Costa Litter Pick

Good to see this from Edie. I organise a bi-annual litter pick in our village and Costa vies for first place (with Red Bull) as the most frequently seen name on the trash we gather. Below is the haul from under 90 minutes last spring.

Fossil Extractors to Pay (a Bit) for CCS?

Edie had a post recently about a newly proposed amendment to the Energy Bill suggesting that "The Government shall undertake a consultation on measures requiring extractors and importers of petroleum to contribute to the development of Carbon Capture and Storage".

Hmm! Difficult one this. Clearly there need to be incentives to reduce CO2 emissions but hitting extractors and importers risks damaging more benign uses of the black stuff (where will plastics come from otherwise?). What's important is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels.

On the other hand, extractors and importers form an easy target rather than having to identify and tax every emitter.

I guess it's a case of "watch this space". And, in any case, who knows if the amendment will fly at all.

Incidentally, I note the final paragraph in the Edie piece indicating no decision on Drax and Peterhead CCS schemes until 2016. Talk about heal dragging!

Get Someone Else To Do It

I've just come across a report of a survey purporting to show that 30% of interviewees want schools to educate kids about recycling, energy efficiency and waste prevention. Come on! Is this really something to palm off onto schools? Everyone (including that 30%) should be doing the job themselves. I'm fed up with the general expectation that it's always someone else's job. It isn't. It's yours.

Thank You Dorset History Centre

Sometimes a little reminder is all you need.

I have Dorset ancestors and have been making very good use of the Dorset parish records, provided by the Dorset History Centre to Ancestry. One of the key activities in compiling any family tree is to make sure that you "kill off" your forebears (i.e. find death and/or burial records). I was having great difficulty in doing this with families from Dorchester as the parochial burial records petered out from about 1856. What, I wondered, was the problem? Lost material? Poor storage? Failed microfilming?

Stupid me! A query to DHC elicited a very rapid response from Ed, an assistant at the Centre, who pointed out that the local municipal cemetery opened in 1856. Not only did he do that, but he reminded me of the existence of Dorset Online Parish Clerk, and pointed me to their page of transcribed records from the cemetery! Now, that's service. So, many thanks to DHC, and to Ed in particular. I've "killed off" several relatives and found one (who lasted only 1 year) of whom I knew nothing.

UK Norway Interconnecttor - A Step Closer

It seems to have been talked about for ages but the UK-Norway interconnector is a step closer to existence with the letting of contracts to 3 infrastructure contractors.

The link is promoted as a means for Norway to spill excess renewable generation to the UK while providing increased security of supply to Norway. This has to be the right way to look at this project. I have heard some suggest that there is a major boost for UK security of supply as well, but you only have to think about the likely conditions at both ends at times when there is a squeeze on UK supply to realise that this is just wishful thinking.

Another Low Carbon Commitment Down the Pan

Why does the Government seem to believe that there's a trade-off between low carbon construction and total number of houses built? The allowable solutions scheme and the proposed 2016 domestic building energy efficiency targets are both being scrapped. As the spokesman from Willmott Dixon said - "This announcement seriously undermines industry's confidence in government policy and will diminish future investment". And owners of new homes will be foisted with less efficient dwellings than they would otherwise have had.

The Scourge of the Selfie

I have just returned from an extremely enjoyable short break in Prague. As with any holiday there were a few minor blips of which possibly the most irritating was the huge number of tourists taking selfies (with or without sticks). There's plenty to see in Prague and it's quite reasonable that people will wish to photograph these sites as a reminder of their holiday. However, is it really necessary that they stick their own mugs if front of everyone else simply because they adhere to the cult of self? And when they get home what will they have? Here's a picture of me obliterating the view of the Charles Bridge. And in this one you can just make out the Hrad behind my grimace. Oh, and look here's the Spanish Syangogue peaking over my left shoulder. Really!

So, selfie takers, please remember that there are other people in this world who might wish to take photographs of historic sites without your ugly features gurning away in front of them. It is the site that is of interest - not you!!