The Good Light

There is sometimes good light in London in December. I do not mean those mornings when the low sun shimes into your eyes so brightly that you cannot see, but the late morbings when the light is heavy and still and Christmas is in the weather close by.

Wind Turbines on Windy Days

When it comes to wind turbines, which rely on wind to generate electricity,you can have too much of a good thing. In the past few days hurricanes have swept through Scotland causing much damage. There are many wind turbines in Scotland and wind turbines cannot operate in hurricanes, because the wind speeds are too high, [...]

The Euro Crisis

The European Union has tried to solve the crisis that is affecting confidence in the Euro. It seems that the wisdom of the leading Euro nations has brought together a series of proposals which may or may not involve changing the treaties governing the European Union and which have the approval of all of the [...]

The Durban Air is Warmed by Platitudes

I have not written much so far about the UN Climate Change Conference at Durban because, from what I have been able to follow in the press, in truth not much is happening there. No doubt the Durban air is warmed by platitudes, but platitudes will never solve the problem of the continuing warming of [...]

Loan Sharks and Payday Loans

I wrote a few days ago about very high rates of interest on loans by banks and now the question of payday loans is in the news.

Emissions Trading – good for business but bad for the environment

Europe’s Emissions Trading System has been around a few years. It has had many teething problems, including some shocking cases of fraud and governmental incompetence, and I have always argued against the ETS as being fundamentally flawed. Trying to us the same kind of devices to reduce emissions that brought banks and economies to their [...]

Bank Charges

There was once, not so long ago, laws that made the charging of very high rates of interest illegal. Lending at interest is a fact of economic life and has become widespread notwithstanding the prohibitions against usury in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. When you hire the money you have to [...]

The Fourteen Billion

I was re-reading a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov. Asimov was born in 1920, and each story is prefaced with an explanation of how he came to write it. At the end of the story the note continues with an end piece. Although Asimov was famous as a writer of science fiction – I, Robot was made into a [...]

Unofficial Cycle Lanes – a sign of things to come?

México City has one of the largest conurbation populations in the world with more than 21 million souls and where there are tens of millions of people there are millions of cars. Driving around México City is a confusing business to a stranger as cars seem to come from all directions as you follow what [...]

Conflict at the Climate Change Conference

The UN Climate Change Conference is being held this year in Durban, South Africa, without the same noise and fury that characterized previous conferences. The conference is aiming to set tougher targets for carbon dioxide emissions but targets, like talk, are cheap and targets are not promises.