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UK treasury climate change report- implies? 1

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davefitz

davefitz

Mechanical
Jan 27, 2003
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Based on the 700 page report issued today from the UK treasury, what tehcnologies are expected to ramp up in the next 5 yrs?

a) BS meters?
b) IGCC and CTL
c) common rail diesel cars ( ie, 75 mpg toyota Yaris)
d) nuclear next generation power plants
e) distributed gen using rooftop solar collectors
f)multifamily housing displacing single homes
g) mass transit
 
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does a BS meter measure Bull $hit ?

it'll be working overtime !!

to jmw's post i'd add ...
vast government controlled programs, going round and round, with little actually delivered
 
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Nuclear new build almost certainly. Otherwise it is going to get awfully dark in the UK, and that won't be a vote-winner for the self-serving reptiles in the Houses of Parliament. On the off chance any decent hardworking reptiles are reading this, I apologise for comparing them to politicians who are neither decent nor hardworking.

IGCC won't fly in the UK because we can't produce our own coal anymore after the numerous acts of industrial sabotage carried out by Thatcher's government in the early 1980's, aided and abetted by Arthur Scargill and the trade unions. IGCC is an interesting technology which I think may come to the fore for the independent power producers as the gas crisis deepens in years to come. The UK's goverment is rightly worried about not being self-sufficient in its power generation, and coal is one of the few resources we have decent reserves of. Unfortunately the last generation of miners are getting old now. Another generation and those skills will have gone forever.

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image.php
Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...
 
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As someone pointed out recently: If the entire population of Australia stopped producing greenhouse gases entirely, in 3 months time China would have more than compensated for that difference. There is no point, from a global perspective, in any one group of nations deciding to limit greenhouse gas emissions, unless it includes a global solution.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
 
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Greg,
Tony Blair in recent statements has also said that the problem is global (obviously) and would require the likes of the USA, China and India to act too I believe that Blair's comments on the matter is that it is better to lead by example and convince others than just do nothing 'cuz what's the point'.

China is in fact taking steps to reduce emissions and is being advised by the British (and probably others) I suspect that one area of technology/engineering that may advance is advising developing countries on using 'clean' technology. It's a step in the right direction.

Personally I see roof top wind generators being the next fashionable accessory to your home. They're already at local DIY shops in the UK and my guess this area of self sufficiency will boom in years to come.

corus
 
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Has anyone done a full cradle to grave analysis on whether that sop to environmentalism is a good idea /in practice/?

Is it not more likely that it is just a way of selling more 'stuff'?

I bet the wind generator is made out of aluminium (high energy content), plastic (made from oil), and copper (environmetally unfriendly mining practices).



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
 
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I also bet that a wind generator will reduce the amount of C02 that power stations emit, and I also bet that it reduces your own bill from the power supplier.

In the UK at least it is becoming very popular to be environmentally friendly with even opposition (Conservative) politicans cycling to parliament (although a Lexus follows them to carry their briefcase). Other reminders we get are to switch off stand-by on TVs etc. All thsee small things add up when you take into account the whole population. As the govenrment says, it's a matter of changing people's attitudes to how they contribute to the envirnoment. Taxes are another option, however, it's not a matter of tax gathering as JMW says, but tax redistribution. Those who drive the SUVs are twitching nervously. Surely someone can invent a wind turbine that sits on top of your SUV?

corus
 
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How about first start turning off the computers at offices when people go home?? Then the next step would be to switch off monitors instead of leaving them stand-by when you're going home.

It amazes me how many people leave their computers on, just because it's 'easy'.

Why take 2 steps, why not doing it all at once?? People don't like changes, small steps, one at a time...

Then again, let people exchange their old light bulbs for 'power-saver' lamps for free!!
 
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I would suggest the government did a few things for itself like reinstating school buses and sending traffic wardens to be at the schools at start and end of day.

I would also suggest a sensor system that switches stret lights off when no one is around. Actually, fewer street lights altogether.

JMW
 
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PS please see this article and follow the link to the analysis
which I also posted in the Kyoto and spin thread.

It appears from a Telegraph poll published yesterday that I am not alone in suspecting that the only outcome will be tax rises and that while the media has pursuaded everyone of the climate change scenario, (OK, about 86%) just under half think that taxes will do no more than raise more money for the government. (I will re -read the survey and report the real numbers... it isn't on their web site)

Poor sods, it means they believe the end of the world is nigh and that there is nothing we can do about it.

JMW
 
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The article shown by jmw is written by a Christopher Monckton, special advisor to the despot, and backer of apartheid and General Pinochet, Margaret Thatcher, and who is a member of a far-right group. See this site for his other views on the treatment of Aids patients :
The Daily Telegraph is commonly known as the newspaper for the Consverative party in the UK, and commonly writes scare stories about tax rises. I'm not surprised that a poll amongst conservatives in the UK believe there will be tax rises because that's the kind of story they're fed every day.

corus
 
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Corus

True but given that we're now higher taxed than ever in the UK and Gordon Brown is a lover of high taxation particularly by stealth I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see even higher taxation.
 
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Ibrox, if you look at this research paper from the House of Commons :
then you'll find that the tax burden is pretty much unchanged in the last two decades of between 34 and 39%, it's highest (39%) being during the 1980s when the glorious Feurherlein, Thatcher, decimated the economoy, jobs, and lives. Overall the taxes paid in the UK now are in line with the 30 OECD countries and are below the average of the 15 EU countries (at that time).

Your case that we now pay more taxes under Gordon Brown probably comes from the pages of some Conservative rag you've been reading.

corus
 
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sending traffic wardens to be at the schools at start and end of day
Click to expand...

My daughter's school has one of those lollypop ladies at the busy crossing by her school. Her job is to stop the cars while the kids cross the road. The cars are typically 4x4 with one small child in the back - on the way to said school. The kids crossing have just got out of a 4x4 parked nearby and now need to cross the road. During school holidays there is virtually no traffic.

I would welcome a school-run ban/tax if it were possible to enforce/collect.
 
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Corus

Perhaps you've been reading too much labour propaganda.

I don't read the "conservative" press nor do I pay much attention to the lies and BS the Labour Party put out. Labour and tory are two sides of the same coin as far as I'm concerned.

Every year the day at we have earned enough to pay our tax bill gets later and later. Fact not labour lies.
 
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You can find the survey analysis through the links at the bottom of the page and in it, it says:
YouGov elicited the opinions of 1,618 adults across Great Britain online between Oct 30 and Nov 1. The data have been weighted to conform to the demographic profile of British adults as a whole. YouGov abides by the rules of the British Polling Council.
Click to expand...

Still, should we decide the science (and the reference material) is all tainted due to the author?

JMW
 
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