Comments on: British Nuclear Fools

By: Queen’s Speech 2010: Dave and Nick get busy with Lizzie » Philtheone.com

Queen’s Speech 2010: Dave and Nick get busy with Lizzie » Philtheone.com — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:01:32 +0000

[...] intention is fine. I would have preferred some information about how the blackouts in 2017 will be overcome, but I presume Ed Miliband’s approval of 10 new nuclear power plants remains in the [...]

By: Yearly roundup.. part 3 « Philtheone.com

Yearly roundup.. part 3 « Philtheone.com — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:03:59 +0000

[...] were abound from MPs about the doomed Copenhagen climate change meeting, where nothing ended up being agreed by [...]

By: Not Quite Hayek

Not Quite Hayek — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:52:03 +0000

Once ‘Call me Dave’ is in government… Mark my words – we’ll all be issued with windmills as stylish as his! Wunderbar!

No more North/ South Divide – we can ALL look like twats

(as it is, I’m a big fan of decentralised power)

By: Frustrated

Frustrated — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:26:10 +0000

No hope Jamesh? There is hope – we just have to be realistic about what can be achieved. The whole green thing is being hijacked by extremists both ways – governments like “green” jobs being created and “green” taxes – and others are saying there’s no risk and the truth is probably somewhere between the two.
What we do need is a long term plan – not the short termist emergency actions. And to appreciate that we need to research and develop other energy creation methods seriously – surely serious tax breaks and grants for companies that develop methods and funding universities etc for this research would produce something good in the next 10-15 years?

By: Philtheone

Philtheone — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:40:33 +0000

I hope there will come a point where Asia is too expensive to outsource to, because it would give companies no reason to set up there and every reason to set up here.

James Dyson is a classic example. He invents his hoover, makes them here for a bit then as soon as he can, ships the manufacturing off to Asia.

If it is the case that growth in population is the main factor in emission increase, the irony is that the only country to impose a child limit is China, although it only applies in urban areas and has social problems, such as young girls being unwanted.

On the subject of power, all renewable sources have severe downsides, but we don’t need a 100% switch to renewable energy to solve the perceived problem of emissions.

I don’t see why we can’t switch to around 80% nuclear, though. Obviously you can’t switch completely to nuclear because it doesn’t facilitate the burst of energy needed during, say, Coronation Street advert breaks! But it’s reliable, safe and creates high tech jobs.

By: Jamesh

Jamesh — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:12:05 +0000

I hold no hope for the future.

By: Frustrated

Frustrated — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:55:23 +0000

Firstly I’m not so sure that climate change is purely a result of CO2 emmission build up. We’ve also got the earth tilting nearer to the sun and there’s not one thing we can do about that.
But why we didn’t go nuclear and build more plants 10 years ago, I don’t understand. Because even if CO2 isn’t a problem, running out of fossil fuels is. Of course it’s not a long term solution – there’s too much dangerous waste to deal with afterwards – but it could have been put in place whilst further research was put into renewables so that really efficient technology might be in place when those new nuclear power stations needed to be decommissioned as well.
Solar seems to be far more useful as a source of power per unit required yet we don’t seem to be persuing it with any real enthusiasm. Wind sounds great – but the amount of actual energy gained is far too low for the infrastructure required yet – and putting one massive wind farm around the entire UK coastline just isn’t feasible.
I agree importing so many goods from China (and India) is increasing CO2 emmissions – and our economy might not be so shaky if we made things at home instead – but whilst we are allowed by our government to import goods from countries where the minimum wage concept is alien, where people are paid a pittance and lots of things go on that aren’t allowed here we are always going to find importing goods cheaper merely because of things within the control of government. What really happens when China gets to be a rich country and then can’t make things so cheaply? Do we become relatively poor and then start to make our own goods again? – because I can’t see the big picture on that one.
Population growth though has to be the most major factor in the increase in emissions – and probably thanks to a lack of wanting to offend the two religions that promote large families and some dream that if we have a lot of youngsters we will be able to have state pensions in the future – no government seems willing to do anything about it and even have policies to encourage it.