Energy efficient light bulbs - Now that is a bright idea!

In my article, UK to miss CO2 emissions target way back in May 2006 I suggested that one measure would be to introduce a 5% environment tax on normal light bulbs. As you may have seen in this weeks news the EU are thinking about going further by introducing an outright ban by 2009. This follows in the footsteps of the Australian government who have put forward similar proposals.

This proposal is one part of a bigger raft of proposals to cut Carbon Dioxide emissions. The central commitment is a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 or a 30% reduction if other countries such as the US commit to the target as well. The proposals are a good solid mix of everything, commitments to renewables, energy efficiency, grid issues, better regulation, robust energy reviews and greater EU partnership work.

The ordinary light bulbs days are numbered and not before time. The phasing out of incandescent light bulbs was always going to be a necessary evil. Although cheap we must move on from such in-efficient technology. As the energy efficient bulbs begin to take over they will get cheaper and the variety will increase. By the time the measure is passed into law we will wonder why we had not done it sooner.

Certainly in my house I am down to the light bulbs which are currently difficult to source from high street shops but as they burn out I am committed to replacing even these with new energy efficient bulbs.

On a final note the Independent article has some great quotes from EU ministers.

"I assume the light bulbs in the presidential palace are energy-saving but I don't know - I'm not in charge of that really."

-Lech Kaczynski, President of Poland.

What you mean no one says to the president, "Mr President, Bad news a light bulb need changing, what do we do?".

"Not quite bright enough so sometimes when I'm looking for something that's dropped on the carpet I have a bit of a problem"

-Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
talking about her gloomy flat.

Could she not just buy a bulb with a higher wattage?

And finally for the last word, I will leave it to a green MEP to explain why we should go ahead and say goodbye to the light bulb.

"Banning old fashioned light bulbs across the EU would cut carbon emissions by about 20 million tonnes a year - and save 5 - 8 bn euros a year in domestic fuel bills."

- Caroline Lucas, Green MEP.

Sources:

EU agrees renewable energy target (BBC)

Europe sees the light over energy-saving bulbs (Independent)

Blair hails 'bold' EU deal to slash carbon emissions and boost renewable power.(Independent)

Preparation, Preparation, Preperation

Muggins here was interviewing again, I was supposed to be having an administration day catching up on paperwork but I got dragged in.

Any recruitment person will tell you that one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a candidate is failing to prepare for an interview. There is probably only one scenario in which you would not need to bother with preparation. You must have done a similar job with a similar organisation for the last ten years and this is your tenth interview for a similar job in a similar organisation this week and even then I would still advise spending five minutes going over things in your head.

Thinking of candidates failing to prepare lead me to Tony Blair's famous speech of "Education, Education, Education" which he made to the labour party conference in 1996.

"Ask me my three main priorities for government, and I tell you: education, education, education."
(I could not find the full text of the speech but the quote is referenced from this BBC article)

My version therefore for prospective interview candidates is:

"Ask me my three main priorities for successful interviews, and I tell you: preparation, preparation, preparation."

-Zephyrist, 9th March 2007

Jobs are hard enough to get at interview without candidates self selecting themselves out by failing to prepare. I know I have been on that side of the table as well.

Now in a homage to Scrubs I am going to do a JD style summing up. Imagine some nice backing track while the scenes change from one character to the next with the following voice over:

"Some people prepare, some people prepare to fail, others fail to prepare. As for me, I just prepare for the best and worst that life has to throw at me."

Interviewing

Interviewing today, so for a change it was a good day, although there was a small matter of talking to children to deal with first.

The first interview of the day is always a bit of an unknown quantity. I usually start with a polystyrene cup of coffee in my hand praying to whoever might be listening that if they get me through this first interview, I promise to be good in the future. For the umpteenth time I whine in my head that yet again I have started the interviews as earlier as possible leaving myself a bit flustered.

Of course by this time I have fetched the interviewee or victim up from reception and made a bit of small talk while trying to remember which interview room I am using today. Then there is the fact that they don't know where they are going so they are constantly two paces behind me so I having to lean over my shoulder, make small talk and try to avoid tripping over my own feet as I plod up the stairs. Multi tasking the HR way, absolutely no chance with out a decent cup of coffee preferably filter possibly fair trade. Although I think the canteen hasn't yet heard of fair-trade yet, I am still trying to persuade them that black crunchy bacon described as crispy is possibly against the trade descriptions act.

So anyway the candidate is now lost in the block I call home to the point where I could take them back to the front door and say the interview panel is just through here and then kick them out back into the fresh air. After some interviews I sometimes think that the candidate would have preferred that quick death rather than the slow laboured lingering death rattle that they suffered at interview.

In the room its time to get comfy, unfortunately, for the candidate we use chairs which are mini sofas. You have the choice of almost reclining horizontally and coming across un-interested or leaning forward and intimidating the interviewers. I am never really that intimidated but there have been some nasty incidents when I thought the candidate was going for my coffee. Difficult decisions for the interviewee but I am still wondering whether I can survive the interview without a refill.

On to the questions and contrary to popular belief I have not judged you yet, I wait till after we have marked the questions, bit traditional I know. Then I judge you and when weighed in the balance you may come out wanting or you may not but it will be your answers in the next 30 minutes that will decide.

Onto the questions, we have some standard ones like strength, weaknesses, what would your colleagues say about you, tell me about yourself etc etc. Every answer different, but I am still somewhat amazed that otherwise intelligent people have not practised the answers. If you don't get these right you stand no chance with the section two questions. I know its a bit hard to get your head round the idea that there are standard questions but do you think we have a questions department, Noel Edmonds moonlighting with interview questions out back.

Section 2 "What if" questions. Usually by this time I am starting to pay attention unless you have sapped my will to live in part 1. If you have potential but seem to be fluffing the answer I will try to help by asking follow up questions. Little tip any follow up question must have an answer I don't waste valuable air in asking trick questions.

So there you are sitting in front of me, you have no idea what I am thinking and I have no real idea what your thinking, and somehow we still have half an interview to get through. If I am unlucky the section 2 questions turn into an applicant monologue. What you think is a thorough, concise answer actually translates into a long rambling answer where the interviewer starts to catch ever third second.After the interview the members of the panel have to reconstruct your answer from scrappy notes like a jigsaw. "I have an edge with a small dog", "Oh I have the dog's ball". Well you get the idea.

If your good and I am lucky you will breeze through the "What If's?". You have done your research, you are smarter than the average bear and you are actually vaguely interested in the job.

Then my final job is to close it "Do you have any questions?". Sometimes said with a sigh as I finally put you out of your misery and let you relax or sometimes with a prayer that you don't get out your small list you prepared early and ramble on for another thirty minutes.

All done. Time to go, collect up your stuff and I take you back through the maze, taking you down the same corridor twice just to see if you notice. More small talk, "how did it go?...yes you did seem a bit nervous...was it your first interview..what are you doing for the rest of the day? and so on.

Back to the door and it feels like I kicked you out of the door into the cold cruel world knowing that behind closed doors I am discussing your fate and giving you the gladiatorial thumbs up or thumbs down.

Actually I am just on my way to get a refill on the coffee and quickly read up on the next applicant and decide whether I need to probe a bit further on anything on their CV.

Then the second becomes the third, are we on the fourth / fifth, is it lunch time yet ?. Sixth rolls on to seven drags through to eight and we arrive at the bun fight.

The bun fight is where everyone on the interview panel starts throwing buns around, or having scored everyone, if as usual there is no clear winner we start arguing minor points. She has solid customer service experience, ah but this one had good team leader experience, yes but he didn't answer this question well.

Finally members of the panel start to group together and in the end it starts to narrow down until you have two people to choose from. I know and the rest of the panel knows they could both do the job and we have no evidence to suggest who would be the best for the company, we are not psychic. So the panel sits and argues, and at this point I am usually huddled quietly round a coffee hoping the the line managers will agree on something, anything please. So I sit, wait and watch for a kink in the argument, some small point of difference or promise. I throw the hat into the ring and make a decision, if they go my way we take that applicant, if they disagree with me we take the other applicant. If they dither I threaten them with interviewing another 8 people next week, strangely enough no manager has every dared take my offer.

Secretly, when we get down to the final two I sometimes just want to flip a coin, it will make no difference in the long run. Or make a decision and appoint both to learn who was the better candidate and what we missed at interview. It becomes a sliding doors moment, two futures, two paths, this decisions changes the world. Well it might do, prove me wrong.

Then I rewind the tape and start over, but this time all the actors and all the stories are different but the coffee reassuringly remains the same.

Please Note: Although the above may come across as cynical, it could not be farther from the truth. I hope I am a friendly interviewer and try to help people wherever I can and even if they are not suitable I endeavour to offer some constructive feedback.

I love interviewing and would happily do it day in day out. I never get tired of people and all the different stories and approaches they have.

Democracy: The Uncomfortable Reality

The uncomfortable reality that is unpalatable to some people is that the solution to any problem is not going to please everyone or as the headline on the BBC article puts it "Blanket policies just don't fit".

This article tell us about one woman's experience when she attended a Downing street forum where 60 citizens attended to discus policy decisions. The information gathered from what in reality could be described as a focus group is then fed back to the cabinet.

The 60 people were spilt up into small group with a government mentor whose role seems to be to ask reality check questions and record the discussions.

It quickly became obvious that there were some uncomfortable realities for government and democracy.

• The 80/20 rule: This group found that the best way to take a decision was that if 80% of the group felt it was a good idea then it could go ahead leaving 20% of the group disagreeing.
  Scale this up and it is easier to see how protest groups become so large, they are the 20% that we cant please. If we gave them what they wanted there would be another 20% and so on and so fourth.
• Leadership and communication: Rather than increase public involvement people prefer good leaders who communicate effectively.
  In reality this suggests that people are happy to let people drive public policy if they are seen to be a good leader and members of the public feel they are kept well informed. There is also reason to believe that if the public is better informed then they may be more tolerant when things don't quite go according to plan.
  This may be why "Teflon Reid" does better than most labour ministers, his communication skills and interview technique are good even those his departmental results are often very poor.
• Want more services / don't really want to pay for it: this is the age old problem, the group were asked to debate whether they wanted more police officers on the streets. Strangely enough everyone said yes. Then the mentor interjected and posed the question "Are you willing to pay for it?". After much shuffling of feet the answer came out as "Not really".
  This is what we as the general public always do, we talk about how rubbish services are but refuse to pay any more taxes towards them. Part of the answer has been ring fencing, a certain tax increase goes to a certain project or department budget such as National Insurance which is used to support the Welfare state.
  Of course ring-fencing cant really be extended to a basket of taxes where you pick and choose which ones you support. In the same way that we cast a vote and give politicians free reign with defined limits to govern we have to give the government our tax pound and trust them to spend it wisely and in the best interests of the majority and the UK.
  Alternatively it is often said that government is inefficient and that's where the money can come from. Again that is part of the solution but you have to trust people that when they say they cant make that much in savings you have to give them more money.
  At some point down the line new services will need new money
  

These forums are seen as more spin by critics but it gets people talking about politics and helps bridge the gap between the electorate and the elected. There is also the chance that politicians who are often said to be detached from the realities of life will learn something new and then that something can be adopted as policy.

This kind of group discussion is the kind of thing that I would expect the new citizenship lessons for school children to cover. I hope they will have such opportunities to learn about the mechanics of Democracy, warts and all.

UK Lunar Eclipse

In my haste to post things last night, I forgot to introduce the eclipse. A lunar eclipse is when the earth is between the sun and the moon. The moon moves into the earth shadow and then out again. When fully in shadow the only sunlight that reaches the moon is refracted through Earth's atmosphere and this is what gives it the reddish colour during total eclipse.

21:35

First shot, shooting with the low light was difficult and I think there is a bit of camera movement but you can just see the shadow starting on the bottom left.





22:07

Bit more of the shadow across the moon, Not sure about the square shadow on the left side of the moon, probably camera movement





22:26

Three quarters of the way to total eclipse, just a bit of camera movement







22:45

According to the BBC article this was the first minute of the eclipse, the moon has just moved into full shadow.





23:03

Sadly my camera could not pick up the moon in shadow in all its red glory, the top of the moon remained lighter at this point in the eclipse and if you really strain your eyes you might be able to make out the lighter semi-circle of the top of the moon.




There you have it a total eclipse of the moon in 5 blurry shots. For better pictures taken by members of the public check out the BBC's "In Pictures" feature for the eclipse.

Random Thought: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

Hydrogen Fuel cars react Hydrogen with Oxygen to produce energy to drive the car, with the only exhaust product being water. These cars are expected to come into use in the next twenty years.

If every car is pumping out water vapour does this mean we will be driving around in a permanent fog?

Will the extra water vapour end up forming more clouds and increasing the amount of rainfall in the area? Will places like London have a permanent drizzle?

Surely that amount of water vapour must do something?

Government Inspector allows wind farm to go ahead

I previously called for the government to take positive action to push wind farms through the planning process. Well it seems that one brave government inspector has done just that.

Following a planning enquiry objections have been overruled and the wind farm which will supply enough electricity for 7,000 homes will be completed within the next 11 months.

There are only 8 wind turbines to be built but of course all the usual objections were bought up of them being an eyesore etc etc. Well the planning inspector saw through it all and after weighing up the pro's and cons decided that the pro's tipped the balance and gave his approval.

So kudos to the unnamed planning inspector. At least somebody in government is helping to reach the 2010 renewables target.

By my rough calculations 7,000 homes is only 11.2 MW but then again every little helps.

Railways: First Great Western and Franchises

(Sorry the attached link is the only on-line news article I could find, obviously the media are bored of First Great Western and commuter woes.)

Following a meeting between Thames Valley MP's and the Secretary of State for Transport it has been announced that Network Rail and FGW have come up with a 40 point recovery plan.

I heard on BBC breakfast this morning that they plan to revise the timetable in May and that the Secretary of State has made unsubtle suggestions that if they don't get their act together the franchise can always be taken away.

Finally Teresa May does something, only four months after it all started with the December timetable.

FGW is not well liked since the December changes, just look at all the websites and news stories about them since December 2006. Ever since the new franchise came into play it has gone down hill and opinion is divided on who to blame, the government for micromanaging the franchise agreement into a completely unworkable plan or FGW putting profits before passengers.

Either way it was past time for the government to take action.

I think that the government should go further with franchise agreements. Franchises should include annual capacity enhancement targets. After all the idea is for rail passenger growth so why not target it. Both Franchise Holders and Network Rail should be set annual targets and then the partnership between the operator and the infrastructure can work together to improve capacity.

Option1 : % annual increase in passenger seat kilometres.

A multiplier of the previous years passenger seat kilometres. i.e. if passenger seat kilometres in previous year was 1000 and the multiplier was set at 5% then the passenger seat kilometres target in the coming year should be 1050 passenger seat kilometres and trains should be planned appropriately.

Option 2: Maximum seat utilisation.

This is a simple percentage like 75%. which would mean that 75% of a trains seats would be taken with 25% being free. Of course this would not apply to just one train but over a group of trains.

For example trains for these options might be grouped as follows and could be sub divided by a line or region:

• Morning peak
• Afternoon peak
• Week day (Mon-Thurs)
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday
• Evenings
• Overnight

Both options would work well in conjunction with each other and could be used to push franchise holders to grow traffic.

Network rail would also have its own target of capacity enhancements and route availability. These might be number of trains per hour over any given line or area or maximum capacity targets for freight and passenger trains could be set or specific bottlenecks could be targeted. There could also be targets about the kilometres of new track laid or new route availability.

Not only do these targets need to be measured and set but I would also like to see action plans laid out by the companies on how they intend to achieve these growth targets and a genuine consultation period with their stakeholders.

In reality the government needs to find a way to build in capacity enhancements to the rail industry so that the industry is challenged to grow capacity, not to manage capacity to maximise profits.

First Great Western have shown what can happen when such regulation is not present, companies will happily put profits before passengers.

Darfur - the unreported war

I last wrote about the Darfur war in April 2006 and in a way that makes me as guilty as the media in under reporting such horrific killings and crimes against humanity.

Today prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have named war crime suspects.

In the BBC article there is also an update on the estimated stark statistics of the war so far, in the last four years there have been

• 200,000 dead
• 2 million forced to flee their homes

The two suspects are, Minister Ahmed Haroun (Sudan Humanitarian Affairs minister) and Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (janjaweed militia), they are accused of 51 crimes including mass murder, rape and torture.

"The Sudanese Armed Forces and Militia/Janjaweed did not target any rebel presence within these particular villages. Rather, they attacked these villages based on the rationale that the tens of thousands of civilian residents in and near these villages were supporters of the rebel forces. This strategy became the justification for the mass murder, summary execution, and mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict. Application of the strategy also called for, and achieved, the forced displacement of entire villages and communities."

Situation in Darfur, the Sudan
Prosecutor’s Application under Article 58(7)
Summary

The Sudanese government in response to this report has stated that they do not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. They insist there was no link between the minister and the militia and that the militia leader is already under detention.

The ICC will now consider the report and decide whether to instigate an inquiry which could lead to international arrest warrants being issued.

The reason this is an under reported war is because the media has limited or no access, large areas of Sudan are off limits to the press and most aid agencies. On the BBC news pages you will see limited pictures and even for this ICC report limited investigative efforts could be made within Sudan because of security concerns.

It is still clear that action needs to be taken, words can only get you so far.

The ICC is a court of last resort when a national government cannot or will not prosecute offenders. If the decision is taken to issue arrest warrants then I hope the international community will finally take positive action.

I will finish with a quote, often attributed to Edmund Burke although no confirmed source exists.

Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.

All new radiation sign

The New Scientist magazine tells us about the release of a new radiation warning symbol to compliment the existing yellow one. This is more of the stop, and run variety rather than the cryptic clue in yellow.



Its a good idea as with the yellow one unless you were in the know wasn't exactly the most obvious warning in the world, although nothing that bright yellow could possibly be good news.

However, the new one is a bit busy which kind of lead to this comedy sketch (usual disclaimer this is amusing to me probably not to anyone else on planet earth, although I do hear it has them rolling in the aisles in zephyr world 3 in the funny bone constellation)

Dim Wit 1: Oh look its one of those picture signs, don't tell me what it is, let me try and work it out. Ok so red, probably, warning or danger. OK so that thing on top must be the sun, that skull and crossbones must mean pirates. Hmm why is the man running on a hot day away from pirates.
(Dim wit thinks hard)

Shadowy figure: Erm excuse me have you got the time.

Dim wit 1: I've almost got it ... sorry about two minutes after 5.

Shadowy figure: Oh damn late again, still in your case I could be an hour late and you still wouldn't get it.

Dim wit 1: That's where your wrong, I've got it now.

Shadowy figure: I think you will find you haven't.

Dim wit 1: No look its obvious its a warning sign about the pirate fun run on a hot day, to make sure you slap on the sub block.

Shadowy figure: I think not.

Dim wit 1: Well prove me wrong.

Shadowy figure: Its a radiation warning sign, run or die.

Dim Wit 1: Well that cant be right I'm still alive.

(Shadowy figure reveals himself as death complete with scythe.)

Death: Are you sure about that one?

Dim Wit 1: Bugger.

The other thing this new sign reminded me of was how to warn future generations about nuclear waste buried deep underground. After all we don't want them to just dig it up when it will kill them all.

The US government has some fascinating ideas about big and small monuments all based around the radiation symbol with lots of different language warnings as well. A kind of modern day Stonehenge. Which kind of makes me wonder given that we are not completely certain what Stonehenge is for, will future generations have any real idea about nuclear waste storage.

On the upside it will make a great future tourist attraction, visit nuclear henge where even the ground gives you warm feelings of the past.

One possible outcome is that the legend turns into a ghost story of the site being protected by ancient spirits and anyone that digs there will die. Whatever happens in the future you can bet that no one will be saying "Don't dig there, its a Nuclear waste depository, you will die from radiation poisoning".

Nothing is certain except that the radiation will kill you whatever sign you use.

Warning Sign Images and further details from IAEE

Super-volcanos

There was on the BBC a series of programmes about super volcano's including a thrilling two part drama and a horizon documentary. The drama was based on the facts and went through what could happen before, during and after a super volcano eruption.

This is one of those events in nature that has the potential to really mess up the planet and really disrupt civilisation. The thing is it could happen tomorrow or it could happen in a million years. In that sense it is joins the other events we know about that could give everyone on planet Earth the feeling that Mondays are not really that bad after all.

The last super eruption occurred 74,000 years ago and scientists believe they happen on average ever 50,000 years which would suggest one is overdue.

There are 40 super volcanoes around the world including two in the UK but no need to panic just yet, they like many others burnt out long ago.

Yellowstone (Wyoming, US) is a dormant super volcano and again according to the statistics it seems overdue for an eruption which is where the drama takes over, Yellowstone erupts.

The facts of a super eruption at Yellowstone are incredible, 90% of the population within 1000 km would die mostly from ash which when inhaled into the lungs turns into a cement like mixture. This ash would affect almost the entire continental United States and would even have some effect in Europe. Ash would pollute water supplies, disrupt transport, disrupt electricity and reduce sunlight.

The ash and Sulphur gases released from a super eruption would cool the planet worldwide, temperatures could drop by up to 10 degrees Celsius and that effect could last for up to ten years.

Of course if you live in the US you wont be worrying about global temperature decreases, you will probably be fighting for survival. The authorities will be quickly overwhelmed and civilisation break down will be widespread.

In the drama there is a quick realisation that millions will die because the authorities cant get in there to save them in time. The solution the hero scientist comes up with is that the survivors must start walking and the authorities will drop food packs and head out to meet them.

The drama made good viewing and the scenario outlined was scary, however be reassured that such an event in our lifetimes is extremely remote.

Reality Check: No idealists here?

Is hate a stronger emotion than love?

Yes.

Everyone wants to believe in their heart that love can conquer all and that love will win out in the end but if I wrote that article arguing for love, I fear I would be ignoring the reality of the world in which we as humans live.

So this is the reality check that doesn't wax lyrical about how love is great and all conquering but considers both sides of the coin.

In considering the world in which we live I have considered which emotion has the largest, longer lasting effect not on the individual but on humanity as a whole. This is what I have defined as the strength of the emotion.

Hate will consume an individual, group or nations and will last for generations until people can no longer remember the original reason for hating but will continue to do so because it is easier than to try to understand.

We hate people for all kinds of reasons including those originally borne out of love. Love can turn to hate which can lead to death and destruction. How many times have you seen on the news stories about jealous lovers going on killing sprees.

Hate has lead to war, genocide, racism and ethnic cleansing, it has divided families, countries and the world. The acts of terrorism by small groups fuelled by hate have changed the world for ever as the effects of such atrocious acts ripple around the world changing society beyond all recognition.

Love can change an individuals life but can only last as long as they live. Love is an individual selfless act where as hate is almost always a selfish act. It is this that gives hate its strength, it requires less energy and is all about what you as an individual want.

I want love to be the stronger emotion and on an individual level it can be, we can all learn to love rather than hate but love needs to work twice as hard to overcome hate.

In arguing that hate is stronger I recognise the sadness of that argument, humanity who has the power and ability to create such beauty turns so easily to hate to cause so much destruction. We all need the dreamers in the world who state that love is stronger because we should all strive for that ideal in order to make a better world for everyone.

Kudos David Miliband, Cristina Narbona and Janez Podobnik

Just one day after I write that the UK government needs to do more to meet renewables targets, three environment ministers, including the UK, state that Europe needs to do more and aim for a 30% cut in emissions, rather than the 20% current target, by 2020.

"A bold energy and climate strategy should be underpinned by an ambitious target on greenhouse gases, and supported by challenging goals for increasing the development and deployment of renewables and other forms of low-carbon generation and energy efficiency."

"The window of opportunity is closing rapidly and a strong EU voice is necessary to provide the catalyst for UN discussions on taking effective action to cut emissions."


David Miliband - Environment Secretary, UK
Cristina Narbona - Environment Minister, Spain
Janez Podobnik - Environment Minister, Slovenia

Well done to all three of you for taking a stand and outlining where Europe should be heading.

Renewables: UK Wind Energy

The UK on February 9th 2007 passed the 2 GW mark for generating electricity from wind energy. For those who like comparisons 2GW is enough electricity to power 20 million 100w light bulbs or enough electricity to light up 16,667 Eiffel Tower's [1]. or 1,250,000 homes [2] or replace two coal powered power stations [2].

Government targets for renewables is 10% by 2010 and 20% by 2020. It would be fair to say that the bulk of this will come from wind energy. Our current achievement to target is a poor 4.2% from all green sources.

I don't know what the odds of reaching our target by 2010 are but I think they are probably slim. However, given the forecasted exponential growth of the industry the 2020 target remains realistic.

The reason the BBC article and the target achievement caught my eye was first it was a celebration of a milestone reached but also a chance to reflect on how far we still have to go.

In the article it ranks the greatest renewable energy producers of the world, the UK is eighth. Considering we are a member of the G6 group of countries how exactly did we get to be eighth. We are even behind the USA the oil addicted country, OK so maybe a bit of an unfair comparison the US has a land mass the size of a continent, the UK is a small island.

There are other countries we should be ahead of Italy, Denmark, Spain, Germany.

On the subject of Germany it has long been known that they are leading the field in renewables electricity generation. They have supported solar panels and there is a much greater market penetration in the domestic sector of green technologies.

In the UK the planning system is part of the problem in nearly every case wind farms are having to go to a public enquiry which can take up to 16 months. Now it is important to take into account all opinions and concerns as part of the democratic process but 16 months is too long, nothing takes that long to make a decision. There should be a statutory maximum of 6 months and the government should start intervening and if necessary penalise planning authorities that are dragging their heels.

There are currently 7,940 MW of onshore wind power held up in the UK planning system. Not all of these will go ahead because of reasonable objections by the public, but these decision need to be made quicker so the industry can advance. Only a quarter of these planning applications need to be approved to help meet the 2010 renewables target but they need to be approved by the end of this year.

In order to reach our renewables targets the governments really needs to start to take some positive steps. I would like to see all groups come together to find some simple plans which the government can do to prime the pump and allow renewables to grow.

I believe that this is a green technology revolution and that the countries that get in on the ground floor will reap the economic rewards. Germany has already reaped the rewards isn't it time the UK gets involved before it is too late.

UK wind statistics from the British Wind Energy Association

Are computer games a waste of time?

Playing computer games are just another form of recreation. No better or worse than any other.

Why participate in any form of recreational activity?

To relax, to switch off, to join in with other like minded people and to have fun.

Gaming fulfils every one of those criteria especially if you play in a group such as in games like World of Warcraft where you play in a virtually society or in one of the military shooters such as Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty where you can play in a clan. In a clan or team it even becomes a team sport with strategies, playing to the individual and teams strengths and weaknesses.

Online gaming expands your virtual social networks, you make friends, find that you can share in other areas of interest and expertise. There are even instant messenger programs like Xfire to keep in touch with gaming friends. When I was looking to upgrade my computer I was able to turn to my clan mates for good advice and tips all because of playing games.

For young people or for socially awkward people it can be an ice breaker and help them feel part of a group. Often shy people who would find it difficult to relate to people face to face participate in gaming social environments and you would not even know they were shy in real life. The detachment and gaming environment allows people to be who they really want to be without worrying about what other people think.

Computer games also improve hand eye / co-ordination and reaction times in a similar way to other sports such as tennis.

Yes, computer games can be violent but so can sports and provided we regulate and treat games in the same way as sports there should be no problems.

Yes, computer games can be addictive and possibly cause psychological problems but again so can some sports. No one is calling them a waste of time and calling for them to be banned.

Different people like different things, there are large numbers of us that play computer games, there are large numbers of people that play golf. If you don't play one of them you might thing them a waste of time but they are not, different games for different people.

So although it may seem like computer games are a waste of time, in reality its all media hype and provided as with all things they are played in moderation they are a perfectly normal way to have fun and relax.

Democracy - Mono-ocracy, small-group-ocracy and major-ocracy

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, its the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

This quote runs counter to the ideas of democracy defined as the will of the majority which by definition is a large group.

Perhaps Democracy can include both ideas, being a multi-faceted organism consisting of different power groups both large and small.

I have subdivided democracy into three different groups based on size:

Mono-ocracy

This is the power of the individual to influence the political process.

There are three types of power utilised by individuals, some people only use one type while others use a mixture:

• Charisma: Individuals use their personality to persuade people to their way of thinking. This is generally used by the celebrity type, who have no professional influence but popular support.
• Resource: Individuals use resources such as money as a grease to support their way of thinking. This may be by indirect or direct influence. Direct influence includes payments for politicians or funding programmes in keeping with their ideals. Indirect would be supporting trusts, charities or research groups who share the same general ideals.
  
• Professional: Individuals use there professional status to influence the debate as a recognised expert in the field. An example would be judges or police chief constables talking to the media about the criminal justice system.

The power of the individual is not always obvious and influence can easily be hidden from the general public. However, by in large no one individual in the UK has an unfair or unethical influence on the political process. In a sense there is no shadowy Mr Big.

Small-group-ocracy

This is the political influence that Mary Mead talks about, small groups of committed individuals influence the political agenda.

These groups can be the protesters or single issue pressure groups. Whether it is immigration, the local hospital or hunting with hounds these groups push an issue and try to get majority support to force a change.

Interestingly enough the change may not be in accordance with the view of the majority. In single issue pressure groups only one side turns up to the debate, there is no count of the yes and the no votes only of one side only. So what seems like a majority may in fact be a minority.

There are exceptions, in Oxford (UK) the university is building an animal testing lab. At the start there was an anti-lab protest group but then a pro-lab protest group was set up. At times it can be difficult to see who is winning the debate.

Another exception is the hunting with hounds lobbies, the anti-hunting lobby influenced the political process and got a law outlawing hunting with hounds. Now the law is in, the hunting lobby has significant support and there is the possibility of the law being repealed.

In a sense the majority may be changing sides / being indecisive or there are two small groups equally influencing the debate but the side in opposition, being the under dogs, are always winning.

There are other small groups in society, the media barons wield power to influence the political debate. The editors of newspapers or television news shows can swing the vote on general election day my merely changing a headline. One group wielding so much power and so many votes.

Major-ocracy

This is the rest of the population, "the others". The majority are the followers they vote the way the individuals and small groups tell them. Perhaps they are locked in a "group think" situation where they vote as everyone else does or they may be individuals who share society norms and beliefs.

They the majority listen to what the media and individuals lead them to believe. They bring strength of numbers and validation to the political debate and are therefore charmed by both the individuals and small groups.

In some senses the majority are lead by the minority.

Democracy

Democracy is not the will of the majority but the will of the minority which has been adopted by the majority.

This is where democracy has its blemishes:

• Everything would be fine if the minority could be trusted to be altruistic and honest but as humans do, they have their own agenda's which may not be in the best interests of the majority.
• The majority can be persuaded to give its vote to the loudest shouting group or the one with the best PR. This is how cigarette companies managed to persuade us that cigarettes were not really harmful for so long.
• The majority do not always turn up to participate, there is wide spread apathy towards some issues allowing the groups that care about an issue to swing the debate. The best example is a general election. In 2005 ( BBC election results) the voter turnout was 61.3% of which only 35.3% supported the winning party, making only 22% of the total electorate voting for that party. So in reality a significant minority elected the government yet that minority has now set the political agenda for the next five years.
  

All of these examples could lead us to believe that the majority may not exist or is certainly not represented in today's political environment.

Conclusion

Democracy cannot be said to be the simple will of the majority but instead can be defined as the freedom of individuals and small groups to influence the political process.

The majority currently takes no part in democracy. Today's majority view is simply a larger version of the small group.

About being different

Renewables: Storing Wind Energy

Reference: Thwaites, Tim (2007)A Bank for the Wind. New Scientist,193 (2586)13 January 2007 pp39-41.

(The link above only leads to a preview of the full article but if you are a New scientist subscriber or have other access you can view the full text.)

One of the problems with renewable energy is the fluctuations in energy production. With wind energy on a strong day it can produce too much energy and on a poor day too little. So in reserve you have to have non-renewable energy sources such as oil fired stations always available at a flip of a switch. Without being able to store energy you can never just rely on wind energy.

King Island which sits between Australia and Tasmania has a storage system in place.

King Island is a small self contained electrical system. It has a number of wind turbines backed up by diesel generators with no main grid access.

In 2003 the local utility company installed Vanadium flow batteries. The new installation halved the quantity of fuel burnt in the diesel generators and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 2000 tons per year.

Normal batteries are self contained units but with flow batteries, chemicals cross the interface. Think of Vanadium as an electron storing chemical push it through the battery to store electricity pull it back to release the electricity (For a more technical description try the article or google).

One of the most obvious applications for grid connected wind farms is that Vanadium batteries could be used to guarantee a minimum supply rate, Therefore removing the need for a back up power supply which is often one of the main arguments against renewable energy sources. In fact VRB Power Systems has a contract to construct a 12-mega-watt-hour Vanadium battery at the Sorne Hill wind farm in Donegal, Ireland. Not only will they be able to offer a guaranteed supply of energy but they can sell stored energy at peak times for higher prices.

Or for a blue sky idea how about a new housing estate with a couple of wind turbines, solar panels and a Vanadium battery unit. It would have the potential to be a self contained distributed power grid.

Vanadium as an electron source may have other uses too, as an easily transportable electron source it could be used to power cars. Will we soon start to see petrol stations with a wind turbine attached?

Dickin Medals

Dickin Medals are the equivalent of a Victory Cross for animals.

Sadie, a Labrador has been awarded the medal for her work in Afghanistan in 2005.

Sadie won it for saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers and civilians by finding a bobby trapped bomb in a pressure cooker which was hidden behind a 2ft thick wall.

The Dickin Medal was created by the PDSA's founder Maria Dicken CBE and the PDSA has a web page on the history of the Dickin medal.

The medal was originally created to reward animals for bravery and devotion to duty during world war 2. From that period the medal was awarded 54 times to 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, three horses and one cat.

On the PDSA website you can read all about the stories behind some of the medals awarded. All the stories are just as fascinating as Sadie's.

There has been some discussion over whether animals have the free will to choose to be brave or not or whether they are just following training. Can they truly go beyond the call of duty.

I have no doubt that dogs, horses and even cats have a sense of loyalty and devotion to their adopted families and friends. At some level they are able to weigh up threats and act appropriately to protect those families.

Where I have doubts is on the pigeons, can they really understand the consequences under which they carry messages. Can they realise the gravity of the situation and make every effort to carry a message back to their home base?

For me the answer has to be no, they follow their homing instinct and head home, they are unable to make any conscious effort to go faster. If they do, it is more by happy chance than judgement.

Snow Watch 2007 Update

Early on Thursday morning it started to snow, and by the time I got up in the morning the place was covered.

I only got the one photo just after 7 am. That is a picture of a road, even though the snow has completely filled between the pavements. If you look very closely you can just about see the lines of the pavement edge. I did try to take a few more pictures but the light level was too low and they came out all blurry.

I then had to catch my bus to work and crawled twelve miles taking a total of 3 hours where it normally takes 1 hour. Average speed 4 miles per hour.

On some of the back roads it was terrible even with careful driving the back of the bus would occasionally swing out.

Then we got stuck in a traffic jam and the snow fall picked up. I had visions of being trapped all day just like what happened to others in East Anglia a couple of year ago. Even the bus driver wanted to turn round but luckily the traffic suddenly cleared and we cruised down the roads.

Thursday night I got home and took a snow measurement. On the front lawn of the great house at 17:02 on Thursday 8/2/07, North Oxfordshire it was 12 cm deep. This was duly submitted to the Met office by the snow report link I gave earlier.

On Friday the snow was well on its way to melting and despite the Met office issuing a flash warning for more heavy snow nothing came of it.

As I write now on Saturday only the stumps of melted snowmen have survived and even they will soon be gone.

So that is the end of Snow Watch 2007 - Leg 2. Will there be a leg 3?