Why China is achieving more economic prosperity

In the 1950s and 1960s the world perceived the success of the Germany economy as wonderful. The Germans had a word for it – the Wirtschaftswunder, which means the economic miracle. In the past twenty years the economic miracle of the world has been China. Obviously making an economic miracle means working hard and intelligently. [...]

Where will we get the money from to invest in Renewable Energy?

The United Nations Environment Programme has reported on investment in “green” sectors. They believe that this would produce high growth, decoupled from intensive consumption. I doubt if we will ever decouple high growth from intensive consumption because the “green” sector simply replaces one thing we are buying with another thing, rather than turning out consumer [...]

Surveying the climate

There is probably more “cobblers” written about climate change than any other scientific topic. I have almost certainly contributed to some of the cobblers out there, although not knowingly.  When we analyse climate change in our own minds we tend to think disjunctively, selecting the bits of information that suit our prejudices. It is hard [...]

Summer Time and Double Summer Time

The Summer Time issue is beginning to be debated again. The United Kingdom moves its clocks forward on 27th March 2011. Until then most of us will experience very light mornings and dark evenings. Suddenly on 28th March the mornings will stay darker longer and the evenings will stay lighter longer. At the moment summer [...]

Wood Burning Stoves

Followers of my blog will know that I have been warning about wood burning stoves for some years. Let me make my position clear. There is no harm in having a few wood burning stoves in rural locations where there is a plentiful supply of waste wood. However, large scale deployment of wood burning stoves [...]

The Middle East and Moral Equivalency

The Arab world is an important part of the world to the West. We use its oil for our energy and although there are other sources of oil in the world none is easier to get or more plentiful than the oil that lies underneath the Arab nations.In the West we have many prejudices about [...]

Printing Money and Inflation

Money makes the world go round but money is not the same thing as currency. I received a very interesting newsletter from Stephen Johnston at AGCapita in Calgary Alberta. Mr Johnston argues against the traditional Keynesian view that printing money (now called Quantative Easing) generates growth. Those of you who have read my posts about [...]

Hard Rain is Going to Fall

As the atmosphere of the planet is warming up, (and there is no doubt that it is warming up) so the air can hold more water vapour. Although we do not understand the processes completely, it is becoming clear that more water vapour in the atmosphere will mean more rain clouds and it seems likely [...]

Wheelie Bins

All over the developed world there is one thing that you see on almost every street. The thing is instantly recognisable whatever language you speak and spends usually twenty to forty hours a week on pavements. They stand like Daleks and litter the streets. They are the wheelie bin.

Aircraft emissions – a little hope on the horizon

Emissions from aircraft and shipping are impossible to control under present international law. They are unregulated and will continue to be unregulated unless an international agreement is signed under which each of the nations of the world agrees to charge an aviation fuel tax and a shipping fuel tax. Negotiations involving over 160 nations have [...]