I don't drive that much then I shall stick to putting a little petrol in my jeep every now and again. However, with oil touching $89 a barrel in recent trading it's time to think ahead.
I have a few alternatives with regards to keeping a car. I can keep the petrol engine and run it on gas. LPG is what the corporates would prefer me to use because it keeps me in the petrochemical fold. However, I like the idea of wood gas.
I could swap the existing engine for a little 1.4 litre diesel engine found in some small, low carbon emission Volkswagen Polo cars. I would then have to go down the route of bio-diesel or a straight vegetable oil conversion. My worry is that if more people start doing that then there won't be enough vegetable oil to go around. Already this year we have seen a tight wheat market as flour and ethanol producers fight over the supply of wheat.
Another alternative is an electric conversion. If I am only going to use the vehicle for the odd short journey then why not an electric motor and some batteries. How I charge the batteries would be my business. Photovoltaic cells, a wind turbine, a generator running on wood gas. It no longer matters when the power decision is no longer in the car.
I am sure that I am not alone in worrying about how to fuel my car in the future. Even wondering what the point is of having a car in the first place. As I will be moving back to the countryside in the New Year then I will need a car. Unless we all go back to horse drawn vehicles that is. Then I won't have to worry about a collision between my horses and speeding cars.
BBC - How to run your car on chip oil
So, which is it?
Yesterday, we were told that we are bone idle, unskilled and unable to look after ourselves in old age. Therefore we needed millions of migrants to do our jobs for us, wipe our bums when we are old so that we can all live off the taxes of gullible foreigners when we retire.
Today, we are told that migration causes difficulties in housing, health, education and crime. Tough, you can't have your cake and eat it. This is no longer a nation. It's a big McJobCentre. A place where anyone can come and gamble their lives for material desires. You either sink or swim.
Why can't we export jobs rather than importing problems?
Seems to me this is all an exercise in making the rich more wealthy whilst doing away with those further down the ladder.
BBC - Migration 'causes pressure in UK'
Today, we are told that migration causes difficulties in housing, health, education and crime. Tough, you can't have your cake and eat it. This is no longer a nation. It's a big McJobCentre. A place where anyone can come and gamble their lives for material desires. You either sink or swim.
Why can't we export jobs rather than importing problems?
Seems to me this is all an exercise in making the rich more wealthy whilst doing away with those further down the ladder.
BBC - Migration 'causes pressure in UK'
The final rape of Mother Earth
And you wondered why Las Malvinas (aka The Falklands aka Islas Pinches) were worth fighting over.
Kyoto, emission cuts, green taxes. It's all talk.
Guardian - Britain to claim more than 1m sq km of Antarctica
Kyoto, emission cuts, green taxes. It's all talk.
Guardian - Britain to claim more than 1m sq km of Antarctica
I echo the echo
This article encapsulates all that I have written in my blog about depleting energing sources, lack of farmland, overpopulation and climate control.
It can be hard believing all of this and keeping a smile on your face. I have pretty much given up on the world as a whole pulling through the problems ahead.
One moment our glorious leaders promise a 20% carbon cut, the opposition says 40% and the EU wants 60%. Al Gore wants 80% whilst travelling the world to ensure he gets a Noble prize to put in his home that needs its own power station to keep it running.
Why don't we all agree a 100% cut in carbon emissions? 20% or 100%, it's all the same because we aren't even going to cut it by 1%. We've probably increased our emissions since we started talking about it.
All I know is that on a personal level I am ready. And that is all that matters.
The Times - Black to the Future
It can be hard believing all of this and keeping a smile on your face. I have pretty much given up on the world as a whole pulling through the problems ahead.
One moment our glorious leaders promise a 20% carbon cut, the opposition says 40% and the EU wants 60%. Al Gore wants 80% whilst travelling the world to ensure he gets a Noble prize to put in his home that needs its own power station to keep it running.
Why don't we all agree a 100% cut in carbon emissions? 20% or 100%, it's all the same because we aren't even going to cut it by 1%. We've probably increased our emissions since we started talking about it.
All I know is that on a personal level I am ready. And that is all that matters.
The Times - Black to the Future
Fat bottomed girls
This time last weekend I was in Milton Keynes. A sprawling new town designed for cars with an American style grid system of boulevards criss-crossed with avenues. Supermarkets are always a car ride away. Pedestrian pavements suddenly end forcing pedestrians (who really should buy a car) to walk on the road.
I went to Milton Keynes to meet a friend from London. As it gets darker earlier at this time of the year we met somewhere between where we live so that both of us had less travel time on the train.
We spent the day walking around Central Milton Keynes shopping centre. A huge series of linked malls that contains hundreds of shops. Of course, being thrifty we didn't spend a penny. We also had a look at the indoor skiing centre and the tremendous waste of energy that must go into making snow, 365 days a year.
In a café, next to the skiing centre, we watched as people walked by. All of them had bulging waistlines. I mean everyone. The old, the middle-aged, parents and their children. Not just because you have to drive everywhere around Milton Keynes as everywhere in the UK people are getting heavier. Gorging themselves on processed, pre-cooked and takeaway food.
A government study suggests that half the UK population will be obese within 25 years. Another prediction suggests 86% of men will be overweight within 15 years but not necessarily obese. Within 20 years, 70% of women will be overweight too.
And how has Prime Minister Gordon Brown (aka King Canute) decided to tackle this problem? Why, throw money at it, of course. He will pay millions to persuade people with advertising not to eat too much. Of course, people will ignore it and keep on gorging themselves. Then Gordon will waste more money on the National Health Service treating people for calorific stupidity.
As I said in previous posts about taxation, to tax is to burden. You should burden people financially when you wish them to change their behaviour. If people spent as much money on private health care as they do on food then the NHS wouldn't need so much extra funding.
A health tax on products that give people an unhealthy lifestyle will direct money out of the shopping basket and into funds to treat the mess people make of themselves. It will also make people think twice before getting their money out. Tax the takeaway, pizza tax, additional tobacco tax (the money to go into treating tobacco abuse and not other governmental follies).
How about government controlled Class A drugs? "Sorry sir, you have overdosed but you bought the cheaper street drugs. Consequently your Drug Tax payments do not cover your treatment so we will just have to wheel you into the corridor and leave you to die."
It's about time people took responsibility and don't expect others to bale them out with their taxes. With North Sea oil recovery falling year by year the government will have a public spending shortfall every year from now on. You must expect to take more control of your life because the nanny state is on the way out.
BBC - Obesity 'as bad as climate risk'
I went to Milton Keynes to meet a friend from London. As it gets darker earlier at this time of the year we met somewhere between where we live so that both of us had less travel time on the train.
We spent the day walking around Central Milton Keynes shopping centre. A huge series of linked malls that contains hundreds of shops. Of course, being thrifty we didn't spend a penny. We also had a look at the indoor skiing centre and the tremendous waste of energy that must go into making snow, 365 days a year.
In a café, next to the skiing centre, we watched as people walked by. All of them had bulging waistlines. I mean everyone. The old, the middle-aged, parents and their children. Not just because you have to drive everywhere around Milton Keynes as everywhere in the UK people are getting heavier. Gorging themselves on processed, pre-cooked and takeaway food.
A government study suggests that half the UK population will be obese within 25 years. Another prediction suggests 86% of men will be overweight within 15 years but not necessarily obese. Within 20 years, 70% of women will be overweight too.
And how has Prime Minister Gordon Brown (aka King Canute) decided to tackle this problem? Why, throw money at it, of course. He will pay millions to persuade people with advertising not to eat too much. Of course, people will ignore it and keep on gorging themselves. Then Gordon will waste more money on the National Health Service treating people for calorific stupidity.
As I said in previous posts about taxation, to tax is to burden. You should burden people financially when you wish them to change their behaviour. If people spent as much money on private health care as they do on food then the NHS wouldn't need so much extra funding.
A health tax on products that give people an unhealthy lifestyle will direct money out of the shopping basket and into funds to treat the mess people make of themselves. It will also make people think twice before getting their money out. Tax the takeaway, pizza tax, additional tobacco tax (the money to go into treating tobacco abuse and not other governmental follies).
How about government controlled Class A drugs? "Sorry sir, you have overdosed but you bought the cheaper street drugs. Consequently your Drug Tax payments do not cover your treatment so we will just have to wheel you into the corridor and leave you to die."
It's about time people took responsibility and don't expect others to bale them out with their taxes. With North Sea oil recovery falling year by year the government will have a public spending shortfall every year from now on. You must expect to take more control of your life because the nanny state is on the way out.
BBC - Obesity 'as bad as climate risk'
De-fluoridation of water
I know some of you out there would prefer not to have fluoride in your water (for whatever reason).
Here is a link with information on removing fluoride from your drinking water.
About.com - How to Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water
Here is a link with information on removing fluoride from your drinking water.
About.com - How to Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water
Sensible coastal defences
The US is considering the depopulation of its Gulf of Mexico coastline and returning land to former wetlands. It will act as a barrier to future storms and reduce the possibility of Katrina like disasters as humans will be forced away from coastal living.
Meanwhile in the UK, PM George Brown and his ilk will champion man over nature and continue playing King Canute.
Guardian - Rebuild or retreat: US debates evacuation of Gulf coastline
Meanwhile in the UK, PM George Brown and his ilk will champion man over nature and continue playing King Canute.
Guardian - Rebuild or retreat: US debates evacuation of Gulf coastline
Fluoride or not to fluoride
I've been asked a question about the fluoridation of water so I have put my answer here in case it is of interest to anyone else.
As far as I am aware, I have been drinking flouridised tap water for all my 41 years. When I was a child I was even taken to the dentist for fluoride treatment. My teeth were coated with some sort of fluoridised compound and I was left to sit there for half an hour or so.
Considering the bashing from coffee and coca cola my teeth have had in the past, my teeth are in good condition. One tooth removed and a few fillings. I brush my teeth at least twice a day with fluoride tooth paste. My teeth are not exactly white but then I'm not a porn star (God knows I've tried) so I don't need pearly white teeth.
My relatives in Ireland however, drink nothing but water from wells. Their teeth are in an awful state. It's as though they have been eating chocolate and have not brushed their teeth afterwards. Their teeth are very brown. What teeth they have left that is. I would assume it would have something to do with acidity seeing as the water they drink has probably passed through bog, which is known for its acidity.
I have not looked into fluoridation but from my own experience I would have nothing to worry about. I remember in Ireland someone telling me that since they started fluoridation, "in his mind" the incidence of cancers had gone up. I would say that fluoridation came in as Ireland became more prosperous and it is prosperity (high living) that is giving Ireland more cancers. I also remember some nonsense from a boy at school (who is now an upstanding policeman!) that fluoridation was part of some mind control experiment.
Pish posh to all of them! I drink from the tap. There is oil involved in the treatment of tap water but not nearly as much as the production and transportation of plastic bottles of so-called mineral water. I have nothing against the boiling of water or passing it through a filter if that is what you want to do. I just don't think that it is worthwhile.
NB - I will not be accepting comments that list literature that is for or against fluoridation. This blog post states only my belief that I have drunk fluoridated water all my life and have brushed my teeth everyday with fluoride toothpaste and that my teeth are in above average condition.
As far as I am aware, I have been drinking flouridised tap water for all my 41 years. When I was a child I was even taken to the dentist for fluoride treatment. My teeth were coated with some sort of fluoridised compound and I was left to sit there for half an hour or so.
Considering the bashing from coffee and coca cola my teeth have had in the past, my teeth are in good condition. One tooth removed and a few fillings. I brush my teeth at least twice a day with fluoride tooth paste. My teeth are not exactly white but then I'm not a porn star (God knows I've tried) so I don't need pearly white teeth.
My relatives in Ireland however, drink nothing but water from wells. Their teeth are in an awful state. It's as though they have been eating chocolate and have not brushed their teeth afterwards. Their teeth are very brown. What teeth they have left that is. I would assume it would have something to do with acidity seeing as the water they drink has probably passed through bog, which is known for its acidity.
I have not looked into fluoridation but from my own experience I would have nothing to worry about. I remember in Ireland someone telling me that since they started fluoridation, "in his mind" the incidence of cancers had gone up. I would say that fluoridation came in as Ireland became more prosperous and it is prosperity (high living) that is giving Ireland more cancers. I also remember some nonsense from a boy at school (who is now an upstanding policeman!) that fluoridation was part of some mind control experiment.
Pish posh to all of them! I drink from the tap. There is oil involved in the treatment of tap water but not nearly as much as the production and transportation of plastic bottles of so-called mineral water. I have nothing against the boiling of water or passing it through a filter if that is what you want to do. I just don't think that it is worthwhile.
NB - I will not be accepting comments that list literature that is for or against fluoridation. This blog post states only my belief that I have drunk fluoridated water all my life and have brushed my teeth everyday with fluoride toothpaste and that my teeth are in above average condition.
Just in time food
There's a big white monolith in the kitchen that is plugged into the mains electricity 24/7. The bigger it is the bigger the bill you will get from the electricity company.
You've replaced all your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs. You've developed the habit of turning off all phantom loads before going to bed. The final act of electrical downsizing (assuming you don't want to do away with it altogether) is that big white monolith. The smaller it is the better.
A fridge is very much a convenience. A freezer more so. You can only eat so much per day. Why own a monster fridge and fill it full of food? You will have a vegetable garden of whatever size you can manage. Every little helps. The supermarket is just a walk away or, rather, it should be if your town planners have any sense.
Putting food in a fridge adds to the cost of eating. It's bad enough buying processed food and paying someone to process food for you, with all those preservatives and other chemicals. It's even more wasteful to put that food in the fridge because the electricity used to cool it is yet more waste.
With just in time eating you buy what you need that day. Some things have to be bought in bulk but try and make sure that it can be stored in a cupboard instead of a fridge. Keep an eye on sell-by and eat-by dates so that food does not go off or you are left in a hurry to eat everything before it goes off and end up eating too much.
If I cook too much pasta, chile or curry then I just leave it in the pan and put the pan in the oven. Why bother chilling it over night? There's never anything wrong with any food I reheat.
Put an end to "See Food" and just buy what you need for the day. All those little things that you buy and might fancy eating someday usually get pushed to the back of a cupboard and go off long afore you get round to eating them.
I like to eat fresh bread everyday. There is a baker about 10 minutes walk away who was in business afore I was born. I'd like others to have the chance to say the same in future so I buy my bread from this local seller rather than buying from the supermarket.
Today I ate a yoghurt, two glasses of orange juice, had green salad with chorizo, blue cheese, some bread. Later I had a sandwich of chorizo, a few squares of chocolate and a few glasses of water throughout the day.
In fridge terms I needed a space for some salad greens, my current carton of orange juice (the other cartons are in a cupboard), a block of cheese, a few slices of chorizo and a four pack of yoghurt. What kind of a fridge would I need to store that? Even a 12V camping fridge would have sufficed. Hook that up to a battery and solar charger and you can cross off the bulk load from your electricity bill.
Cheese and chorizo would do fine in a cool storage area and wouldn't need a fridge. The water I drank came straight our of the tap. I didn't cool it further with wasteful ice.
Eat just in time and eat as much local produce as you can. You'll waste less money, eat more healthily and do the whole world more good too.
You've replaced all your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs. You've developed the habit of turning off all phantom loads before going to bed. The final act of electrical downsizing (assuming you don't want to do away with it altogether) is that big white monolith. The smaller it is the better.
A fridge is very much a convenience. A freezer more so. You can only eat so much per day. Why own a monster fridge and fill it full of food? You will have a vegetable garden of whatever size you can manage. Every little helps. The supermarket is just a walk away or, rather, it should be if your town planners have any sense.
Putting food in a fridge adds to the cost of eating. It's bad enough buying processed food and paying someone to process food for you, with all those preservatives and other chemicals. It's even more wasteful to put that food in the fridge because the electricity used to cool it is yet more waste.
With just in time eating you buy what you need that day. Some things have to be bought in bulk but try and make sure that it can be stored in a cupboard instead of a fridge. Keep an eye on sell-by and eat-by dates so that food does not go off or you are left in a hurry to eat everything before it goes off and end up eating too much.
If I cook too much pasta, chile or curry then I just leave it in the pan and put the pan in the oven. Why bother chilling it over night? There's never anything wrong with any food I reheat.
Put an end to "See Food" and just buy what you need for the day. All those little things that you buy and might fancy eating someday usually get pushed to the back of a cupboard and go off long afore you get round to eating them.
I like to eat fresh bread everyday. There is a baker about 10 minutes walk away who was in business afore I was born. I'd like others to have the chance to say the same in future so I buy my bread from this local seller rather than buying from the supermarket.
Today I ate a yoghurt, two glasses of orange juice, had green salad with chorizo, blue cheese, some bread. Later I had a sandwich of chorizo, a few squares of chocolate and a few glasses of water throughout the day.
In fridge terms I needed a space for some salad greens, my current carton of orange juice (the other cartons are in a cupboard), a block of cheese, a few slices of chorizo and a four pack of yoghurt. What kind of a fridge would I need to store that? Even a 12V camping fridge would have sufficed. Hook that up to a battery and solar charger and you can cross off the bulk load from your electricity bill.
Cheese and chorizo would do fine in a cool storage area and wouldn't need a fridge. The water I drank came straight our of the tap. I didn't cool it further with wasteful ice.
Eat just in time and eat as much local produce as you can. You'll waste less money, eat more healthily and do the whole world more good too.
King Canute lives on
Here are three things in the news today that I regard as being money flushed down the toilet.
1) More government money for UK flood defences
Sorry but if you want a house by the sea, or on a flood plain, then the general public should not be subsidising your lifestyle with their taxes.
Everyone seems to think that they have some God-given right to a house. A dwelling yes but not a house. There should be more vertical living in apartment blocks like I saw in Spain during my visit there in August. Building up rather than out will negate the need for building in flood prone areas.
2) More money wasted on the National Health Service
Okay, so it's not a popular target for me to choose. But the NHS is for low income people. The same people that smoke too much, drink too much, take drugs to alleviate the tedium of their lives and eat nothing but high-fat take-away food.
There should be a caveat attached to any enjoyment of NHS facilities. You must be a non-smoker, not abuse drink or drugs, and eat healthily. If people didn't abuse themselves so much then we wouldn't need to spend so much money on treating people for their excesses.
3) China employs thousands to govern the Chinese population's use of the Internet
Burma has done likewise recently. Surely the Chinese government can't stop it's people from reading illegal content because Chinese officials have to read the content before deeming it suitable or not. That rather defeats the purpose. Besides people will always find a way around these things. Especially, the youth will find a way round with slang writing. I, for example, have no idea these days what UK children are saying in their faux American-English.
The above three examples of governmental waste of money are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more pressing things for governments to be worried about. But you can be sure that governments are more interested in keeping short-term power than worrying about long-term problems.
1) More government money for UK flood defences
Sorry but if you want a house by the sea, or on a flood plain, then the general public should not be subsidising your lifestyle with their taxes.
Everyone seems to think that they have some God-given right to a house. A dwelling yes but not a house. There should be more vertical living in apartment blocks like I saw in Spain during my visit there in August. Building up rather than out will negate the need for building in flood prone areas.
2) More money wasted on the National Health Service
Okay, so it's not a popular target for me to choose. But the NHS is for low income people. The same people that smoke too much, drink too much, take drugs to alleviate the tedium of their lives and eat nothing but high-fat take-away food.
There should be a caveat attached to any enjoyment of NHS facilities. You must be a non-smoker, not abuse drink or drugs, and eat healthily. If people didn't abuse themselves so much then we wouldn't need to spend so much money on treating people for their excesses.
3) China employs thousands to govern the Chinese population's use of the Internet
Burma has done likewise recently. Surely the Chinese government can't stop it's people from reading illegal content because Chinese officials have to read the content before deeming it suitable or not. That rather defeats the purpose. Besides people will always find a way around these things. Especially, the youth will find a way round with slang writing. I, for example, have no idea these days what UK children are saying in their faux American-English.
The above three examples of governmental waste of money are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more pressing things for governments to be worried about. But you can be sure that governments are more interested in keeping short-term power than worrying about long-term problems.
A note to UK globalists
The UK ranks second in the world of consumption. Only the US is worse. There are many who derive pleasure from their "right" as globalists to rid the UK of farmland, build on every square meter of it and import everything.
Exporting 20 million tonnes of mineral water and importing 21 million when just importing 1 million would have done is a fine example of globalisation.
Globalists should make the most of it because any sane person would realise that it can't go on forever.
Guardian - Britain is second biggest consumer in the world
Exporting 20 million tonnes of mineral water and importing 21 million when just importing 1 million would have done is a fine example of globalisation.
Globalists should make the most of it because any sane person would realise that it can't go on forever.
Guardian - Britain is second biggest consumer in the world
What a waste!
I visited a recycling station today when I helped my father take a load in my jeep. It's amazing what other people throw away. The workers at the station fish out anything that is of value and sell it from a stall. Pretty much anything that I would put on eBay was on the stall.
Also, there were working lawnmowers and steel drums. Everything I would need to build a wood gasifier and run a small engine on. I might just do so as all my old gasification stuff is still in Ireland.
There was a skip full of old wood. More than enough to keep a stove running over the winter. In another corner there was plenty of furniture. Lovely pine chairs that only needed a good clean and some wax.
Oh well, at least it all ended up in a recycling station. I hope anything of use finds a good home.
This is my 500th post on The Good Life. I thank everyone who has read it. Also, I would like to thank everyone who left comments. I never thought that my blog would be of interest to anyone. However, from reading your comments and seeing all the other blogs that link to mine I know there is a growing community of like-minded people. Let's all keep up the good work.
Also, there were working lawnmowers and steel drums. Everything I would need to build a wood gasifier and run a small engine on. I might just do so as all my old gasification stuff is still in Ireland.
There was a skip full of old wood. More than enough to keep a stove running over the winter. In another corner there was plenty of furniture. Lovely pine chairs that only needed a good clean and some wax.
Oh well, at least it all ended up in a recycling station. I hope anything of use finds a good home.
This is my 500th post on The Good Life. I thank everyone who has read it. Also, I would like to thank everyone who left comments. I never thought that my blog would be of interest to anyone. However, from reading your comments and seeing all the other blogs that link to mine I know there is a growing community of like-minded people. Let's all keep up the good work.
Happy eco debt day
This year Eco Debt Day is 3 days earlier than last year. Today is the day that the planet is in ecological debt and we find ourselves tucking into next year's resources before January 1st of next year.
Let's have a good celebration now. Tuck in. Make sure you eat plenty of air miles.
Reuters - World moves into the ecological red
Let's have a good celebration now. Tuck in. Make sure you eat plenty of air miles.
Reuters - World moves into the ecological red
Downsizing on Amazon
Now that I don't work in computational finance anymore I have shelves of books that will be of no use to me in the future. The Amazon website can help you to sell books you no longer want. Here are some things to keep in mind.
1) Look after your books. Do not write on them or break their spines. If it looks new then by all means advertise it as new.
2) If someone is going to buy a book through a third party rather than direct from Amazon then they will go for the lowest price regardless of it being new, used: "good as new" or used: "very good condition". Advertise your book at the lowest price to guarantee a sale.
3) Amazon charge a high commission for selling books through their website. It can be as much as 20%. Make sure that when you have deducted commission and postal charges from your price that you will not have made a loss. Amazon have some odd ideas as to postal fees. Every book I have sent has been posted for more than what Amazon charged the customer. You have no say as to how much you charge for post and packing.
4) If you are worried about postal charges then send via 2nd class post. Use recycled materials to package books. I visit my local supermarket for cardboard everyday. I use it to package items sold on Amazon and eBay.
So far I have sold 19 books, 1 DVD and 1 boardgame. I have less junk and the modest amount of money raised can buy seed for next year.
1) Look after your books. Do not write on them or break their spines. If it looks new then by all means advertise it as new.
2) If someone is going to buy a book through a third party rather than direct from Amazon then they will go for the lowest price regardless of it being new, used: "good as new" or used: "very good condition". Advertise your book at the lowest price to guarantee a sale.
3) Amazon charge a high commission for selling books through their website. It can be as much as 20%. Make sure that when you have deducted commission and postal charges from your price that you will not have made a loss. Amazon have some odd ideas as to postal fees. Every book I have sent has been posted for more than what Amazon charged the customer. You have no say as to how much you charge for post and packing.
4) If you are worried about postal charges then send via 2nd class post. Use recycled materials to package books. I visit my local supermarket for cardboard everyday. I use it to package items sold on Amazon and eBay.
So far I have sold 19 books, 1 DVD and 1 boardgame. I have less junk and the modest amount of money raised can buy seed for next year.
How green is my rally?
Not even some Mini Coopers are as green as you might think. Try the WhatGreenCar website to see how green your car is. You can also use it to select your next car for its green credentials.
What Green Car - The independent guide to green cars in the UK
What Green Car - The independent guide to green cars in the UK
This earth aint big enough for the both of us
And we ain't the ones that are gonna leave. I was always a fan of Sparks when I was younger. I hope they don't mind me paraphrasing their most famous hit.
Not satisfied with ridding urban areas of wildlife, there are now plans to put a barrage across the River Severn to generate electricity. Doing so will destroy a valuable habitat for wading birds and other animals.
Even though our liberal friends have done their utmost to eradicate Christianity (whilst bending over backwards for a far less tolerant religion) most people in the west still have a Christian view of the world. There are animals and there are humans. The idea that we are an integral part of the animal kingdom is laughed at.
Animals are cute so long as they don't get in our way. Now that we are working our way through the dregs of fossil fuels we are now turning towards renewable energy. As each day passes this little planet resembles little Easter Island of a few hundred years ago.
There are too many people chasing too few resources. On Easter Island the population grew so large that the island could not provide for everyone. A population collapse followed deforestation and the depletion of other resources.
We need less humans and more energy use efficiency. Unfortunately this world isn't big enough for the both of us but if other animals leave then we won't be far too behind them.
Bio-diversity is very important in any ecosystem. There have been mass extinctions before but will the next one need humans when it comes to pass?
BBC - Barrage power plan report awaited
Plan gets the go ahead.
BBC - Advisers approve tidal power plan
Not satisfied with ridding urban areas of wildlife, there are now plans to put a barrage across the River Severn to generate electricity. Doing so will destroy a valuable habitat for wading birds and other animals.
Even though our liberal friends have done their utmost to eradicate Christianity (whilst bending over backwards for a far less tolerant religion) most people in the west still have a Christian view of the world. There are animals and there are humans. The idea that we are an integral part of the animal kingdom is laughed at.
Animals are cute so long as they don't get in our way. Now that we are working our way through the dregs of fossil fuels we are now turning towards renewable energy. As each day passes this little planet resembles little Easter Island of a few hundred years ago.
There are too many people chasing too few resources. On Easter Island the population grew so large that the island could not provide for everyone. A population collapse followed deforestation and the depletion of other resources.
We need less humans and more energy use efficiency. Unfortunately this world isn't big enough for the both of us but if other animals leave then we won't be far too behind them.
Bio-diversity is very important in any ecosystem. There have been mass extinctions before but will the next one need humans when it comes to pass?
BBC - Barrage power plan report awaited
Plan gets the go ahead.
BBC - Advisers approve tidal power plan
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