Growth - Will We Reach The Limits?

In 1798 Thomas Malthus published "An Essay on the Principle of Population" which contained some dire warnings for mankind. As we know, the agricultural and industrial revolutions rather put paid to those warnings - at least for the next couple of centuries. Then, in 1972, the Club of Rome issued "Limits to Growth", which again, posited, in most of the scenarios investigated, a turning point, possibly catastrophic, around 2030. Although the predicitions are now much derided a revisit 30 years on did not suggest that the issues have changed radically.

With all the recent talk about growth being the way out of the current national financial mess I've been musing about whether, on a more parochial level, we have actually reached a point where growth is not the paradigm to be adhered to. My rather under-developed thoughts run along these lines:

The UK has prospered as a service-based country for the last few decades, gaining from providing added-value services to the baby boomer generation (my generation!). Now the baby boomers are all retiring and are switching out of fat salaries into somewhat slimmer pensions (though not as slim as the likely pensions of the follow on generation - but that's another story). So - big question - will there be a growth market for value-add services? Quite possibly not in the UK and western Europe. So how about the emerging economies (BRICS, for instance)? Well, they may be emerging but per capita earnings aren't that high so it must be questioned as to whether there is a market for the UK there.

Which takes me back to my original thought. Is it time for a paradigm shift for the UK?

Dual Energy and Water Saving

Edie has recently reported that British Gas and Thames Water are getting together to jointly promote energy and water saving. (The cynic in me thinks that Thames could have done that with Npower ages ago when they were both owned by RWE - but that's another story). Now this makes sense - energy and water saving are inextricably linked. However I do carp a bit at the following statement from a Consumer Council for Water spokesman: "For instance, often water in homes is heated up only to cool down and then be re-heated again - a problem that can be addressed simply enough with a combination boiler". Well, possibly - but wouldn't a timer or programmer be a cheaper approach?

Confusing C Label To Go?

It would appear that Tesco is backing away from carbon labelling its products. I can't say I'm surprised. At the time of its launch (I think the first product to be labelled was a bag of crisps) many of us said the label was confusing and would not help the average consumer in his/her choice making. A Carbon Trust spokesperson expressed regret that Tesco is dropping the label but did trumpet the fact that the label is now used on £3bn worth of goods (presumably that is per year - the article didn't say - more sloppy journalism). When put alongside a €120bn loan to Greece does that really amount to a hill of beans? Frankly I think a better bet might be to provide every household with a copy of "How Bad Are Bananas?" by Mike Berners-Lee. At least that way a few people would pick up the principles of carbon footprinting rather than being faced with an inexplicable label.

Energy Bills and Energy Illiteracy

I've just skimmed through Ofgem's latest Consumer First findings on energy information from suppliers. It makes depressing reading - not because of suppliers' attitudes or inability to explain things clearly (a bit more on that later), but because of the appalling energy illiteracy displayed by some of Ofgem's panelists.

Now, I agree that some information from supply companies is not the easiest read. My own supplier has a "Jargon Buster" section on the back of my statement which could, I believe be improved . Take this, for instance:
"Correction factor - The amount by which we adjust the amount of gas you've used to take account of the season."
Is that helpful for Joe Public? No - not really. It doesn't say why a correction factor is needed, what the physical driver is. I bet many would just say "This must be a scam". Interestingly in the corner of that section is the Crystal Mark logo!

But what I really find upsetting are statements such as "What is a kilowatt?" and "Say it in English, not kilowatts. You've had your energy on for so many hours and it will cost you this much, that would be brilliant". Is our education system so poor that people cannot understand kilowatts and kilowatt hours? Evidently, yes. Take this marvellous suggested explanation of a kWh: "1 kW = 5 mins of hot water running or 15 mins of cold water". One despairs.

And it's not only energy illiteracy that is evident: "I don't understand; the word tariff means nothing". Oh dear, another English teacher has failed!

Verdict? Could do better all round!

Consequential Improvements

According to Andrew Stunnell consequential improvements really will become part of Building Regulations Part L in the next revision. It's about time too! I remember it being discussed and drafted in years ago - only to mysteriously disappear in the final version. It's interesting that this time CI will not only be triggered by extensions or other major works but also by boiler upgrades or window replacements. It makes sense.

What Is This Tosh?

Have you seen the latest DECC press statement? It says that the wind industry has confirmed a vision that UK firms will supply more than 50% of the content of future windfarms. Confirmed a vision? What nonsense! Come on guys, what you should be doing is confirming action - not just a vision!

The Panels Are Up

Well, we finally did it, signed on the bottom line, BACSed the money and our PV panels were installed at the end of last week. They've even generated a modest about of energy since then. It's not the cheapest way of reducing our carbon footprint but it's one that is automatic from now on. I'll be interested to see what FiT rate we finally qualify for but I've crunched the numbers and, even making very modest assumptions about electricity price escalation, the whole thing just about works at 21p. Of course - if interest rates rocket and inflation doesn't then I'll have to admit to making a poor investment choice. Watch this space - for a good few years to come!