As Richard North eloquently points out this global warming morning, the role of government is to ensure that the basic infrastructure of society runs as smoothly as possible. Upwards of 2m people in the UK depend on heating oil for their essential needs, but this government is so obsesssed in driving up the cost of power and fuel – as Chris Huhne the ecoloon announced yesterday – because of its greenie obsession that it doesn’t give a fig about actual energy needs. The Cleggerons are allowing a third world energy crisis to develop right under their noses while Mr Huhne pontificates about reducing carbon. For Sky News (and bloggers such as Richard North), this failure to make sure basic supplies are available is a major political scandal as it should be. For the BBC, it’s little more than an incidental footnote; Tracey of Lanark may be desperate, but who in the alarmist corporation cares? It’s far more important for their hotshot news staff to focus on renewable energy pipe dreams(but tell that to Tracey!. (I’m writing this early in the news day, and coverage may develop.)
WHO GIVES A FIG?
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There are a handful of Greenies who believe to save the planet it’s best for a considerable proportion of its human inhabitants to die. That those people are not shunned or even ridiculed within the movement is yet another sign how far the Green movement has been taken over by Dingbats.
Dear God, that BBC report on renewable energy is just so much pie in the sky. And not one sentence questioning it or challenging it in any way.
Why is the BBC always in the forefront when publicising reports commissioned by Friends of the Earth?
The whole tragicomedy is the consequence of a massive disconnect in the minds of many who have lost any sense of the nature of an industrialised society. Wealth creation is alien to these people and a surreal mentality has evolved whereby ‘money’ at a first world level is a ‘right’ and not the product of work and ingenuity. (The student protests are a case in point.)
This disconnect has no traction in China, India or Brazil who are ‘humouring’ the West and quite ready to make no decisions that will effect their growth but will happily see us gradually allow ourselves to be supplanted.
The old ‘lemming’ tale comes to mind.
I hope that these poor people do manage to get their oil. We live in a town so we have mains supply. I would like the main BBC news to do a truthful item on the plight of those who live in the country. Included in the item it should state every reason why their is a problem with oil and it rocketing prices. Not just the usual ‘it always goes up in winter because of the weather’. (What no mild winter as predicted by the Met Office in October?). Huhne makes me very angry. Cameron makes me angry. The bloody media makes me angry for being economical with the truth as to why energy prices have risen and will rise even more.
During the last four weeks of freezing weather here, the Oak leaves have gone from green to brown and are still hanging on to the trees by a thread. There hasn’t even been enough wind to make these leaves fall let alone turn a wind turbine.
In cold weather…..mid-winter anticyclone stationary over Europe……precious little wind……sub-zero temperature during the day…..the windmills are stationary…..just when the power is needed. Solar is at its weakest…..snow covered panels….hmm, a solution? I think not.
I’m surrounded by panels here in Germany and talking to my neighbours…massively subsidised by feed in guarantees…they show me the meters and only a minimal trickle of electricity is being feed into the grid.
The subsidies derive from artificially high electricity charges on all consumers.
Here, in snowy France, I luckily stocked up with wood ‘n oil some time ago. The central heating is only in “frost-stat” mode, and the woodburner and woodburning range put out most of the house’s heat (and the latter does all the cooking in the winter, too). This particular part of France is both hiily and beautiful, without a windmill in sight, thankfully. Just recently, had there been wind turbines around here, they would have been stationary (unless of course, they were “driven” to save the bearings). Gas is propane, in bottles, and the current one has been on line for 18 months, and is still half full (only use it for the hob during the summer). The bottles are 30 – 40 euros each, and I have four spares kicking around. Despite it being 80% of nuclear generation, electricity is far from inexpensive, so don’t believe those who say the French have cheap, nuclear electrcity, that’s bullshit. Oil is prohibitively expensive here, but I feel for you still in the Former UK, whose energy prices are going needlessly through the roof, because of a cabal of stupid (or very clever) politicians. In my woodshed, I have a newspaper picture of Huhne, in one of his ridiculous poses, and each time I go for an armful of logs, I hurl one at him.
And I curse the BBC every morning…
Nuclear has high front-end capital charges but low running costs…cheaper than dirty coal even. The pricing is political …taxation, VAT etc plus a charge for subsidising hopelessly expensive and technically deficient power generating mechanisms.
EU at its best, I’m afraid.
Tracey of Lanark may be worried, but there is no worry in the Radio 5 Live studio. A few weeks ago, on freezing day like today, Mark Kermode complained about the heat in there. I just checked their webacam and there’s Gabby in her blouse and the sports news guy in his T-shirt.
I know the heating bill is of no worry to the BBC, even after eco-loon Huhne inflates it, as it is we, not they, who pay for it. But I’m told that there’s a planet to save and I must turn my thermostat down. Doesn’t apply to the BBC, apparently.
I’m waiting for the BBC to put one ideology ahead of another and start attacking the Coalition for having a nasty energy policy that hits the poorest hardest.
Come on, Beeboids, what are you waiting for?
DP
Surely the “fairest” outcome would be a choice between (1) nobody having any electricity (or other energy) supply or (2) electricity rationing administered by BBC-approved wardens, while simultaneously creating thousands of non-jobs in the alternative energy sector. If so, the BBC could only approve.
On further thought, any criticism of Huhne’s policy by the BBC will construe it as a Trojan Horse by which new nuclear capacity will be constructed. True, new nuclear stations will be a by-product of Huhne’s certifiably warmist lunacy but to interpret this outcome as the purpose of the exercise would be analogous to asserting that the only purpose of taking bitter poison is to consume the sugar which may make it easier to swallow.
It takes a lot of years to make a nuclear power station, it only takes a few days to ruin the countryside with, what seems like self seeding wind turbines.
Will the idiot Cameron be happy when every single hill in Britain is covered with the monstrosities
Anyone remember this?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7581046/General-Election-2010-Tories-promise-10p-cut-to-ease-high-fuel-prices.html
“Last night, a senior Conservative source said: “We are very straight with people. This is not a tax giveaway – instead it is a sensible, balanced policy that protects families from big increases in the oil price. ”
Rubbish.
But promises are there purely for breaking, and the coalition (and all parties, for that matter) are WELL practised in breaking promises.
And what do you lot do about it? Shout, and throw things (and disabled people) at the police.
Promises promises. What is it with all this “Baby talk” about promises. Mum! Mum! But you promised!!…
This is a grown up world. You have policies. If they don’t work out or circumstances change, you change the policies. That is what you should do. You don’t do what is now the wrong thing to do just so you “don’t break your promise”
Suddenly the BBC think they have found a new stick to beat the coalition. Broken Promises. Promises not Policies is the new currency of politics is it? Aww mum, but you promised…
Infantilism.
Coalition government and national prop… broadcaster in perfect scientific factual sync… and message harmony:
r4today BBC Radio 4 Today Transport Sec Philip Hammond: Chief scientific adviser to report if climate change may mean UK needs to revisit winter preparations#snow
We’ll have to see if the consequences of the current ‘unprecedented’ (well, since it last happened) weather due to climate change can be adequately deployed to excuse total lack of contingency and planning because ‘science advisers’ that some in certain quarters only paid and still pay attention to said there would be no more snow.