Best Of

Decarbonising leccy generation is the easy bit. And can be achieved without CCS on CCGT plants, but DESNZ has other ideas.

The hard bit includes domestic heating. Here, we have two options. Option 1, turn off the gas supply and force everyone to have a shitty air source heat pump, necessitating ripping out your entire heating system. Option 2, switch the gas network to hydrogen, which just requires a new boiler, but triggers a load of fuckwits to shout "Hindenburg" until they are blue in the face. Both options require a load more low carbon power generation, either to supply the shitty heat pumps or to make electrolytic hydrogen. Big investment required, which will find its way onto gas and leccy bills, and capital cost to every household that is impacted.

Heat pumps aren’t shitty.

The issues with hydrogen in a domestic setting include needing to replace all the existing pipework, leaks and detection and observing the safety rules for hydrogen. Which are extensive and carefully created over decades of practise in handling hydrogen.

Unlike yourself, I’ve actually handled hydrogen in serious quantities. It is completely safe, if you keep to the safety rules. If you don’t, it bites.

We had a nasty hydrogen explosion at work last summer. Main thing - no one hurt but luck only. We believe a faulty regulator allowed a leak of hydrogen which pooled in the ceiling void before finding an ignition source - boom. I am not sanguine that hydrogen is a good idea in existing homes with retro fitting, but maybe in new built with appropriate regulation?

My other takeaway comes from extending our 1970s house. Not much insulation in the old wooden clad upper story. The new bit is massively well built and does not get cold. It’s hard to modernise every shitty house but all new ones should be s well built as possible.

74% think the UK will fail to achieve net zero by 2050. !!!!

https://x.com/YouGov/status/1917593627963928846?t=thZuLXShs6g6z9AicteO5Q&s=19

I don't think we'll achieve it either, but I still think we should.

There is currently Zero evidence that the world will achieve net zero by 2050, and at the moment CO2 emissions are both continuing and at a rate faster than previously (USA, Russia, China, India etc). The world is saying it is trying to decrease something while increasing it.

So the real question, being political and pragmatic, is: When everyone stops fooling themselves and realises this, will there be any political will in the UK (or any other country) to 'go it alone' when it makes no substantial difference?

The three groups with a will for going it alone are:

a) People who are making obscene amounts of money from 'the transition'
b) People who are taking obscene amounts of money from the people making onscene amounts of money from 'the transition'
c) Real hardcore nutters who would like us to re-enter the stone age

The last time we really did a 'go it alone' was under Elizabeth I maybe? That worked out rather well.

(And if you argue it was under Cromwell, then that also finished up as not so bad)

We are not talking about an independent foreign policy (if only), we are talking about unilateral economic self-mutilation when nobody else can be arsed. No other countries are opposing our Net Zero plans, they are simply looking on with pitying bemusement.

That’s a complete myth. Nearly every country in the world has a net zero goal, generally in a similar time frame.

There is a difference between

having a net zero policy you are actually trying to implement

and

having a net zero policy you agreed to in order to get a photo op signing up for a climate accord that you have no intention of seriously trying for.

I would suggest most countries fall into the latter category

You are a cynic and wouldn't believe it, whatever those countries actually did.

The first COP meeting was in 1995, 30 years ago, and CO2 levels are rising faster than ever, (and Trump is the POTUS). It is not unrealistic to have a degree of scepticism about the 2050 target, regardless of personal views about what would be good for the planet.

Trump, by crashing the US economy and radically reducing international trade, is doing a great job at reducing US carbon emissions. I mean, I prefer the UK approach of reducing carbon emissions and having a growing economy, but Trump has his own way of doing things...

Have we done this?

Trump on China: "They made a trillion dollars with Biden selling us stuff. Much of it we don't need. Somebody said, 'oh, the shelves are gonna be open.' Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more."

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lo2dloetgk2l

Maybe he's right, but it's a brave statement, Mr President.

It’s called not understanding your electorate.

Telling Americans that they don’t need to be buying so much stuff is a brave stance indeed.

Look at my bowl. LOOK AT MY BOWL

I was worried the ceramics I bought in Uzbekistan might not make it home - after 6 weeks on the road. They made it back to London. Most importantly this bowl made it back to NW1

Handmade in Gidjuvon, Uzbekistan, a famous old Silk Road Sufi mystic Town which has been making and painting ceramics exactly like this - crafted by the very same family, in the very same kilns - for at least three centuries, as part of a tradition which probably stretches back 3000 years

Awwwww

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
·
4h
Bondi: "President, you first 100 days has far exceeded that of ANY other presidency in this country. Ever. Ever. Never seen anything like it. Thank you."

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1917616879054537074



How does he find these people?

Drove to and from Edinburgh today, as others have similarly noted a pleasing number of mashed insects on the front of car (pleasing only by their presence, not because I enjoy killing tiny organisms). Is this only down to a very warm late spring?

I had a massive honey bee swarm land on my house for a few hours, which was a new one for me. Moved on now to do their important pollination work.

Don't you have a bee nesting box?

I don't! Maybe I should!

https://hiveology.org/products/cedar-national-beehive?variant=47301411537213&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=google&tw_adid=693022764927&tw_campaign=21086878688&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21086878688&gbraid=0AAAAApmG6cw9iZrcN-zw_g_CLRseGV3YN&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMfABhCWARIsADGXdy_BMBI1bJE9sMT0PkwTZWc3hDwbsiQCw1bCZLKQ2XMhVjPqOemNCmkaAn5ZEALw_wcB is a site that is worth looking at if curious

Be warned your neighbours may not be so happy