Posted on November 30, 2007 by robertkyriakides
On the 16th November I blogged about Mr Hilary Benn boasting that his proud new Climate Change Bill would show the world real leadership at the forthcoming Climate Change Conference in Bali. It was clear to me at the time that Mr Benn had lost the plot, as have the whole government of the United [...]
Filed under: Hilary Benn, carbon emissions, carbon trading, climate change, parliament, solar energy, targets | Tagged: Ashely Seager, climate change bill, coal power stations, emission targets, Guardian, Hilary Benn, Larry Elliott, leadership, rising temperatures, transport policy, United Nations | 4 Comments »
Posted on November 29, 2007 by robertkyriakides
On Tuesday the government published a new planning bill, which sets time tables and speeds up the planning process for large infrastructure projects such as power stations, airports, pipelines and fuel storage depots.
On Wednesday Gordon Brown indicated that a decision on nuclear power would be made in January, and at the same time he announced [...]
Filed under: gordon brown, microgeneration, nuclear energy, power, solar energy, solar panels | Tagged: , infrastructure development, nuclear energy, planning permission, siting of reactors, sustainability | No Comments »
Posted on November 28, 2007 by robertkyriakides
Malcolm Wicks is the Energy Minister. This month he is turning a valve in South Wales which completes the final stage of a pipeline which has been built stretching 196 miles from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire. The pipeline will carry gas from Milford Haven but as there is no natural gas there it will use [...]
Filed under: climate change, malcolm wicks, microgeneration, pollution, solar energy, solar panels | Tagged: , Argentina, Brecon Beacons, Chile, heat pumps, liquified natural gas, malcolm wicks, Milford Haven, photovoltaic, pipelines, pollution, solar systems, South Wales, wind turbines | No Comments »
Posted on November 27, 2007 by robertkyriakides
The Energy Savings Trust is the United Kingdom’s agency for helping individuals (as opposed to businesses) to save energy. It does focus on energy savings, as its title suggests) but has some expertise in renewables. There is no specific government agency that promotes the use of micro generated renewable energy, but you would expect that [...]
Filed under: Alistair Darling, carbon emissions, climate change, microgeneration | Tagged: Alistair Darling;attention grabbing; measuring carbon;, cabinet, carbon trust, climate change, energy minister, Energy Savings Trust, green barometer, microgeneration, Phase 2 Low Carbon Building Programme | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 26, 2007 by robertkyriakides
These days it seems that if you want to comment on a statement by the Prime Minister you have be aware that, rather like a film, the statement will be trailed, and then made, but the trailer is usually so extensive that you do not want to bother with the full version.
Today’s trailer is about [...]
Filed under: carbon emissions, climate change, gordon brown, heat, nuclear energy, pollution, power | Tagged: carbon consequences of nuclear power, climate change, dangers of nuclear power, energy, gordon brown, nuclear, radioactivity, storage of nuclear waste, uranium | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 25, 2007 by robertkyriakides
I do not enjoy opera but I can understand that many people do enjoy it. At its best it is a fabulous mixture of music, dancing, costumes, set design, lighting and. of course, singing. I think that it is good to have opera and for people to be able to enjoy it, although as an [...]
Filed under: microgeneration, solar panels, tax | Tagged: , funding, meeting ministers, microgenration, opera | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 24, 2007 by robertkyriakides
The debate about the way that the government dealt with the Northern Rock crisis still rumbles on. Some have said that Mr Darling had no choice because he had to ensure that people retained confidence in the banking system. I cannot imagine that he took this decision without having cleared it with the Prime Minster, [...]
Filed under: microgeneration, seasons | Tagged: amount, Darling, gordon brown, Guy Fawkes Night, Nothern Rock, on site micro generation | No Comments »
Posted on November 23, 2007 by robertkyriakides
The Carbon Trust has been audited by the Audit Commission and has passed its audition. The Trust spends around £100 million a year advising businesses on how to save carbon and it is reckoned that this expenditure on advice saves somewhere between 1.2 million tonnes and 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. [...]
Filed under: carbon emissions, climate change, genersys, microgeneration, solar energy, solar panels, tax | Tagged: , audit commission, behavioural change, carbon trust, ehnaced capital allowances, renewables, soalr panels | No Comments »
Posted on November 22, 2007 by robertkyriakides
When an American pharmaceutical company releases a new drug on the market, it often happens that the drug is approved and used in many countries before it is approved for use in the USA. It sometimes happens that USA approval is never given and a European country withdraws the drug after some bad side effects [...]
Filed under: biomass, carbon emissions, climate change, parliament, pollution | Tagged: , , biomass, guinea pigs, Port Talbot, power station, Prenergy, Ted Latham, wood chippings, wood smoke | 14 Comments »
Posted on November 21, 2007 by robertkyriakides
In January and February of this year I corresponded with Alistair Darling when he was Secretary of State for Trade about some serious failings and structural flaws in the Department of Trade and Industry’s Low Carbon Building Programme, which provided householders and not for profit organisations with some small grants to install microgeneration. He never [...]
Filed under: Nicholas Stern, climate change, genersys, microgeneration, solar energy | Tagged: Alistair Darling, data protection. Chancellor, gordon brown, HM Revenue and Customs, Inheritance Tax, Lord Truscott, low carbon building programme, lucky general, microgeneration, Northern Rock | 3 Comments »