Nick Butler has penned a short blog post arguing that public misconceptions and heavy lobbying have resulted in detrimental skewing of energy policy decisions. He calls for regulation of lobbying making all lobbying contracts public and having an independent fact checking organisation with fines for incorrect assertions.
What he doesn't mention is the need for policy makers to be educated in critical thinking. Yes, fact checking is essential but those investing public money have a duty to undertake that themselves, or at least initiate such checking. Hiding behind the veil of yet more regulation will help nobody.
Friday 28 September 2018
Tuesday 18 September 2018
Halogen Ban - How Times Change
It wasn't so long ago that I was working for an organisation that happily supported switching from incandescent luminaires to halogens. Now the EU has agreed to ban most of the latter in favour of LEDs.
In CO2 emission terms this a good thing. Also, if my experience is anything to go by, it has positive practical implications as well. I have a few "legacy" halogens left in the house but most fittings now sport LEDs. Apart from anything else they last much longer (provided that one purchases "pukka" items - I suffered from some Chinese-made crap in the early years of my change-over). Some people cite up-front cost as a barrier, but LEDs are relatively small ticket items even if they are priced above halogens.
This is a welcome move all round.
In CO2 emission terms this a good thing. Also, if my experience is anything to go by, it has positive practical implications as well. I have a few "legacy" halogens left in the house but most fittings now sport LEDs. Apart from anything else they last much longer (provided that one purchases "pukka" items - I suffered from some Chinese-made crap in the early years of my change-over). Some people cite up-front cost as a barrier, but LEDs are relatively small ticket items even if they are priced above halogens.
This is a welcome move all round.
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