Impressed £67.5 billion... nope... 263 billion, and rising.

[rynnor]

This is awesome!

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/index.php

42% of our power currently being generated by coal fired power stations is not so awesome though

 

[Wij]

This is awesome!

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/index.php

42% of our power currently being generated by coal fired power stations is not so awesome though

I think I posted that about 10 pages back...

 

[rynnor]

I think I posted that about 10 pages back...

Edit - actually you posted it ten days ago - I must have missed it.

Did you? I must have missed it - its great

I like the two Irish links that constantly suck power from the mainland - I really had the impression that our reliance on coal was much smaller than 42%.

 

[Wij]

It's not always that high in percentage terms. When demand is high the CCGTs are turned up so the percentage of coal is lower even though the amount generated is the same.

When the wind blows some of the power generated by coal and CCGT can't be sold so gets effectively wasted so that we can all pretend it's doing some good.

 

[rynnor]

It's not always that high in percentage terms. When demand is high the CCGTs are turned up so the percentage of coal is lower even though the amount generated is the same.

When the wind blows some of the power generated by coal and CCGT can't be sold so gets effectively wasted so that we can all pretend it's doing some good.

Sure - the mix changes a bit at peak but I had thought we had nearly dumped coal - I guess the cheap Chinese coal makes these things too profitable to close.

Funny to see nearly everything we get from France/Holland goes over to Ireland.

The lack of storage capability is pretty worrying though - I wondered if that was just to ensure the suppliers can charge premium rates for supplying at peak times. Proper storage would hit their profits.

 

[Wij]

There simply is no solution to mass storage that's scalable at the moment.

 

[rynnor]

There simply is no solution to mass storage that's scalable at the moment.

Not likely to be either - the worse things get the more they can profit.

 

[Embattle]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25200808

 

[Raven]

I'll just put this here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-25415187

2 (minor) tremors and a load of chemicals put into the ground. Any tremors when they have barely even started is a worry, sticking a load of crap (potentially) into the water table is also rather worrying.

 

[rynnor]

I'll just put this here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-25415187

2 (minor) tremors and a load of chemicals put into the ground. Any tremors when they have barely even started is a worry, sticking a load of crap (potentially) into the water table is also rather worrying.

Dodgy geology - never been linked to anything above a 2.5 though and thats piddly non damaging tremors.

 

[Raven]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25416050

Ban cows!

 

[Wij]

I'll just put this here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-25415187

2 (minor) tremors and a load of chemicals put into the ground. Any tremors when they have barely even started is a worry, sticking a load of crap (potentially) into the water table is also rather worrying.

Meh. It was just an exploratory drill. They've probably found a more promising site.

Lots of stuff can 'cause' minor tremors, like coal mining, but they were probably due to happen anyway and the frack just caused it to happen earlier. Anything below a 3 is a lot less than I used to get every time a train went through the gates near my Mums house when I was a kid.

Meh.

 

[Wij]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25416050

Ban cows!

Indeed. Marsupials produce a lot less methane. Are Kangaroo steaks nice? Wallaby scratchings?

 

[rynnor]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25416050

Ban cows!

Isn't there something odd about this analysis? Don't those beef producing units also produce copious amounts of milk?

 

[Wij]

Isn't there something odd about this analysis? Don't those beef producing units also produce copious amounts of milk?

Have you milked a bull recently?

(They love it!)

 

[Raven]

Isn't there something odd about this analysis? Don't those beef producing units also produce copious amounts of milk?

You don't get decent cuts of beef from a dairy cow, mostly iceland and dog food beef. Likewise it isn't really economical to milk a "beef" cow, Angus and the like.

 

[rynnor]

Have you milked a bull recently?

(They love it!)

With respect there are almost no bulls these days - most herds no longer keep one - it's all artificial insemination.

 

[rynnor]

You don't get decent cuts of beef from a dairy cow, mostly iceland and dog food beef.

Ha right... And you still believe this after the horsemeat scandal?

 

[Raven]

Well, yes...for what I buy anyway. I don't eat processed meat. But like I said, I am sure most dairy cows end up in Iceland burgers at some point, when they have stopped producing milk. If someone was to try and pass a fresh cut of dairy beef off as proper beef I am fairly sure I would know as I prepare all our food.

 

[Scouse]

Are Kangaroo steaks nice?

They're fucking yummy

 

[Job]

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/12/billion-dollar-climate-denial-network-exposed/


Interesting if its true...just cant believe anything anymore

 

[TdC]

yeah dude. what worries me most is that I have become so jaded about the whole thing that I am not even surprised any more

 

[rynnor]

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/12/billion-dollar-climate-denial-network-exposed/


Interesting if its true...just cant believe anything anymore

All he found is that charities are funded by people - everything else is paranoia.

 

[rynnor]

More on topic - the UK appears to have stuck in some more fuel rods or something because we are suddenly producing an extra gigawatt of electricity from Nuclear Power.

 

[Wij]

http://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/programs/energy-and-climate/the-poverty-of-the-energiewende

The German Energiewende.

 

[Raven]

Good timing dropping nuclear just as Russia is about to pull the plug on gas.

 

[Wij]

Not a chance. Germany is the arch-appeaser of Russia because it has very little natural resources. They will not allow a ban on Russian gas:

http://www.dieterhelm.co.uk/sites/default/files/Ukraine implications.pdf

 

[Wij]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-long-term-plan-to-safely-dispose-of-radioactive-waste

 

[Scouse]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-long-term-plan-to-safely-dispose-of-radioactive-waste

Another round of "bury it".

 

[Moriath]

Another round of "bury it".

What else is there to do? You can't un eradiate something so you have to put it out of harms way till it's not a risk.

Bury it or blow it into space. There is nothing else to do? Apart from leave it where it is