Suitably Despairing

Abandonment Issues

2008-07-26T12:37:00.001+01:00

It's tempting to think that things will be ever thus; that nothing much changes and the world will look roughly the same to our great-grandchildren.

Anyone with a modicum of interest in climate change knows different, though. We've seen the figures, read the books, consumed the warnings. That village on the coast? It'll be underwater. Those wheat fields? Consumed by dust. That city whose only source of fresh water is a rapidly-diminishing glacier? Well, that's a no-brainer.

Of course there are other reasons for humanity to abandon their own settlements. Pripyat in Ukraine is the most famous - that's the city of 50,000 people that had to be evacuated after the Chernobyl explosion. WebUrbanist has a list of 20 other Abandoned Cities From Around The World.

The reasons for abandoning them are varied, from wars to economic collapse and geological instability. But there's one town on the list that had to be abandoned because it managed to poison itself, in an act so incredibly stupid you wonder what they could have been thinking.

Can you guess which country that might be in?

What To Do With The Byproducts Of A Living Poop Machine?

2008-07-25T18:19:00.002+01:00

Photo by wharman

Apparently, there are around 8 million disposable nappies (diapers) used in the UK every day.

That's a lot of shit!

So how do you apply the environmentalists mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to this problem?

I guess if you stopped feeding the baby, you would reduce the number of nappies you used. You might increase the number of prison jumpsuits that you yourself use, though.

Using old-fashioned reusable nappies has become increasingly popular over the last few years, but the general population either don't even consider them or don't want the hassle.

So that leaves recycling - but what on earth could you do with a soiled nappy? How about sticking it to your roof?

This company, knowaste, recycles the nappies and then sells them on to this dutch company, to be used as roofing tiles. While that conjures up all sorts of not-so-wonderful images, the reality is a bit more mundane. There are mysterious "processes" involved which break the nappies down into chemical components which are then reformed to become roofing tiles.

Which is a pity, because I quite like the idea of mothers around the country throwing used nappies onto the roof of their houses, but you'd have to pity the ones who live in a 30-storey tower block!

(And yes, I know that photo isn't of a baby, but I'm in cute-picture-mode this week. I'll be back to my tough-as-nails manly image next week, honest!)

Penguins Rescued Off Scottish Coast

2008-07-24T19:06:00.002+01:00

(Super Cute) Photo by Hot Rod

While some scientists debate whether to move polar bears from the Arctic to the Antarctic in order to save the species (sounds ludicrously dumb to this layman!), Scottish lifeboatmen have been doing their bit by rescuing a couple of penguins.

Uhh, kind of...!

The Secret To A Greener Lifestyle

2008-07-24T08:55:00.001+01:00

There's an article on The Scotsman's website about a street in Edinburgh which is taking part in a competition run by British Gas to cut their energy usage. There are short "interviews" with some of the contestants at the bottom of the page, and these quotes caught my eye:

“It’s so easy to get into the habit"

“We just got used to it"

“We have just been a bit more careful."

And in those three quotes you have the secret to a greener lifestyle - keep doing something until it becomes a habit and you can't understand why you would ever do it any other way!

Edinburgh To Start Charging Most Polluting Car Parkers

2008-07-23T12:30:00.000+01:00

Edinburgh is to start charging for parking permits based on engine size and pollution emitted. It's not a new idea - I believe it's already being done in some areas of London. I like these two quotes from the BBC's article - one person who "gets it", and one person who clearly doesn't!

Robert Aldridge, Edinburgh City Council's environment leader, said:
"It is clear to me that, with ongoing CO2 monitoring identifying several key locations in the city where CO2 levels are causing concern, it is our responsibility to take measures designed to make city centre residents consider the impact that their vehicle choice has on our city."

James O'Brien, 28, from Edinburgh, owns a Mazda RX8 - which falls into the highest band for CO2 emissions.
"While my car is parked it is not moving, so I don't see why I would have to pay twice for having a less fuel efficient car.

A Cure For Global Warming

2008-07-23T10:00:00.000+01:00

At last! Someone has discovered a use for all that excess CO2 in the atmosphere. We'll blow it up our noses!

What's That Coming Over The Hill?

2008-07-22T18:09:00.002+01:00

August is Festival time here in Edinburgh, when the arts world descends on the city and the population allegedly triples overnight. As do the taxi fares!

This means that July is traditionally my time to ponder the various Festival catalogues, circle shows that look good, and then...do nothing. Because here's a confession: I've lived in Edinburgh for 20 years and I've never seen anything at "the festival". I know, I'm suitably ashamed.

Actually, it's not strictly true - I did go to the Scottish Parliament Open Day last year, part of the Festival Of Politics, but I'm not sure that counts! The Festival (and by The Festival, I actually mean the 200 or so Festivals that all take place at the same time) is one of these things that tourists do but residents don't. We fool ourselves into thinking that it'll always be there so we can go tomorrow. An Australian friend of mine once lived in Edinburgh for a number of years without visiting the Castle, on that basis.

So I've resolved that this year is different, and I've actually gone and bought tickets! I'll be going to a talk by Alastair McIntosh, the author of the book I'm currently reading, Hell And High Water. He looks at climate change from a social perspective, using Scotland as a case study to ponder why we're not engaging as much as something "life threatening" should make us do.

I'm also going to see Mark Thomas. He's been one of my favourite "comedians" for a while. I put quotation marks around the word comedian because although he can be incredibly funny, he's not a stand-up or one-liner type of guy. His latest book, out in September, is about Coca Cola and how their bottling plant managers in Colombia allegedly colluded in the murders of trade unionists working for Coke.

Unfortunately, I can't make the talk by Oliver James, author of Affluenza. Sorry Robin!

A Statement Of Intent For Visitors To See

2008-07-21T19:03:00.002+01:00

Scotland has this fascination with "Europe's Largest Wind Farm". The current record holder is in Spain, but we're building one just south of Glasgow at the moment that beats the Spanish one by over 100 MW. Then there was the proposed windfarm on the Isle of Lewis which was eventually knocked-back by the Government after much heated debate.

Now the government have announced an even bigger one, to be sited along the M74 motorway at Abington. The 152 turbine, 548MW scheme will be capable of powering 320,000 homes.

I know this area well, as the railway follows the motorway there all the way to England. Actually, it's technically the other way around: the motorway follows the railway, since the rails were built first! This wind farm will be one of the first things a tourist driving up from England will see when they enter Scotland. A statement of intent, if you will.

Actually, I've been saying for years that we should be building turbines on or near motorways. The landscape has already been changed by the laying of tarmac, and the cars will drown out any noise pollution that the turbines may produce! I think there's also scope for putting small vertical turbines down the central reservation of the motorways, to catch the backdraft of passing cars and lorries. I'm sure there's at least a university study in that proposal!

Say No To Phonebooks

2008-07-20T17:16:00.002+01:00

When was the last time you actually looked at a phone book. It's okay, I'll give you a little time to think...

Would you like to hear some musak while you ponder?...

No, I don't remember either. Which is why it's so frustrating to get one of these behemoths through the door every year, as happened around these here parts yesterday.

Except, we didn't get them through the door, we got them left on the stairs two stories down.

They come wrapped in plastic, and I have to be honest and say they stay wrapped in plastic until such times as I can put them in the recycling bin. I have a large collection of phone books, Yellow Pages and Thomsons Local's going back a fair few years, so I've been steadily going through them and throwing out one every month or so.

The phone book concentrates these days on businesses rather than individuals, so the crazy thing is that all three directories do the exact same job. Even crazier is that by law, BT have to provide you with a phone book - there's no way you can opt out.

There's now a campaign called Say No To Phonebooks, organised by 192.com - who admittedly have a vested interest! - which is hoping to persuade the government to let us opt out of receiving these waste-of-paper, waste-of-money, waste-of-resources items that no one uses.

On the flip side, how are we then going to show all the women how masculine we are if we've nothing to rip in half?

Green In The Media 21st July - 27th July

2008-07-20T15:50:00.003+01:00

Highlight this week is the BBC drama Burn Up, starring Bradley Whitford and Rupert Penry-Sixpack. So that'll get the girlfriend watching it...

Monday 21st July

Charge
On: Community Channel
Time: 08:00 to 08:55
Climate Change Special.
Showcase your short films, documentaries, music videos, photography and more. Take Charge and make a difference to the world around you. For more information go to: www.chargetv.co.uk.

The Trees That Made Britain
On: BBC 2
Time: 19:00 to 19:30
Tony Kirkham tracks down an eight thousand year old tree and climbs into the forest canopy to discover the role of trees in arresting global warming.

Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 20:30 to 21:00
Friends in High Places.
Panorama investigates the government's proposals for a third runway at Heathrow which, critics argue, will dramatically increase air travel and raze a village to the ground. Darragh MacIntyre questions claims that the government's defence of this plan undermines their green credentials and has already involved the manipulation of the science around air pollution and noise.

Tuesday 22nd July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Wednesday 23rd July

Green Heroes
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:30 to 08:00
Environmental volunteers hailed for the first time at the Green Heroes Awards. We follow the winners as they work tirelessly to improve where they live and inspire others to do the same.

Burn Up
On: BBC 2
Time: 21:00 to 22:30
The head of Arrow Oil suddenly retires and Tom McConnell is asked to replace him. Meanwhile, a group of oil workers in the Saudi desert are murdered and Arrow Oil is served with a writ for destroying the lives of the Arctic Inuit. The clean lines that have formerly made up Tom McConnell's life turn increasingly murky.

Thursday 24th July

Charge
On: Community Channel
Time: 08:00 to 08:55
Climate Change Special.
Showcase your short films, documentaries, music videos, photography and more. Take Charge and make a difference to the world around you. For more information go to: www.chargetv.co.uk.

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:30 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
Farming in The City.
As the world's city dwellers now outnumber its rural folk is it now necessary to farm in the city to feed everyone?

Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 01:10 to 01:40
Friends in High Places.
Panorama investigates the government's proposals for a third runway at Heathrow which, critics argue, will dramatically increase air travel and raze a village to the ground. Darragh MacIntyre questions claims that the government's defence of this plan undermines their green credentials and has already involved the manipulation of the science around air pollution and noise.

Friday 25th July

Piers Morgan on: Sandbanks
On: ITV4
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Piers Morgan has been discovering why Sandbanks in Dorset has become one of the most expensive places in the world to live, turning it into a magnet for the super-rich. In the last of three programmes, he looks to the future of the tiny sand dune and finds out that its prosperity is being threatened. An overheated economy might burst the property bubble, but frighteningly, experts predict that climate change could sink the peninsula and end the Sandbanks dream.

Burn Up
On: BBC 2
Time: 21:00 to 22:30
At a climate change conference in Calgary Tom realises that his best friends are his enemies and that they will stop at nothing to preserve their interests. With a race to the finish Tom has to decide what to do with the kind of information that kills people.

Saturday 26th July

Green Heroes
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:30 to 08:00
Environmental volunteers hailed for the first time at the Green Heroes Awards. We follow the winners as they work tirelessly to improve where they live and inspire others to do the same.

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 11:30 to 12:00
Farming in The City.
As the world's city dwellers now outnumber its rural folk is it now necessary to farm in the city to feed everyone?

Sunday 27th July

Feeling the Heat
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:30 to 08:00
The Great Climate Challenge.
A collection of films about the different challenges facing the world if we want to help tackle global warming.

Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

Airships To Carry Heavy Loads

2008-07-19T10:00:00.000+01:00

George Monbiot has in the past been ridiculed for calling for the return of airships, those slow-moving, hydrogen-filled balloons which looked set to dominate the skies until the Hindenburg went boom.

He may be right, though. Boeing are looking at developing a new generation of blimp which can carry heavy loads, an environmentally friendlier way of shipping goods across remote regions than trucks or helicopters.

A Billion Women Scream

2008-07-18T12:21:00.002+01:00

No More Chocolate In 20 Years

A Call To Arms

2008-07-18T12:09:00.002+01:00

Yesterday Al Gore issued a call to arms to the American public. In his usual stirring way, he urged them to change their entire energy infrastructure within 10 years. That'll be no mean feat! Although I do worry that he seems to be enamoured by the "big ticket" item while ignoring smaller, micro-renewables that can feed into the grid. Still, at least someone is saying what the public needs to hear: oil prices ain't comng back down.

Amidst the speech, which you can read on Al's blog, there were a couple of scary nuggets:

Navy submarines traversing underneath the North polar ice cap have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months.

the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland's largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day

I also liked these quotes. I wonder if the future will look back on this as The Oil Age, or The Fossil Age?

It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now.

As one OPEC oil minister observed, "The Stone Age didn't end because of a shortage of stones."

Happy Anniversary To Me

2008-07-18T10:00:00.000+01:00

Today is the first anniversary of the blog. I've been ~~secretly optimistic~~ suitably despairing for a whole year, and it's been a weird, exhilarating, frustrating, wonderful experience!

Suitably Despairing has around 50 subscribers and 50 visitors a day, so I'd like to thank you all for reading my often frivolous and ill-crafted words. A special thanks to all those people who go out of their way to comment on my posts. And a particular thank you to the bloke who has been sending me emails on a weekly basis imploring me to watch The Great Global Warming Swindle! Hey, at least I'm not being ignored!

So with one year worth of writing, what do you reckon is the number one post? The one article that consistently gets the most page views every day?The words of wisdom that define this blog to so many visitors?

It's this one.

Can you see me rolling my eyes in despair??!

Fore!

2008-07-17T15:51:00.002+01:00

Photo by foxypar4

As a Scotsman, I'm about to say something sacrilegious, which may just get me thrown out of the country: I just don't "get" golf.

I really want to like it, but I just don't. The Open started today, but as a televised sport I find it tedious. The only time I have played the game, I couldn't get my ball inside the wee windmill so gave up in disgust. I can, however, see the attraction of a wee walk in the countryside - even if the greens are all manicured to within an inch of their lives.

This month's Ecologist magazine has an article about the golfing industry and how unsustainable it is. The magazine doesn't put it's articles online for at least six months after publication so I can't link to it, but here's a couple of quotes:

Golf is the thirstiest sport. Some 9.5billion litres of water are used daily to keep greens green - enough to meet the needs of four-fifths of the world's population for a day.

Working in Arizona, a greenkeeper from Scotland was shocked to see what would have been his yearly usage of three million gallons used in the course of a single night.

The Worldwatch Institute estimates that six times as much pesticide is used on golf courses as on agricultural land...In 1994, the University of Iowa College of Medicine examined the death certificates of more than 600 golf course superintendents and found a disproportionately high number had died from cancers including brain cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, associated with pesticide poisoning.

Maybe I'll forego that wee walk in the countryside, if it passes near a golf course...

Demolition

2008-07-16T14:46:00.001+01:00

Last week, two tower blocks in Glasgow were demolished as part of a regeneration programme for the area. The blocks were right next to the railway line, and I've been pondering for weeks how exactly they were going to blow them up without scattering debris all over the tracks. One of the solutions used was to demolish them at 2.30AM!

So that's the Scottish way: and explosion in the middle of the night using as much force as possible, scattering debris that could possibly have been recycled. If you happen to be Japanese, I'm sure you could come up with a much more elegant solution.

Oh, they did:

Whopping Great Fine For Polluter

2008-07-16T12:57:00.002+01:00

So how much would you expect to be fined for causing a nine mile long oil slick?

£10,000,000?

£1,000,000?

£100,000?

No? Okay, how about £3,000?

Yup, I said £3,000. That's about $5,000. That's what a company in Grangemouth got fined yesterday for causing a nine mile long oil slick in the River Forth. They had decided to clear out their storm water plant...in the middle of a storm!

Obviously such a huge fine will act as a strong deterrent to any other firms who think pumping oil into a river is a good idea. Or maybe not.

6 Retarded Gas Saving Schemes

2008-07-14T22:50:00.003+01:00

Remember that cold I mentioned last week that was just "sitting there"? No? Don't you guys take in anything I say??! Anyways, it's developed into full-blown man-flu.

I've mustered enough energy to post a link for you to chortle at: 6 Retarded Gas Saving Schemes (People Are Actually Trying). Typical quote from the article:

The mileage gain is probably offset by the corresponding decrease in your lifespan.

BTW, apologies for all the changes to the site lately. I've been trying to find a Blogger template I actually like, and in doing so I've discovered that I'm pretty hard to please. And I have no design taste. Go figure!

Signs Of The Times

2008-07-13T21:09:00.001+01:00

Earlier this week, I posted a photo from a store on Leith Walk with a sign in the window decrying the roadworks for Edinburgh's new tram system.

The photo was actually from Viny Villains, a record store which has been encased in scaffolding for what seems like an eternity but is probably only about eight months.

On my way to work this morning, I noticed that the sign has been updated. It made me smile on a Sunday morning, which is no mean feat!

Green In The Media 14th July - 20th July

2008-07-13T20:21:00.002+01:00

Not much again this week, although there's a short interview with the screenwriter of Burn Up (shown next week) on Tuesday's Front Row.

Monday 14th July

Clair Patterson: Scourge of the Lead Industry
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30
The story of one man's discovery of the global contamination of the environment by man-made lead compounds, presented by environmental scientist Dr Hermione Cockburn. It was largely thanks to Clair Patterson's efforts that lead was removed from petrol, food cans, electrical solder and a host of other applications where it was entering the air we breathe and the food we eat.

Tuesday 15th July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the environment and the natural world.

Front Row
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 19:15 to 19:45
Arts news and reviews with Mark Lawson. Including an interview with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, whose latest work is Burn Up, a two-part thriller about the politics of climate change.

Thursday 17th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:30 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
Farming in The City.
As the world's city dwellers now outnumber its rural folk is it now necessary to farm in the city to feed everyone?

Friday 18th July

Paradise or Bust
On: BBC 1
Time: 01:50 to 02:50
Documentary about two British brothers setting up their own tribe on a Fijian island. Relationships have blossomed between the tribe members, but the business still struggles. Ben has decided to go home to raise some funds, but first he wants to solve community problems and fulfil some eco promises. As the project heads to its first birthday, the tribe members question whether the Fijians are benefitting.

Saturday 19th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 11:30 to 12:00
Farming in The City.
As the world's city dwellers now outnumber its rural folk is it now necessary to farm in the city to feed everyone?

Sunday 20th July

Nossa Terra
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:10 to 07:30
Our Land.
For many, the struggle to preserve the Amazon Rainforest is about abstract notions related to global warming and climate change. But for the Kaapor people of the Brazilian Amazon it's about food.

Hugh's Chicken Run
On: more4
Time: 19:55 to 21:00
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall takes on his biggest challenge yet as he goes behind the chicken shed doors to change the way Britain consumes chicken. Hugh wants his local town, Axminster, to become the first free-range area, before asking major supermarkets, retailers and consumers to do the same.

Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

Aren't We Brilliant?

2008-07-12T10:29:00.001+01:00

The Scotsman has a self-congratulatory article today, patting itself on the back and claiming sole credit for raising awareness of the environment around the country. I've said it before, but I just don't get The Scotsman: one day they're pro-green, the next they're anti-green. Maybe there's a deputy waits until the editor is on holiday and then runs all the 'green' articles?

Anyway, you can ignore the actual back-slapping article itself. What I wanted to draw your attention to is the bit at the bottom, a list of 50 ways that Scotland has gone green over the past six months. Yay Us!

(Just don't wander into the comments section, your mouth will start to froth!)

You What??

2008-07-12T10:03:00.001+01:00

I saw this headline, did a double-take, then remembered the old line about Britain and America being divided by a common language.

Rising Costs To Force People Out Of Cars

2008-07-11T13:11:00.001+01:00

A new survey by FirstGroup has been released, showing 88% of people thought that the rising cost of motoring would force more people onto public transport. Unfortunately, the poll also showed a fall in the number of people becoming more concerned about the environment, from 50% to 43%. Perhaps because they were concerned already?

One intriguing point, though: more men than women think that travelling patterns will change. Perhaps I'm being sexist, but I always thought that women were more amenable to public transport and that men would cling to their cars no matter what. Go figure!

But Can It Tell The Time?

2008-07-10T14:33:00.003+01:00

Leonardo DiCaprio has designed a new environmentally-friendly watch.

I won't go into the details or specifications, since I don't understand any of them! The specs use words like "reverso gyrotourbillon" and "cylinder-shaped balance-spring", which should get my male heart beating that wee bit faster, but in truth I've never been into watches. In fact, until the girlfriend bought me one a couple of years ago, I used to walk around with the free cheap Timex watch that the railway give to all their employees.

So will I be taking delivery of my new DiCaprio carbon fibre and titanium timepiece? Not bloody likely - they're $300,000 each!

Save The Planet, You Will

2008-07-09T18:02:00.006+01:00

This is perhaps stretching greenery a bit too far, but it's fun! EarthFirst has a post on the Environmentalism Of Star Wars.

And yes, I know, I'll use any excuse to post a picture of that bikini!