Report Hate Crime

Racism or zenophobia are not acceptable and this negative problem has increased since the referendum. If you witness zenophobia, racism, homophobia or any other hate crime as a result of the referendum then report it:

http://www.report-it.org.uk/home

These people need to be arrested and prosecuted under British law.

Leaving the EU ?

A sad day for the UK, Europe and possibly the world this week. This post is an immediate reaction to the result.

I think the term 'divided we fall' is the most appropriate sentiment and it is difficult to believe that the UK has only managed just over 40 years in the EEC/EU. A tiny instant in time that was never going to be long enough to achieve much.

The fact is that our ageing population, our grandparents and parents, have voted to disrupt our futures and a large number of them won't have to deal with the consequences, they won't be alive to see the outcome. The fact is the EU referendum and nationality are a trivial sideshow compared to the real environmental problems that will hit us in the future.

The result has opened a massive and potentially violent can of worms, there are now a whole string issues that now increase the risk to the UK. These include Scotland, Ireland, Gibraltar, The Falkland Islands, the EU itself, Expats in the EU and many more.

The reality is that coming out of the EU will just hand over power to a new set of politicians that ignore our opinions. They are all to happy to have a referendum to allow us to decide which politicians and civil servants manage the nation, but I see no sign of them giving us the power to vote for which energy policy we want or a vote whether to increase or reduce taxes.

Brexit: How much of a generation gap is there?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36619342

Referendum Petition - reachs 3.3 million (5.20pm 26/06/16).
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215
"We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum."

Family split by referendum (Young vs Old):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36629073/what-now-after-brexit-divided-my-household

Renewable energy does the job

Robert highlights some facts:

Portugal is almost self-sufficient in renewable energy and manages a few days on renewables only.
UK manages without coal power stations for a number of hours.
Germany has so much capacity that electricity suppliers had to give money back to customers.

Robert does a better job of explaining it though...

Why do we have the EU?

1950s Marshall Plan Poster

Here is a potted history of the EU:

1945 - 1951
World War II finished and Europe was economically a mess. The Cold War started up with the threat of Russian Communism reaching further across a Europe thatg had been weakened by the WWII conflict. Financially bankrupt and made up of national markets that were outdated and small in comparison to the US, Europe was not well placed for modern economic development. European nations each had their own old trade laws and 'patriotic' protectionist policies.

At this time the US Marshall Plan (European Recovery Plan) was devised to help European nations rebuild their economies after WWII and was the seed for the creation of the European Economic Community.

1952
The European Coal and Steel Community was created and was the first step towards greater economic and trade cooperation between the previously warring nations. The first step towards a common market. Even at this stage France was still worried about possible Germany militarisation and saw the new body as a way of monitoring German industrial activities.


1953 - 1959
France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg formed the European Economic Community (EEC), a step towards economic and political cooperation and designed to counter growing Russian influence in Eastern Europe (East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia). The two goals of the EEC were the establishment of a common market and greater political union. The idea was to create a more harmonious environment that reduced differences between regions and abolished trade restrictions that hindered economic development.

1960 - 1973
Britain initially declined to join the EEC but as the Community grew wealthy it was harder to resist membership. Britains membership was also vetoed by Charles De Gaulle durring the 1960s. Eventually in 1973 Britain joined along with Ireland and Denmark.

1975
A referendum was held in Britain on the 5th June to allow the British public a vote on whether to remain in the EEC. The public voted to remain. The Labour government of the time renegotiated Britains membership of the EEC in 1975 and parliament agreed to the new terms on 9th April.

1990 - 2016
In 1993 the EU was formed from the EEC. The Maastricht Treaty established the European parliament, a central bank, a common currency and defence policy.

Robert Llewellyn tests an Electric Quad Bike

Robert test an Electric Quad bike and talks to the Eco manufacturer:

Waterlooville Music Festival started today

Wind Turbines and Hugh McNeal

According to a Telegraph article this weekend "England not windy enough, admits wind industry chief".

The wind industry chief is Hugh McNeal. So what does the article actually say?

1. McNeal thinks that there is a case for more onshore wind farms in parts of the UK despite withdrawal of financial support via ROC (Renewable Obligation Certicates that the Telegraph refers to as subsidies).
2. Without ROC further onshore wind farms in England are probably not viable.
3. Wholesale electricity prices are to low to invest in new generation, but the government is subsidising gas rather than supporting onshore wind energy to build new generation.
4. Wind energy is the cheapest form of new electricity generation in the country.

So basically the headline does not reflect McNeals comments or views. The government according to the Telegraph is subsidising gas despite onshore wind energy being cheaper. Even without ROC system support, onshore wind farms can be built and would be cheaper than any gas fired power station.

Plus this doesn't even take into account that new technology and economies of scale reduce costs further.

And then there is the Climate Change factor. The Telegraph does not include the 'energy' costs of dealing with Climate Change damage. Although economists, politicians and journalists like to keep things simple because their poor old brains will hurt if they are overloaded, the fact is the damage that Climate Change will have should be factored into the equation of whether wind farms are economical or not.

There is a cost to doing nothing or not doing enough about Climate Change. Something that the owners of the Telegraph  probably don't care about in their island fantasy home.